Those who are abandoning the study of technology have a false perception of what the subject can offer, says professor
TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION in Hong Kong is a mixed bag, according to Paul Cheung, a professor in the department of electrical and electronic engineering at the University of Hong Kong.
Professor Cheung is also former dean of engineering at the university and concurrently managing director of Versitech, the technology transfer arm of the university.
'I have been teaching in Hong Kong for 28 years, 27 of them at the University of Hong Kong. Technology education here has both pluses and minuses,' Professor Cheung said.
On the plus side, the science stream at local secondary schools continues to attract a large number of bright students. 'It is the same thing across Asia - Japan, the mainland, Taiwan, [South] Korea and India.
'This is not the case in western countries such as the United States and Britain, where technology and science are not favoured subjects in schools. An increasingly smaller number of students are taking up science subjects in those countries. The [saving grace for] the United States is that it takes in a lot of immigrants from Asia - China, India and Korea - and students from those countries tend to be good at science and technology.'
On the minus side, Hong Kong is starting to see a growing number of students abandoning science and technology for business and commerce.