In the 1st International Conducting Competition in 2018, there were 310 applications from 49 countries/regions. 16 candidates were chosen to conduct the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

1st Prize: Gabor Kali, Hungary 
2nd Prize: Antoine Glatard, France 
3rd Prize: Dawid Runtz, Poland 
Orchestra Prize: Gabor Kali, Hungary
Audience Prize: Dawid Runtz, Poland; Anton Torbeev, Russia