PolyU Fun-Tech Competition 2024/25 concludes, enhancing digital capabilities of secondary students to cultivate next-gen I&T talents

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is committed to equipping students with cutting-edge technological skills and cultivating the next generation of innovation and technology (I&T) talents. With the support of the Innovation and Technology Commission, PolyU’s Department of Applied Social Sciences (APSS) ran the “Fun-Tech Competition 2024/25” (the Project) from September 2024 to May 2025, aiming to ignite secondary school students’ interest in I&T through diverse teaching activities and competition. Attracting over 1,000 students from 29 schools, the Project concluded today with an award presentation ceremony, hosted by APSS in collaboration with the University’s Policy Research Centre for Innovation and Technology (PReCIT), to recognise students who demonstrated outstanding creativity and digital skills.

The Project organised an academic conference, as well as a series of workshops, online classes and guided tours, enabling students to keep abreast of the latest technology trends and master cutting-edge digital skills associated with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and radio-frequency identification (RFID) technologies. It also included a competition which involved participants either producing VR videos or designing innovative applications for RFID. Divided into junior and senior secondary student groups, the competition encouraged students to unlock their innovative spirit and apply the skills they had learnt to everyday scenarios or to addressing social issues.

The award presentation ceremony was officiated by Dr Jeff SZE, Under Secretary for Education of the Education Bureau of the HKSAR Government, along with Prof. Wing-tak WONG, PolyU Deputy President and Provost, and Prof. Eric CHUI, Head of APSS and Co-Director of PReCIT. Distinguished guests exchanged insights with the winning students, while principals and teachers from participating schools attended in a strong show of support.

Dr Jeff Sze stated that the use of digital technology and tools enables students to explore infinite possibilities and said, “The Government continues to promote STEAM and digital education in primary and secondary schools and to advance the use of innovative technology in empowering education, with the aim of nurturing I&T talent for the Nation. This competition carried profound meaning for the students; it has served as a robust platform for them to unleash creativity, gain a deeper understanding of cutting-edge technologies through practice and develop an interest in I&T, while also enhancing their problem-solving skills.”

Prof. Wing-tak Wong summarised the project outcomes and highlighted the achievements in resource integration, driving creativity and transforming innovative thinking into social value. He added, “Supported by the Innovation and Technology Fund, the Project integrated educational technology with STEAM education and established a collaborative platform linking PolyU and Hong Kong secondary schools, and enabling secondary students to learn and apply cutting-edge technologies. The intelligent solutions developed by students in the competition combined creativity with practicality, embodying the spirit of benefiting society through technology.”

Prof. Eric Chui said, “APSS is committed to fostering the exchange of knowledge and practice through the integration of education, research and service, and to providing more effective and empathetic social services. PReCIT, on the other hand, brings together scholars from different disciplines and professions to promote interdisciplinary cooperation and policy research. In this competition, the students identified the needs of vulnerable communities and utilised innovative technology to raise social awareness of relevant issues, aligning with APSS’s mission to cultivate socially responsible future leaders.”

The Project leader Dr Rodney CHU, Senior Lecturer of APSS, explained the project outcomes at the Ceremony. He applauded the remarkable perseverance and resilience demonstrated by the participating teachers and students throughout the Competition’s midterm evaluations, rehearsals, on-site presentation, Q&A sessions and other activities.  He added, “Our team has maintained close contact with the participating schools since the Project began nearly a year ago. We not only designed activities for students but also engaged teachers in training workshops. This experience has fostered meaningful teaching and learning exchange and collaboration between the University and secondary schools.”

After evaluation by the judging panel, the champions and the first runners-up of the VR video creation competition were the teams from SKH Lui Ming Choi Secondary School and St. Stephen’s Church College for the senior group, and teams from STFA Cheng Yu Tung Secondary School and St. Clare’s Girls’ School for the junior group. For the RFID application design competition, in senior category, teams from Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College and Salesians of Don Bosco Ng Siu Mui Secondary School were crowned the co-champions and Po Chiu Catholic Secondary School won the first runners-up prize, while in the junior category teams from Chinese Y.M.C.A. Secondary School and Ju Ching Chu Secondary School (Yuen Long) were declared co-champions. For more information on the results and the winning projects, please visit the Project website.

Following the award ceremony, a Teaching and Learning Summit focusing on educational innovation was held. Prof. Manuel CASTRO, Professor of Electronics Technology of the National University of Distance Education in Spain, shared his insights into STEM tools and remote laboratories for secondary school settings. His talk sparked dynamic discussion among principals, teachers and students on integrating educational technology into secondary school education.

“Fun-Tech Competition 2024/25”, supported by the Innovation and Technology Fund of the Innovation and Technology Commission, aspired to equip secondary school students with knowledge of cutting-edge technologies and to enable them to apply technological innovations to their daily life and learning. The project also aims to facilitate interaction between teachers, students, schools and industry, advancing Hong Kong’s technological culture and nurturing a new generation of I&T talents with technical capabilities and humanistic care.

***END***