The annual Discovery Festival showcasing excellence in discovery, innovation and creativity at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) takes place on campus from 13 to 16 March.

A major event for the University, the 2018 Discovery Festival promotes how our unique Discovery-enriched Curriculum (DEC) encourages students to innovate and integrate their ideas into applications that help society. 

Officiating at the opening ceremony cum Teaching Excellence Award Presentation on 14 March were Mr Nicholas Yang Wei-hsiung, Secretary for Innovation and Technology of the Hong Kong SAR Government; Dr Joseph Lee Chung-tak, Chairman of Wofoo Plastics and Chemicals Group and Honorary Doctor of Social Science at CityU; Professor Way Kuo, CityU President; Professor Alex Jen Kwan-yue, Provost of CityU; Professor Horace Ip Ho-shing, Vice-President (Student Affairs); and Mr Gabriel Ho Kai-pong, Vice-Chairman of CityU Convocation.

In his speech, Dr Lee pointed out that Hong Kong needed to discover talent and nurture young people. “CityU is a model institution for supporting talented and passionate young people who are motivated by discovery and innovation,” Dr Lee said.

He added that this festival provided valuable opportunities for the young generation to reveal their efforts and achievements in discovery, and he encouraged students to make good use of the available resources to achieve their dreams and creative ideas.

Professor Kuo highlighted the importance of promoting discovery at CityU. “We include discovery in the curriculum and want our students to present and recognise their projects before they graduate.” He also said that the ultimate purpose of the students’ works was to help society.

This year’s Teaching Excellence Awards went to two outstanding teachers who have contributed significantly to raising the quality of teaching. The two exemplary teachers are:

• Professor Henry Chung Shu-hung, Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering
• Dr Lam Miu-ling, Assistant Professor in the School of Creative Media 

Around 20 outstanding projects at an exhibition titled Learning & Discovery @CityU on 14 March showcased the creativity behind applying technology to society. Some of the innovative projects include:

• Aid for Visually Impaired Bowlers: a system that helps visually impaired bowler during practice. This design knocks down barriers for physically impaired sports players, hence achieving the ultimate objective of sports.
   
• SightKeeper: a mobile app that develops good habits for using smart phones among young children. Functions for controlling time and distance are designed to maintain users’ eyesight. This app will be launched to the market later.
   
• Twind Turbine: a vertical-axis wind turbine applying to railway or urban areas for electricity generation. The design consists of two types of turbines so that it can work well under high and low speed wind with better efficiency.
   
• HEYCOINS: a machine collecting coins and converting them into digital currency that can be used for various purposes such as recharging e-wallets, buying gift vouchers, making charitable donations, etc.

 

 

The ceremony also saw the presentation of awards to the winners of the Best of The Best Awards and Undergraduate Innovators. The awards serve as recognition of achievements in original discoveries at CityU.

Other highlights of the festival include the DEC Symposium, which shares effective teaching practices within the DEC and the evidence-based impact on student learning; Super Charging Your Career with Minors and Double Majors, which provides informative references about undergraduate majors and minors for Year 1 students; and World Carnival 120, which showcases singing and an international food tasting event for international and local students.