PolyU Igniting Social Innovation Competition 2025 encourages secondary school students to apply interdisciplinary knowledge to promote sustainable development

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is committed to promoting interdisciplinary education and nurturing socially responsible professionals and leaders with a strong sense of national pride and a global perspective. The University’s Department of Applied Social Sciences (APSS) recently organised the “Igniting Social Innovation Competition 2025” (the Competition), attracting over 180 students from 22 secondary schools. An award presentation ceremony, organised in collaboration with the Policy Research Centre for Innovation and Technology (PReCIT), was held on the PolyU campus today to recognise the outstanding student teams, with nearly 200 principals, teachers and students from the participating schools in attendance.

The award presentation ceremony was officiated by Dr CHOI Yuk-lin, Secretary for Education of the HKSAR Government, along with Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, PolyU President; Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Director of PReCIT; Prof. David SHUM, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences; and Prof. Eric CHUI, Head of APSS and Co-Director of PReCIT. Dr Choi Yuk-lin also engaged in an exchange session with some of the award-winning students.

Dr Choi Yuk-lin said, “The Competition provides students with high-quality learning opportunities beyond the classroom, enhancing their mastery and understanding of innovative technology applications and inspiring their creative thinking. I am particularly impressed by students’ demonstration of creativity and making good use of innovative technology to solve problems and improve the community, reflecting their sense of social responsibility, commitment and concern. These are exactly the important objectives we aim to accomplish through promoting digital education.”

Prof. Jin-Guang Teng applauded the creativity of the participating students and stated, “PolyU actively responds to the evolving needs of the times and is committed to promoting social innovation and sustainable development. Through the ‘Igniting Social Innovation Competition’, we have witnessed countless enthusiastic and creative secondary school students proposing innovative and practical solutions to social issues in Hong Kong, demonstrating the potential of the younger generation to build a better society.”

The Competition adopted an interdisciplinary approach, with the teams integrating knowledge from social science fields and leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, omnidirectional cameras and Hybrid Immersive Virtual Environment facilities. A series of training workshops helped to raise students’ awareness of and improve their understanding of pressing social issues. Participating teams selected one of two themes — “building a greener Hong Kong” or “public health and well-being” — and aligned their projects with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of “responsible consumption and production” and “good health and well-being.” The submitted projects covered multiple areas, including environmental protection, healthcare and social inclusion.

Prof. Eric Chui highlighted the Competition outcomes and elaborated on how the event drove creativity and transformed innovative thinking into social value. He added, “This competition not only enhances students’ awareness of social issues, but also teaches them how to integrate technology with social science methods to explore and demonstrate relevant issues. At the same time, it stimulates students’ creative thinking and empathy, prompting them to care for those in need in society through positive actions.”

After evaluation by a judging panel comprising PolyU scholars and representatives from non-governmental organisations, the teams from Marymount Secondary School, St. Francis of Assisi's College and Kiangsu-Chekiang College (Kwai Chung) won the first, second and third prizes respectively.

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