Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition 2024

Jointly organised by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG), Education Bureau (EDB), and Hong Kong Science Museum (HKScM), Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition (HKSSPC) 2024 held its Final Judging and Award Presentation Ceremony today (4 August 2024). As one of the mass-scale annual STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) activities, this year near 1,000 guests, teachers, students, and the public joined the Competition in person or through live broadcast, witnessing the birth of 4 champions who will be the pillars of the Innotech future with their forward-thinking inventions and research.

The Competition was themed as‘Inspiration from Living．Innovation from Science’ this year, with ‘Sustainable Development’ as the subtheme. It aims to encourage students to boldly explore science and technology, driving social innovation with creative thinking. With staunch support from the educational sectors, outstanding works from over 200 secondary school teams were received. Amongst them, 20 elite teams were shortlisted from the highly competitive Initial Judging, competing for various Innotech awards.

In the Final Judging, Prof. CHAN Chi-hou, Vice-President (Community Engagement) from the CityU andProf. Darwin LAU Tat-ming, Assistant Dean, Department of Engineering from CUHK were invited to be the Head Judges of the Senior Division and Junior Division Judging Panels respectively, leading the professional panels comprising seven representatives from the co-organisers, the education sector, and the industry. Finalists were required to present their inventions or research to the judging panels, showcasing their innovativeness and scientific spirit, demonstrating their readiness to tackle future challenges with key skills including problem solving, communication and teamwork.

The innovativeness and Innotech capabilities of the 20 finalists were highly recognised by the Judging Panels. Four champion teams won the highest accolades amid keen competition. Pui Shing Catholic Secondary School team netted the championship of Junior Division (Invention) with project “EasyPants Buddy “ which uses a simple robot to enable elderly who have difficulties getting about to wear and take off pants, thereby mitigating the probability of injury and caring for their dignity and pride, while the championship of Junior Division (Investigation) went to Heep Yunn School team with project “AvoPackaging” which discovered through experimenting that avocado seeds can be harnessed into oxygen absorbed and manufactured into natural packaging, providing an environmentally friendly option for keeping food produce fresh.

Carmel Divine Grace Foundation Secondary School team garnered the championship of Senior Division (Invention) with project “ElderDefender” which was inspired by the elderly who easily fall victim to phone scamming. The installation can transform audio conversation into words in real time and proofread through installed keywords. If scamming is revealed in the process, a visual alert will be displayed on the installation, while sending WhatsApp messages and emails to warn the elderly’s family to prevent him or her from being scammed, while QES Old Students’ Association Secondary School team won the championship of Senior Division (Investigation) with project “Insect’s Plastic Feast” which centered on understanding superworms’ ability to digest various types of plastic in order to reveal living creatures’ potential to reduce plastic. The team was awarded the champion of Senior Division (Investigation Category).

The guests attending the Award Presentation Ceremony include: Edith TSE Yuen-ching, Principal Assistant Secretary (Curriculum Support), Education Bureau; Samuel CHUI Chi-man, Curator (Science) Development, Hong Kong Science Museum; Prof. Anderson SHUM Ho-cheung, President, Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences; Dr ONG Lay-lian, Principal, Hong Kong Design Institute and Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Lee Wai Lee); Ir Prof. LEE Wing-bun, Emeritus Professor of Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Tommie LO, CEO and Founder, Preface; and HSU Siu-man, Executive Director, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups.

HSU Siu-man, Executive Director, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groupsmentioned she was deeply impressed by the students’ ability in applying Innotech knowledge to solve social problems. She hoped that students should always possess empathy and understand the circumstances of others in their future Innotech development or other fields. While maintaining their passion and enthusiasm for learning science, she was confident that students’ diligence and creativity will bring positive changes to society.

An exhibition will be organised by The Hong Kong Science Museum on 21 September 2024, enabling the awarded teams of the HKSSPC 2024 to exhibit their winning projects. The public are invited to join the free exhibition where they can witness the outstanding works by the new generation of scientific innovators. The winning teams will also participate in local or overseas professional training and study tours, as well as compete in international science competitions on behalf of Hong Kong, driving knowledge exchange with overseas talents.

The HKSSPC 2024 aims to provide youths with the opportunity to ignite their creativity and actualise their innovations, empowering them to embrace and discover the Innotech world. Youth can also unlock their boundless creativity and imagination, creating various innovative solutions to address various social issues through leveraging the power of science and technology. In the process, the Competition also ignites youths’ passion for science and technology, encouraging them to pursue careers in relevant fields, and thereby propel Hong Kong’s development into an international Innotech hub.

For the list of winners and details of their entries, please visit the Competition’s website: hksspc.hkfyg.org.hk

Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition 2024 – Lists of Awarded Teams

Senior Division (Invention)

Senior Division (Investigation)

Junior Division (Invention)

Junior Division (Investigation)

About The Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition

The Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition (HKSSPC) 2024 is jointly organised by the Education Bureau, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, the Hong Kong Science Museum, and supported by the Innovation and Technology Commission, the Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences, the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Hong Kong Design Institute and Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Lee Wai Lee). Well supported by the academic and business community, this Competition has been one of the core government-supported programmes for fostering a culture of I&T in Hong Kong since 1998. The Competition promotes and encourages interest and ability in science and I&T among school students, developing their creativity and scientific thinking through a better understanding and innovative application while deepening their intellect and encouraging possible career interests. Participants will also learn about working in teams, and develop their research, communication and presentation skills when presenting their projects to the public. Winning teams may be selected to join overseas science and technology exchange programmes, or participate in overseas science competitions, in order to widen their horizons.