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The award presentation ceremony for the student project competition "How Do Applications of Science and Technology Enhance Quality of Life?" of the Science in the Public Service campaign was held today (July 3) at the Hong Kong Science Museum. The former Director of the Hong Kong Observatory and one of the founders of the Science in the Public Service campaign, Mr Lam Chiu-ying, was the guest of honour. He presented the awards to the winning teams in the primary and secondary school categories.
"Climate change and global warming are undisputable facts. Materialism does not equate to quality of life. With proper application of science and technology, together with a simple lifestyle, human life can become better and happier, along with the enhancement of quality in a spiritual sense," Mr Lam said at the ceremony.
In recent decades, Hong Kong has rapidly developed into a technological and prosperous society. The quality of life has improved considerably. In view of that, the Science in the Public Service campaign organised a student project competition to enhance students' understanding of the relationship among science, technology and the quality of life. About 50 teams from primary and secondary schools participated in the competition to probe this issue.
The Chairman of the campaign's organising committee and Assistant Director of the Observatory, Mr Leung Wing-mo, said, "Despite the somewhat intangible topic, we are delighted to see that the competition was well-received by primary and secondary schools alike. Our experts in the adjudication panel spent quite a long time selecting the winners. And, take my word for it, it is not easy to stand out among the very competitive teams. The Science in the Public Service campaign will continue to provide various platforms for students to explore the close relationship between science and everyday life."
During the ceremony, the representative of the judging panel, the Housing Department's Senior Building Services Engineer, Mr Ho Wing-ip, commented on the students' work. "The students have a good grasp of the complicated topic as well as the new technologies. I congratulate them for completing their reports systematically and presenting the details of their findings to the judging panel without stage fright," he said.
Science in the Public Service was inaugurated in early 2006. The number of partner departments and collaborating organisations now exceeds 40. A series of activities has been organised in past years. For details of the Science in the Public Service activities, please visit the website, www.science.gov.hk .
Ends/Saturday, July 3, 2010
Issued at HKT 14:01
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