HK students triumph at 18th International Olympiad Informatics
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    Hong Kong has scored one Gold and three Bronze Medals against contestants from 78 countries all over the world at the 18th International Olympiad Informatics (IOI) 2006 held in Merida, Mexico.

     The team of four, which also won the Hong Kong Olympiad Informatics (HKOI), are:

Gold Medal: Lam Chi-kit (Saint Joseph's College)
Bronze Medal: Chu Li-yu (La Salle College)
             Hui Yan-ting (La Salle College)
             Yim Wing-yin (South Tuen Mun Government
             Secondary School)

     A spokesman for the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) said today (August 23), "IOI, as one of the eight International Science Olympiads under UNESCO, is the most recognised worldwide computer science competition aimed at secondary students under 20 years of age." This annual event was first held in 1989.

     Each country sent a team of four students to compete for the awards in this year's competition. Each student was given a range of problems and tasks during the competition week to demonstrate their problem-solving skills and programming techniques by designing and writing computer programmes.

     The EMB and the Hong Kong Association for Computer Education has jointly organised HKOI since 1997. Outstanding winners from HKOI are selected as Hong Kong representatives every year to enter IOI. They are required to attend training programmes to prepare them better for the competition. Past contestants of IOI also share their experiences with the team members.

     The spokesman added, "Technology Education can be carried out in the form of learning events outside classrooms such as competitions and project work. This provides opportunities for students to broaden their perspectives, enrich their learning experiences, apply their knowledge and skills to solve problems and nurture their creativity."

Ends/Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:06

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