HKSTP, DJI and HKUST Launch First RoboMaster Training Camp in Hong Kong to Develop Robotics and Engineering Talent Among Secondary School Students

Group photo of the kick-off ceremony: (From the left) Shuo Yang, Director of RoboMaster, DJI; Professor Tim Cheng, Dean of Engineering, HKUST; George Tee, Chief Technology Officer, HKSTP; and Mr. Tony Budhrani, General Manager (Leasing), Sino Group

The exciting RoboMaster Hong Kong Training Camp performance games lasted for more than 3 hours, with all participants taking a group photo with their robots at the end.

The winning team expressed that they achieved more than what they expected by joining the competition, especially learning the correlation between hardware and software. They also learned many principles of mathematics and science. The team expressed their keenness to take part in future competitions.

(Hong Kong, 21 April 2018) - Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), DJI and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have come together to co-organise the RoboMaster Hong Kong Training Camp, the first of its kind held in the city. A robotic games challenge was held at Olympian City after the completion of the training camp, featuring eight teams comprised of local secondary school students. Each team applied their knowledge gained from the training camp and competed with each other in a friendly battle with robots, strategy, and teamwork. The team formed by Elwin Li, Wong Man Yin, Colman Cheuk, Alvin Leung, Young Lai To and Wong Ching Laam emerged as the performance games winner.

The RoboMaster, launched and organized by DJI, is an annual contest for teams of aspiring engineers to design and build next-generation robots to compete for supremacy on the RoboMaster battlefield. The RoboMaster competition has gained popularity among the engineering community around the world, and the finale in front of a live crowd of more than 10,000 people has become an exciting and entertaining spectacle for the general public.

Following the success of the main RoboMaster competition, the RoboMaster Hong Kong Training Camp was launched with a common goal to nurture secondary school students in science and technology and foster the next generation of engineers and roboticists. The partnership between DJI, HKUST and HKSTP aims to further raise the interest and importance of innovative technology and engineering among the mindset of local secondary school students. The training camp also allows students to learn STEM-related topics (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and put theory into practice. 45 students from 28 local secondary schools joined the RoboMaster Hong Kong Training Camp this year, which started in February. The camp provided the opportunity outside of school for students to learn and apply robotic technology, participate in training sessions conducted by expert mentors, and design robots for the games.

George Tee, Chief Technology Officer of HKSTP said, “AI and Robotics are two of the technology development focus areas for HKSTP. We have around 40 companies in HKSTP undertaking research and development into the AI and Robotics fields, and we support positive efforts to develop robotic design talent in the city to fill up the future jobs. The RoboMaster Hong Kong Training Camp is a valuable exercise to put learning into practice. We look forward to deepening our collaboration with DJI and HKUST, and enhancing innovation and technology talent development in Hong Kong.”

DJI provided the robotic hardware, software, as well as instructors and coordinators for the training camp. Shuo Yang, Director of RoboMaster at DJI said, “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to expand RoboMaster to Hong Kong, and work with HKSTP and HKUST to nurture and showcase some of these great talents through the RoboMaster Training Camp. We are also very grateful of the support we’ve received from the local community. We’ve learned that students who participated in the camp have many creative ideas, they are very curious and passionate about what they do. By providing them the right support and a platform where they can shine, we hope to unearth future talent that can contribute towards Hong Kong’s innovative sector and beyond.”

Professor Tim Cheng, Dean of Engineering, HKUST, said, “As a pioneer in education innovation, the School of Engineering has been promoting practicum-led, team-based and project-driven learning to cultivate students’ competencies in integrative systems design, entrepreneurship, problem-solving and teamwork. RoboMaster provides a great opportunity for secondary school students to gain holistic robotics training and develop their makers’ potential through these innovative pedagogies, enabling them to be the next-generation innovators who meet the demand of the future society.”