Zhou Ziping takes part in a ceremony with his classmates on the first day of the new semester at Qiaoyi Middle School in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. [Photo/WeChat]

Zhou Zipeng, a ninth-grade student from Wuxi Qiaoyi Middle School, will take part in the 2017 World Internet of Things Exposition Design Competition on Sept 10 in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province.

Zhou and his friends are fascinated by IoT technology, and together they have designed a smart mousetrap. Their creative design won a national gold award at the 15th Network Innovation Competition.

Despite this success, this semester may be Zhou’s last at Qiaoyi. He has progressive muscular dystrophy, a debilitating condition that he was diagnosed with at a young age.

Since fourth grade, the student has only been able to attend school for half days. His condition has now deteriorated further and he will stay in hospital for further treatment.

But Zhou is a tough boy, who says his biggest wish is to go to see his hero Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, give a speech at this year's WIOT.

Zhou Ziping and his team members compete in the 15th Network Innovation Competition with their invention: A smart mousetrap. [Photo/WeChat]