Co-organised by the College of Science (CSCI) and the Office of the Provost and Deputy President, the CityU Science Patent Challenge 2023/24 has come to the climax of the Final Pitch on 17 February, with Lung Kong World Federation School Limited Lau Wong Fat Secondary School crowned the Gold Award. Two ideas from St. Stephen's Girls' College's team reached the finals and were eventually awarded a Silver and a Bronze Award, respectively. A “Best Presentation Award” is newly established this year and goes to the German Swiss International School’s team.
Talented young inventors from secondary schools impressed the judges by solving real-life problems with creativity at the final pitch.
Shortlisted teams presented their innovative ideas on stage to our five judges: Mr. Ricky Chan, Executive Deputy Chairman of Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Mr. Olivier Cotard, Founder and Managing Director of 3C Ventures Limited; Professor Raymond Chan Hon Fu, Dean of CSCI; Professor Michael Tse Chi-kong, Associate Vice-President (Innovation) and Director of CityU Academy of Innovation; and Professor Kenneth Leung Mei Yee, Associate Dean (Research and Postgraduate Education) of CSCI.
The teams also encountered challenging questions from the judges in the Q&A sessions, yet they all tried their best to respond, which stunned the judges.
On behalf of the judging panel, Professor Raymond Chan Hon Fu, Dean of CSCI, first gave a welcoming speech and shared “Innovation is the lifeblood of progress, and Patents play a vital role in protecting and promoting the fruits of human ingenuity”. He is glad that this competition provides a platform for aspiring young innovators and problem solvers to showcase their groundbreaking ideas to make a real impact on society. “I am thrilled to see such a diverse and talented group of individuals gathered here today,” added Professor Chan, impressed by the teams' astonishing performance.
The impressive performances of the teams made it challenging for the judging panel to decide on the awards. Here's the full list of winners (in alphabetical order of the school names for the same award):
Gold Award: Lung Kong World Federation School Limited Lau Wong Fat Secondary School
Silver Award: Diocesan Girls' School, St. Stephen's Girls' College
Bronze Award: German Swiss International School, Heung To Secondary School (Tseung Kwan O), Queen's College Old Boys' Association Secondary School, St. Stephen's Girls' College
Best Presentation Award: German Swiss International School
The Gold Award-winning team from the Lung Kong World Federation School Limited Lau Wong Fat Secondary School said they were overjoyed and surprised. “We came up with this award-winning idea a few years ago and kept modifying it. Our next step will be doing professional testing to further modify the final product,” said the team.
CityU Science Patent Challenge aims to introduce the concept of intellectual property to secondary school students and to enlighten their passion for science. Gold and Silver Award-winning teams will receive full fee sponsorship to apply for a Hong Kong short-term patent in consultation with a patent attorney appointed by the College of Science.