STEM Development Summer Programme at PolyU ME

On July 20, 2023, the Caritas School Social Work Service and PolyU Mechanical Engineering jointly organized a STEM Development Summer Programme, which was a great success. We were delighted to welcome around 80 students and teachers from six secondary schools to experience hands-on learning at PolyU campus.

The participating schools were Daughters of Mary Help of Christians Siu Ming Catholic Secondary School, Pope Paul VI College, Pui Shing Catholic Secondary School, Shung Tak Catholic English College, Tuen Mun Catholic Secondary School, and Yuen Long Catholic Secondary School.

During the programme, the Department Head, Prof. Su Zhongqing, extended a warm welcome to all teachers, social workers and students, inviting them to explore the field of mechanical engineering (ME) at PolyU. We are grateful for the enthusiastic support of our industrial partner, REC Engineering Co. Ltd. The Deputy Managing Director, Ir Antonio Chan, played a key role in facilitating the collaboration between Caritas and the Department.

The experiential learning kicked off with a guided tour of the Industrial Centre (IC), which included visits to U3DP (W501), AIR Lab (W402 & U401), Composites & Fabrication (W003), and Digital Machining (U004). Moreover, under the guidance of Dr Henry Chu, the Scheme Leader of BEng in Mechanical Engineering, students learned to use a smartphone to control a robot car. The Smart Robot Car Challenge was definitely the highlight of the programme, where students worked in small groups to complete a task within a limited time. From programming to assembling, the students had to complete everything within a few hours. After actively searching for solutions, many of them were able to use their mobile phones to successfully drive their robot cars.

The challenge culminated in a mini race, where the students put their robot cars to the test. We were thrilled to see the enthusiasm and creativity of the participants. In the end, we were proud to announce that all the winners were from Daughters of Mary Help of Christians Siu Ming Catholic Secondary School.

Congratulations to the girls!