Press Release

(Hong Kong - 23 November 2013)This Student Conference was the first of its kind in Hong Kong and a highlight event for the International Year of Giftedness and Creativity advocated by the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children. The objectives of this Student Conference were stimulating students' creativity and demonstrating their learning achievements via different kinds of study projects.  More than 250 students from a variety of Hong Kong schools filled the Lecture   Hall of HKAGE, to celebrate their outstanding achievements and exchange learning experience with each other.

In his opening speech, Dr. Stephen Tommis, Executive Director of the HKAGE, talked about the importance of creativity. He encouraged the students to take an active role in acquiring creative skills so as to cope with the challenges from our changing world. He added “I hope this will be the first of many such events at HKAGE. We want our students to share what they have done with a wider audience”. Four student finalists shared their  inspiring projects at the press meeting. Tsui  Ho Lung shared the project: Solving Differential Equations by Newton's Method, Chan Chung Hin shared the project: 奪 寶 耆 英 , Lo Hoi Ying Genevine shared the project: Developing iBooks for Better Learning. Last but not least, Antono Leonni shared her creative writing titled Stuttering Speranza.

Apart from these, two keynote speakers from the IT sector and academic field were invited to speak to the audience about creativity from different perspectives. They were: Mr Erwin Huang (Chief Executive Officer of WebOrganic) and Professor Hau Kit-tai (Pro-Vice-Chancellor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong).

Positive Responses from Local Schools

Although it was the first time to hold such a conference in Hong Kong, the responses from schools were really encouraging. There were 71 schools participating for the Student Conference. Altogether 70 proposals in six study fields were received from 165 participants. A total of 54 proposals were shortlisted for students to prepare for the final papers. Among them 14 groups presented their projects in the concurrent sessions, while 29 of them showcased their work in poster format.

The six study fields were namely: Creativity in Science and Technology, Mathematics in Daily Life, Innovations in Information Technology, Literature Studies and Creative Writing, Social and Cultural Issues, and Creative Social Service Projects. The Panel of Adjudicators were deeply impressed  by the students' creative projects and marvelled at their ability to formulate interesting topics.

Please refer to Appendix I for detail of Student Conference 2013.

Such A Great Learning Experience

Tsui Ho Lung, a S5 student from St. Joseph’s College. Tsui and his two friends came up with the idea of investigating the effectiveness of Newton’s method in dealing with differential equations. They found that the Newton’s method was a very efficient way to solve differential equations. They applied their results to daily life in physics, economics, population growth as well as pure mathematics.

Chan Chung Hin, a S5 student from Shun Lee Catholic Secondary School. Chan and his three teammates engaged in the project “ 奪 寶 耆 英 ” which looked at social and cultural issues. They realised the growing needs of elderly people, so they designed the program to promote the understanding between the young and old. In turn, the program aided the elderly to discover the best years of their life. The adjudicator commented: “The concept of sharing knowledge within the elderly and the young people is highly appreciated”.

Lo Hoi Ying Genevine, a S6 student from St Paul’s Convent School. She and five team members studied the topic "Developing iBooks for Better Learning”. They explored the practicality of introducing iBooks to junior secondary students and using iBooks to arouse junior students’ interest and initiative in science learning. Also, they wanted to know whether iBooks aid teachers in their teaching. After their investigation, they concluded that developing iBooks contributes to better learning. This group hoped that the potential of iBooks could be explored further by the community as a whole.

Leonni Antono, a S6 student from Marymount Secondary School. She created a piece of writing “Stuttering Speranza” with a classmate. Leonni said that creating Speranza as a character served as a constant reminder that as long as there was determination, there was no predicament in the world that one could not overcome. The success of this work further inspired her to appreciate literature and pursue her dream as a writer. “A down to earth story of self-discovery and affirmation…A very delightful reading experience altogether”, wrote the adjudicator.

In sum, the students found that it was a fruitful experience for them to join the HKAGE’s first Student Conference. Students involved in the study projects learned how to write a formal proposal with other group members, to examine their beliefs and put their ideas into practice.

Appendix I

Key Facts about the Student Conference 2013

Rundown for Student Conference 2013

Dr. Stephen Tommis delivered the opening speech at the Student Conference 2013.	Dr. Tommis presented souvenir to keynote speaker Mr Erwin Huang (Chief Executive Officer of WebOrganic).
Dr. Tommis delivered souvenir to keynote speaker Professor Hau Kit-tai (Pro-Vice-Chancellor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong).	Dr. Tommis took a group photo with judges and guests.