For senior secondary school students, it is never too early to start preparing for university or their future career. Over the summer, PolyU launched the “Junior Research Mentoring Programme” (JRMP) for secondary school students interested in exploring the fascinating world of research. The initiative received an overwhelming response from the PolyU community as well as from secondary schools.

 

More than 60 PolyU academics provided their support by taking up mentorship roles for 39 research projects, covering a broad range of subjects including rehabilitation sciences, optometry, hotel and tourism management, biomedical engineering, nursing, design, languages, business, as well as various specialisations of engineering.

 

Under the guidance of their mentors, 93 students from 36 schools were given the opportunity to conduct research in groups within a duration of three months. They gained valuable hands-on experience by collaborating closely with PolyU’s academics, and developed a clear idea of what research work actually entailed beyond lab coats.

 

Participating students said they were grateful to be part of the debut JRMP. “We were actively involved throughout the process by taking up research design, data collection, data analysis and report writing. It was a truly rewarding and memorable experience, which helped us advance our knowledge and personal growth.” PolyU’s Vice-President (Students and International Affairs), Professor Ben Young also shared that, "PolyU is committed to responding to societal needs through various research projects, and we want to encourage more young researchers to contribute to the betterment of society. The newly launched JRMP serves to deepen understanding of research work among young people, enabling them to discover what research is about and widen their academic horizons.”

 

PolyU intends to further expand the scope of the programme by covering more research topics to draw wider participation from interested students in the year 2022. Applications will commence early next year and the programme duration will also be extended from three months to five months.

 

Visit the website of the Junior Research Mentoring Programme to learn more about the diverse research projects we offered.