Hong Kong Science Fair nurtures local I&T talent and inspires them to devise creative solutions for improving daily life
● The two-day Hong Kong Science Fair (HKSF) was successfully concluded, attracting over 20,000 visitors.
● The event received enthusiastic endorsement from the Government, business sector, academia and the general public, reflecting their support for Hong Kong to become an international innovation and technology hub.
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Hong Kong’s I&T sector made significant progress over the past year and the strong momentum for growth of the city’s I&T ecosystem is expected to continue. In all levels of the local society, there is growing awareness and understanding of how I&T can help enhance the quality of lives for many people as well as the importance of I&T to the economic diversification of the city. The recently concluded HKSF, organised by the Hong Kong Innovation Foundation (HKIF) with the support from different sectors, attested to the growing enthusiasm among local youngsters and the general public about the increasingly vibrant I&T development in Hong Kong. The goals of HKSF are to increase the interest in I&T among the local students at an early age and nurture the next generation of I&T talent to fulfil Hong Kong’s role as an international I&T hub.
At the prize presentation ceremony, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, Mr John Lee, commended the innovations by local students. He was also heartened by their empathy and care for the less fortunate in the society, which were clearly demonstrated through their inventions designed to help address the challenges faced by the underprivileged and improve daily life. Mr Lee also reiterated the government’s determination to enhance the I&T ecosystem and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) education in Hong Kong.
Inventions are like adventures
Apart from Mr Lee, many dignitaries from Hong Kong and overseas attended the event to show their support to the participating students. Mr David Taji Farouki, President of the Jury, International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, said: “The HKSF provides a platform that helps foster creative and passionate youngsters’ curiosity about challenges in the society.” Mr Taji also gave words of encouragement to the students by saying that inventions were like adventures and few inventors would know where they might end up. “What you need to do is never give up and you will achieve your unexpected outcomes.”
Mr Taji’s sentiment was echoed by Mr Daryl Ng, Chairman of HKIF. Mr Daryl Ng said young people in Hong Kong were known for their creativity and global perspective and the HKSF provided them with a platform to showcase their innovative ideas to the public. “The students’ works fully reflect their enthusiasm and dedication to science,” Mr Ng noted. “With the strong support from the Central Government and the advocacy of the HKSAR Government, I look forward to more young people with potential and passion contributing to the development of science and technology in Hong Kong, and to working together towards Hong Kong’s growth as an international I&T centre.”
Strong support from leading I&T organisations
The HKSF 2022-2023 continued to enjoy strong support from leading I&T organisations, including the Cyberport, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporations, The University of Hong Kong, MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node, and more than 40 partner organisations from diverse sectors.
This year, HKSF received around 400 project submissions from 1,200 Primary 4 to Secondary 6 students and teachers-in-charge from 120 local and international schools. At the prize presentation ceremony, the organiser made a surprise announcement that the Gold Award winners would get sponsorship to enter the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva 2024 in Switzerland.
In the Senior Secondary Division, the Gold Award Winner was a team from Bishop Hall Jubilee School. The team became aware of the global challenge of food shortage caused by climate change and devised the project “Plantis”, which featured floating farming vegetable greenhouses on the shores to help relieve the food shortage. Suen Wan-to Simeon said the prototype solution involved seawater desalination for vegetables and an aquaponic system for shrimp farming. Making use of solar panels, the system aimed to be completely carbon neutral.
Students build up self-confidence
In the Junior Secondary Division, the Gold Award Winner was a team formed by students of the St.Stephen’s Girls’ College and the project was “Ultimate Box Saver”. It is an innovative system for collecting reusable packaging materials for online shopping merchandise. “We have noticed the increasing popularity of online shopping, which produces a lot of packaging waste. Through this project, we aimed to use our STEAM skills and knowledge to help reduce pollution issues,” said Cheung Sze-yan, one of the team members.
The team’s teacher-in-charge Ms Yau Wing-yee really appreciated that the team members were motivated. “I believe that they can make further improvements to their project. HKSF is a great platform for them to present their project to visitors and talk to them.”
The winner in the Primary Division was a team from C.&M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School and its project was “Face Recognition Guard”. The smart ‘doorman system’ was designed for homes of individuals with dementia. It helped them recognise visiting family members and friends waiting at the door and protect them from intruders. “I was inspired by my grandparents who have become forgetful. Then we explored the issue further and found out that patients with dementia faced an even bigger challenge. This problem will only become more serious given Hong Kong’s greying population,” said Wong Hay.
The teacher-in-charge Ms Choi Wing-ha had also supervised a team which won the Silver Award last year. “We appreciate HKSF because of its series of workshops for the participating teams, in addition to this exhibition. It’s a rare opportunity for the students to display their projects in an exhibition that welcomes the public. It helps them build their self-confidence and feedback and ideas from visitors will further inspire them. They become more driven in their study,” said Ms Choi.
_2.jpg?itok=VRVNk1le "Students introduced their creative inventions to visitors and promoted the concept of environmental protection.")
Meanwhile, the visitors cast their votes onsite to select the “Most Popular Award”. The winner was the team from Pui Shing Catholic Secondary School and the project was a smart ‘traffic light’ signalling system for marine traffic designed to protect the population of dolphins. The team’s prototype featured visually attractive components with colourful dangling dolphins and miniature signalling systems.
Enthusiastic public support
Many families visited the two-day HKSF, featuring interactive educational zones encouraging collaboration between parents and their children. The zones included the “Development of the Aerospace Industry in HK”, “Racing Simulator Experience” by Z-Challenger Academy, “Wave Glow Recycling Workshop”, and the “Water Gummy Lab”. The laughter of adults and children filled every corner.
Businessman Ayaz Motiwala, who accompanied his teenage daughter to HKSF, said the event was impressive. “I invest in some startups in India. Some of the projects exhibited here and the students are as impressive as those corporate executives in their 30s. Their ideas are compelling. They interest me because of the greying population in India and Hong Kong. Science provides the solutions to challenges like dementia,” Mr Motiwala said, adding that HKSF would help promote public interest in I&T. “I would recommend that they expand the scale of the exhibition so that more people and schools can join.”
