HKUST Annual Report 2017-18

28 Community Engagement SPURRING ON YOUNG TALENTS The School of Science took the lead in organizing the Hong Kong Joint School Biology Olympiad, with support from seven other tertiary institutions and a dozen secondary schools. The competition involved over 500 secondary students from more than 80 secondary schools in three rounds of selection tests on biology and applications, as well as a full-day practical assessment. Other activities included lectures and exercises on various campuses ahead of selection of the final winners. HKUST, the Gifted Education Council, Croucher Foundation, and Roche Ltd served as sponsors. The event paved the way for setting-up the first International Biology Olympiad-Hong Kong Contest in 2019, coordinated by the Hong Kong government’s Education Bureau. The School also contributed to secondary school student training for the Asian Physics Olympiad 2018 in Hanoi and International Physics Olympiad 2018 in Portugal. The Pan Pearl River Delta Physics Olympiad was held in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao in February 2018, with participants from each of the three locations taking part. On the eco-friendly front, the School launched an environmental education and community action project in July 2017 to promote ecological significance and native biodiversity of intertidal mudflats in Hong Kong. Students served as environmental ambassadors to raise public awareness on protection of mudflats and organisms, and the threats to marine environment posed by human activities, such as clam digging and razor shell fishing using salt. A second project was co-organized with the Hong Kong government’s Environmental Campaign Committee during the Lunar New Year Fair in Yuen Long. Students gained hands-on experience in environmental education and community work through promoting green concepts to stall operators to reduce waste and up- cycling to the general public. The government’s Environment and Conservation Fund sponsored both projects. The School of Engineering, global unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer DJI, and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) co-organized the first RoboMaster Training Camp in Hong Kong to bring advanced robotics education to secondary school students. The RoboMaster competition is an annual contest organized by DJI challenging teams of aspiring engineers to design and build next-generation robots to compete in a robotics showdown. At the training camp, held over 11 days at HKSTP from February to April 2018, close to 50 students from 28 local secondary schools learned through hands-on experience and applied robotic technology. Student teams succeeded in building sophisticated robots to compete at the final tournament held in a shopping mall in April 2018. The Academy for Bright Future Young Engineers, established under the School of Engineering, provides high school students with engineering experiences and greater knowledge of the world of engineering. Project WeCan is a business-in-the- The University connected up with schools, local organizations, and the public while donors widened future opportunities and alumni deepened HKUST’s presence worldwide