Hong Kong, 10 May 2023 – Jointly organised by the STEM+E Consortium, Cyberport and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), the STEM+E Competition 2023 aims to prepare students for the ever-changing world by nurturing their creativity and problem-solving skills. The competition concluded last Sunday (7 May) with the enthusiastic participation from over 400 students from more than 70 secondary schools. Under the guidance of start-ups from both Cyberport and HKSTP as well as business leaders, participants organised themselves into groups to explore topics of community concern, focusing on “Green Management” and “Well-Being and Safety”, two topics of concern to the community, by leveraging innovative technologies. Solutions titled “高球隨意門”, “Restroom Navi - Gator” and “Cool Shield” were selected in the end as champions in the Entrepreneur Track, Regional Track and Venture Track respectively.
Addressing society’s pain points with creative solutions
The competition linked participants with 15 Cyberport and HKSTP start-ups, as well as a group of business leaders. This year's theme has two main focuses: "Green Management" and "Well-Being and Safety". A total of 81 teams were formed by students from various schools and were divided into the Entrepreneurship Track, Venture Track, and a newly added Regional Track. Participants from the Shanghai Foreign Language School Affiliated to SISU and Torch Hi-Tech Industry Development Zone No.1 Middle School in Zhongshan were invited to facilitate exchange and collaboration between students from Hong Kong and the Mainland. Teams in the Entrepreneurship Track were paired with start-ups who shared their self-developed technology solutions, entrepreneurial experience, and industrial knowledge. This enabled the students to incorporate such inputs into the development of their business proposals. Teams in the Venture Track, on the other hand, used technologies already on the market to devise their plans. Regardless of the track, all teams benefited from the recommendations and guidance of business professionals who acted as mentors. With the unwavering support of Cyberport, HKSTP, and the business sector, the competition enhances students' technical knowledge, offers learning opportunities, and provides business consultation advice. This, in turn, enhances the soft skills of students such as creativity and critical thinking, resilience, and perseverance, all of which will better equip them for their future career development.
The winning solution in the Entrepreneurship Track, "高球隨意門", leveraged a metaverse golf simulator developed by a start-up to provide STEAM and golf courses for schools, addiction treatment centres, hospitals, and other institutions. Meanwhile, the champion of the Regional Track, "Restroom Navi-Gator," utilized indoor mapping technology from a start-up, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) and big data, to address public toilet pain points. This solution provides map navigation, reviews, real-time congestion information, and smart monitoring to enhance toilet use efficiency and hygiene. Furthermore, it addresses the pain point of restaurant table waiting by displaying real-time wait times, filtering recommended restaurants, and providing selection based on customer reviews. The Venture Track champion, "Cool Shield," took advantage of energy-free cooling paint to reduce indoor temperatures and achieve power savings.
Nurturing a new generation of I&T talents
Prof. Joseph Koc, Chairman of the STEM+E Consortium, said, “2023 is a very special year for STEM+E Competition. It is the fifth anniversary for the Competition since it was incepted in 2019. The Programme has seen changes and additions in the last 5 years, to name a few: participants grown from 5 secondary schools, 100 students to today, 70 schools with over 400 students; introduction of the Most Valuable Player Award to recognize student’s individual efforts; addition of Venture Track to allow students to research and craft their own technology solution to solving of societal pain points; introduction of Regional Track to provide opportunities where students in HK collaborate with students from other cities in China. The one thing that has remained unchanged, is the purpose of the Competition: To Show The Student What Is Possible. Or rather, What They Are Capable Of! It has been a exciting and rewarding journey for all of us who took part in STEM+E Competition, students, case companies, business coaches, principals, teachers. And we at STEM+E Consortium are most proud to have travers this journey with our partners.”
Ir Eric Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport, said, “Cyberport is delighted to once again collaborate with the STEM+E Consortium and HKSTP, bringing together the two major I&T flagships and start-up ecosystems in Hong Kong to inspire and empower the birth of the next generation of innovation and technology talent. We are pleased to see students demonstrating innovative thinking and applying technology to solve social problems during the competition. Cyberport will continue to promote and strengthen STEAM learning, connect startups to add more innovative elements to STEAM education, and cultivate more I&T talents through diverse inside and outside classroom learning activities in the future, laying a solid foundation for students and supporting the future development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong.”
Eugene Hsia, Chief Corporate Development Officer of HKSTP, said, “The STEM+E Competition is not just about science, technology, engineering, and math. It's about unleashing the limitless potential of young minds and giving them the power to change the world. Through this competition, students are challenged to think beyond the boundaries of what's possible and create solutions that can make a real difference in society. At HKSTP, we are committed to fostering the next-gen creative thinkers and innovators to bolster Hong Kong's position as an international I&T hub.”
Three-month competition teaching technology and business knowledge
The competition was launched as a three-month event in March this year. All participating teams were required to develop a business proposal on the two-fold theme of “Green Management” or “Well-being and Safety”. The final contest and award presentation ceremony were held at Cyberport on 7 May.
Since its inauguration in 2019, the STEM+E Competition has provided students with start-up sharing sessions, business consultation training and workshops, enabling them to generate tech-based business plans that ameliorate specific social issues. The finalists were given a chance to present their plans to a judging panel consisting of investors, business leaders and academics. Through this contest, students gain insight into the application of innovative technologies to deal with social issues. They also work as a team to transform creative ideas into practical tech-based business proposals.
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