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The final judging of the Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition and Award Presentation Ceremony was held today (June 3) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The 12 finalist teams presented their projects to the judging panel and an audience of about 600. The finalists¡¯ projects, with their innovative contents and applications of scientific theory to daily life, showed the students¡¯ potential.
Officiating at the Award Presentation Ceremony, the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr Joseph WP Wong, said he was very impressed by the creativity of young people and how observant they were of everyday life.
"This year's competition is the eighth in the series and the response is overwhelming - a total of 109 teams from 58 local secondary schools participated in the event," he said.
"The winning teams will be sponsored to join a science exchange programme in Singapore. Students of the winning teams will also join the ASTRI Junior Fellowship offered by the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited and Research Experience for Talented Students (RETS) Program offered by the Hong Kong Research and Development Centre for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials. They will gain hands-on experience by working with mentors in an actual research and development environment," he said.
The Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition is jointly organised by the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC), The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, the Education and Manpower Bureau and the Hong Kong Science Museum. It aims to promote students' interest in science and technology; develop their creativity through understanding innovative applications of science and technology; and inspire academic and career interest in science and technology. The theme for this year's competition was "Science£®Innovation£®Taking Off for the Future."
Most of the inventions of the 12 finalist projects were designed to improve the quality of life. Some projects showed concern for environmental conservation while others concerned the application of scientific theory.
"The Government has been promoting an innovation and technology culture in the community. Built on last year's success, the ITC will hold the Innovation Festival again this year from October to November to promote creativity of our youth in science and technology through exhibitions and workshops," Mr Wong said.
"Meanwhile, the ITC will also organise an exhibition in Hong Kong during the National Science and Technology Week to be held in May next year. The exhibition will showcase the science and technology achievements of Hong Kong and the Mainland as well as strengthen co-operation and exchange in this aspect between the two places," Mr Wong said.
The Executive Director of The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, Dr Rosanna Wong, said she was delighted that so many talented science students had participated in the competition.
"This competition shows how interested they can be in science and innovation. An application of simple theory can bring about a great improvement to our daily lives. What you need to do is try," she said. She said she was thrilled that the competition had given young people the opportunity to explore and apply scientific theory.
A brief description of the winning projects is in the Annex.
Details of the competition are available at www.hksspc.gov.hk
Ends/Saturday, June 3, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:27
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