Seventy-nine projected have been selected out of over 360 entries for the 2016 AkzoNobel China Student Sustainability Award, according to AkzoNobel.

The Award include: the gold, silver and bronze awards, the MCA special award, the Intersleek special award, the Elotex special award, the Armeen special award.

The Interpon special award, sponsored by AkzoNobel Powder Coatings, has also reached the final stage of selection.

The China Student Sustainability Award, under the guidance of the School Department of the Central Committee of the China Communist Youth League (CCYL), is the first award in China to recognize university student groups' contributions to communities. Since its launch in 2011, it has received more than 1,400 entries from over 1,000 student groups at 220 universities in 88 cities and engaged more than 15 million people across China.

2016 marks the fifth anniversary of the China Student Sustainability Award and this year has seen a record number of cities, universities, student groups and entries participating in the award selection process. More than 360 entries were received from 340 student groups at 164 universities in 69 cities, covering a wide variety of education related programs.

Over the past five years, the China Student Sustainability Award has helped encouraged Chinese college students to participate in social responsibility projects. As of 2016, nearly 280,000 students have provided education-related support to nearly 2.6 million teachers and students across 97% of provincial-level administrative regions on the Chinese mainland, totaling 119,615 days of work. As many as 787,169 students and 94,568 teachers from various localities have directly benefited while another 18.77 million people indirectly benefited from their inspirational efforts.

Lin Liangqi, president of AkzoNobel China, said: "The Award shows the core values of our Human Cities initiative in action. We want to work with and for society to help make people's lives more livable and inspiring. We are thrilled to see a record number of universities and entries taking part in this year's China Student Sustainability Award. Young college students in China are becoming increasingly creative and socially responsible."

This year, AkzoNobel will continue to deepen its partnership with the School Department of CCYL. Under the guidance of the CCYL, AkzoNobel joined hands with the China Youth University of Political Studies to conduct a nationwide survey on college students' involvement in community services. This has allowed the firm to gain insights into the status quo of students' participation and coordination, as well as the resulting impact, in order to build a comprehensive set of metrics to guide future efforts.

Li Ji, deputy director of the School Department of the Central Committee of the CCYL, said: "Young people provide the hope and foundation for China's future development. We have been continuing to guide and support college students to participate in community services as a way to cultivate their patriotism and to give back to society. As a key part of the CCYL's College Students Education Support Program, the China Student Sustainability Award has been providing students with tremendous support to help them become involved in community services and encourage them to be creative in their approach over the past five years. This year, the Award will also support the survey on Chinese college students' participation in community services with the aim to build a comprehensive set of metrics to guide future development. We hope to see more companies participate and help the younger generation play a significant role in realizing the Chinese dream."

For the complete list of finalists, please visit the AkzoNobel China Students Sustainability Award official website. Winners will be announced in November 2016 at the award presentation ceremony.