The "Sea Level Measurement Device Design Competition" is organized by Faculty of Engineering, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), and Hong Kong Meteorological Society (HKMetSoc), and is supported by the HKU Knowledge Exchange Fund. It aims to enrich students' knowledge in both engineering and meteorology.
All primary and secondary school students of Hong Kong are welcome to take part in the competition. Teams fall into either of the two categories: Junior and Senior. A team should comprise 1 teacher advisor and a maximum of 5 students. A student can participate in only one team, while a teacher is allowed to act as an advisor of more than one team. At most three teams can come from each school. Each team is required to submit one set of deliverables as follows:
| Category | Deliverables | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Level Measurement Device | Report and photos | Exhibition | |
| Junior | Design and implementation of a sea level measurement device | Documentation on the design and operation of the sea level measurement device, how readings can be taken, trial records, etc. | Poster presentation |
| Senior | Design and implementation of an automatic sea level measurement device, including hardware and software for feeding data automatically through a computer | Documentation on the design and operation of the sea level measurement device, circuits, software, how readings can be taken, trial records, etc. | |
Both Junior and Senior teams should observe the requirements R-01 to R-06 below:
| Reqt. | Description |
|---|---|
| R-01 | The sea level measurement device should be capable of automatically (senior teams) or manually (junior teams) measuring the sea level. |
| R-02 | There is no restriction on the choices of materials for the sea level measurement device. The cost for the design and fabrication of the device, excluding computers (for data archival and analysis, if applicable), should be less than HKD 1500. There will be no subsidy from organizers for making the sea level measurement device. |
| R-03 | The report should be concise, preferably with a length of no more than 10 pages (cover page excluded, diagrams included). Submission of soft copy-only report in PDF format is encouraged, and should be included in the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM containing other deliverables. In case a hard copy report is produced, it should be printed on A4-sized paper. |
| R-04 | Digital photos of the sea level measurement device should be delivered, on CDROM or DVD-ROM, together with the report, before the deadline of submission. |
| R-05 | Submission of deliverables should be sent to the specified address, otherwise it will not be entertained. |
| R-06 | Each group is required to attend the project exhibition. Judging will be held during the exhibition. At least one team member of the group must attend the exhibition. They are expected to answer questions raised by the judges and visitors. More details will be provided later. |
Senior teams should observe the following additional requirement R-07 and R-08:
| Reqt. | Description |
|---|---|
| R-07 | The sea level measurement device should be completely autonomous in operation. |
| R-08 | The system should be capable of storing the sea level readings onto digital storage media. |
Registered participants are eligible for attending workshops and visits organized by the HKU Faculty of Engineering, Hong Kong Observatory and Hong Kong Meteorological Society. A tentative schedule of the activities, with highlighted important dates, is tabled in the Schedule page. Attendance certificates will be issued to registered team members and teacher advisors participating in talks and workshops.
Registration should be completed on or before 2014-10-31[Fri]. Late registration will not be entertained.
The deliverables should be sent to the following address on or before 2015-04-24[Fri] 1700:
| Address | Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters, 134A Nathan Road, Kowloon |
| Office Hours |
Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5:45pm Closed on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays |
| Method | Please inform Mr. HY Chiu at 2926 8346 before delivery. Update! |
| Submission checklist |
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The deliverables shall be accompanied by a duly completed deliverable submission form. The submission time will be based on the date of postmark. Late submissions will not be accepted.
The judging panel consists of professionals from HKU Faculty of Engineering, Hong Kong Observatory and Hong Kong Meteorological Society. The judging criteria are as follows:
| Criterion | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| J-01 | Research | Content of report, data collection and testing methodologies. |
| J-02 | Innovation | How innovative ideas have been applied in the design of the sea level measurement device. |
| J-03 | Accuracy | How the sea level measurement device give readings with reasonable errors under different situations. |
| J-04 | Appearance | Does the instrument look sleek, neat and tidy? |
| J-05 | Presentation | Performance in the project exhibition. |
The prizes of each category are as follows:
| Prize | Award |
|---|---|
| Champion | A trophy, a book coupon and a HKO souvenir will be awarded to the team, and a certificate to each team member. |
| First runner-up | |
| Second runner-up | |
| The Most Innovative Sea Level Measurement Device Award | A book coupon and a HKO souvenir will be awarded to the team, and a certificate to each team member. |
| The Most Attractive Sea Level Measurement Device Award | |
| The Most Accurate Sea Level Measurement Device Award | |
| The Best Presentation Award | |
| My Favourite Sea Level Measurement Device Award | A certificate will be awarded to each team member |
All participating teams are required to attend the Sea Level Measurement Device Exhibition scheduled on 2015-05-03[Sun] 10:00-17:00. Judging will be done in the morning. The results of the competition will be announced in the afternoon, and awards will then be presented. Please check the page "Exhibition Day Arrangement" for details. The exhibition will be open to the public. All the visitors can vote for the "My Favourite Sea Level Measurement Device" Award winner. Parents, teachers and students are welcome.