Building dreams one gadget at a time: retired Hong Kong teacher encourages student to unleash talent as inventors, innovators
- Wong Yiu-kwan, 61, is a Spirit of Hong Kong nominee for his decades-long work in motivating young people to see beyond books
- Those who blossomed under Wong’s guidance include home-grown celebrity inventor Chan Yik-hei, who has an asteroid in his name
Wong Yiu-kwan believes ideas for great inventions often come from everyday life. The veteran educator, who teaches STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – always encourages his students to pay attention to their surroundings.
“I ask them to pick up used electrical appliances [discarded on the street], disassemble them and study how they work,” he said. “That’s the cheapest but most practical way to learn.”
He also motivates his charges to try making the items themselves. “Once you can replicate things, you will know how to improve them. When you can improve them, you will know how to innovate.”
For nearly 30 years, Wong, 61, together with his colleagues at the Church of Christ in China Tam Lee Lai Fun Memorial Secondary School in Tuen Mun, has set the stage for bringing out inventive streaks in generations of young people who may otherwise lose interest in their studies.
Under the instruction of Wong and other STEM teachers, avid teens use drills, jigsaws and other tools to build their dreams at the school’s 4,000 sq ft technology learning rooms.
One such former technology aspirant was Chan Yik-hei. The home-grown celebrity inventor, who has an asteroid named after him after bagging an award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in 2004, cut his teeth in innovation with extracurricular activities held at the school.
Wong said he believed people had different strengths. He added that the Tuen Mun school was trying to leave no youngsters behind, noting that many incoming students had chosen the campus because they wanted to follow in Chan’s footsteps and embark on their own technology ambitions.
