Leon Lei, Chairman for IEEE Education Society Hong Kong Chapter; Ray Cheung, Secretary for IEEE Hong Kong Section & Philip Woodhead, ExComm for IEEE Consumer Electronics/Oceanic Engineering Hong Kong Joint Chapter
Award-wining Initiative on Empowering Diversified Learners in Hong Kong with IEEE TryEngineering (Sep 2020 – Aug 2021)
The Hong Kong Section educational activities committee has recently received the Winner award for the IEEE Region 10 Educational Activities Challenge (Pre-University Category), for its initiative “Empower Diversified Learners in Hong Kong with IEEE TryEngineering”. Leveraging on the support from the IEEE Region 10 educational activities committee, the Section will launch a series of blended activities for local secondary school students, based on the adaption of IEEE TryEngineering resources. The first theme will be on “Fighting against COVID-19”. Besides hands-on workshops, students will be further supported by VR resources, such as visiting a laboratory with a scanning electron microscope. The team will conduct a pilot study in several local schools, and will eventually share the package across Sections in Region 10 and other Regions.
The Future Engineer Grand Challenge (May 2020 – June 2020)
The Future Engineer Project is a National student competition supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education in China. Since 2004, there are over 2 million students nationwide joining this event. The Future Engineer Grand Challenge is organized by the Hong Kong STEM Education Alliance since 2019. IEEE Hong Kong Section is one of the co-organizers with Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) and The Institution of Engineering and Technology Hong Kong Section (HKIET), the other two major engineering organizations in Hong Kong. The objective is to advocate the importance of STEM education in Hong Kong and in the world for cultivating young engineers. This year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rules of the challenge have been changed from face to face to online presentation. All participants are required to submit the video records that capture the innovative STEM-related project only. In total, the Grand Challenge has received 84 submissions from 11 primary schools and 18 secondary schools in Hong Kong, as compared to 65 in 2019. At last, 6 different student teams were nominated to attend the grand final in Beijing, with 6 grand prizes awarded.
ECF IEEE CE/OES MATE Underwater Robotics Workshop & Comp. (June 2020 – June 2021)
The IEEE Hong Kong Section and IEEE Consumer Electronics/Oceanic Engineering (CE/OES) Joint Chapter were awarded a government Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF) Grant to run the ECF IEEE CE/OES MATE Underwater Robotics Workshops and Competitions for 2020-2021. There is a large demand for underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operators in the oil industry, deep sea exploration, deep sea mining and scientific research projects. Currently, only around 10% of the ocean has been explored. This grant provides 400 young secondary school students the opportunity to explore and advance their knowledge and abilities on underwater robotics and engineering. We aim to nurture and discover future engineers through this grant. Our aim aligns with IEEE’s core mission of advancing humanity through technology.