******************************************************
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mrs Rita Lau, today (December 16) visited the Carmel Pak U Secondary School in Tai Po to learn first-hand how the school nurtures an innovative culture among students and grooms young talent.
Meeting the school principal, Mr Tam Ming-fai, and some outstanding students, Mrs Lau was delighted to know that a Form 7 student at the school, Chu Hoi-ming, had won the title of "The Little Scientist of Tomorrow" in the 2009 National Little Scientist of Tomorrow Reward Scheme jointly organised by the Ministry of Education, China Association of Science and Technology and the HS Chau Foundation.
The winning project, which was about the production of alcohol for electricity generation through glucose extracted from domestic trash, was ranked the first among 520 applications from all over the country.
Mrs Lau encouraged Mr Chu and the students to keep up their good work in innovation and technology with a view to contributing to the future development of Hong Kong.
"As Hong Kong moves towards the development of high value-added and high technology industries, I hope that young people, especially those with talent and an interest in innovation and technology, can focus their development in this field to widen our talent pool," Mrs Lau said.
"Hong Kong possesses first-rate teaching staff and support facilities. The Government also attaches great importance to the nurturing of R&D talent," she said, adding that the Innovation and Technology Fund under the Innovation and Technology Commission provides funding to universities in carrying out R&D work conducive to the development of the industry.
The Chief Executive announced in his Policy Address this year that the Government would take a series of initiatives to promote the development of six industries in which Hong Kong enjoyed clear advantages, including innovation and technology, to achieve long-term economic growth.
Ends/Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Issued at HKT 18:22
NNNN
