Building robots gets Hong Kong pupils excited about science, technology and teamwork
An underwater robot competition brought together 300 pupils of different ethnicities from the city’s mainstream and special needs schools
What does it take to build a robot that can walk underwater and stack boxes?
“iSTEAM!” Yang Chi-cheung, 12, and four schoolmates, announced in chorus, their faces beaming with delight.
iSTEAM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), arts (A), and inclusion (I) – which was the focus of the Underwater Robot Competition 2017, an event held in April and hosted by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
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Operation Santa Claus, an annual charity campaign jointly organised by the South China Morning Post and RTHK, supported the event with a donation.
The challenge aimed to bring together pupils from different ethnic backgrounds, studying in mainstream and special needs schools, to feel inspired and find their creative streak through hands-on experience in robotics and engineering. A total of 300 pupils from 42 primary and secondary schools signed up for the event.
Participants spent three days assembling their robots from loose components and later manoeuvred them to accomplish a series of tasks in a swimming pool.
The competition had two parts, one of which saw each school pilot their own robot to do things to score points, such as collecting, moving and building items.