More than 100 works of art submitted for the 6th National Art Exhibition of College Students are on display at the Shanghai Library in downtown Xuhui District through Saturday. The artworks, including paintings, calligraphy, photographs and micro movies, were created by students from 43 local universities and colleges. Artwork practice workshops from 11 universities are also exhibited. Seven experts will select finalists from the entries to take part in the national exhibition in Sichuan Province next April. Hosted by China's Ministry of Education, the exhibition is the nation’s top art competition for university students and is held every three years. This year’s event carries the theme “fight, innovation and devotion.” Organizers had to overcome numerous challenges due to COVID-19, such as collecting the submissions and even holding the exhibition, said Jin Jiangbo, deputy dean of Shanghai University's Academy of Fine Arts, one of the exhibition's sponsors. Many works were collected via the Internet, and an online exhibition platform was created. As a special exhibition, several presidents of local universities are displaying calligraphy, paintings and photographs. The exhibition is part of a nationwide campaign to provide students with more cultural opportunities and better aesthetic education courses. Post-secondary institutions are pushing to reform and upgrade aesthetic education in the next year with better instructors and facilities, according to a guideline released by the education ministry. The guideline calls for institutions to create special agencies to promote aesthetic education, and require students to take aesthetic courses in order to graduate.