The "Invention for Schools" Contest is organized by Faculty of Engineering, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), and is supported by the HKU Knowledge Exchange Fund. It aims to enrich students' knowledge in engineering.
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: Primary School and Secondary School. 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:
Both Primary and Secondary School teams should observe the requirements R-01 to R-07 below:
| Reqt. | Description |
|---|---|
| R-01 | The invention should be a device that is useful for daily use in school. |
| R-02 | The invention can be a device that can be applied directly in school or a prototype or a model that demonstrates the innovative idea. |
| R-03 | There is no restriction on the choice of materials for the invention. The cost for the design and fabrication of the device, excluding computers (for data archival and analysis, if applicable), should be less than HKD 2000. There will be no subsidy from organizers. |
| R-04 | 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-05 | Digital photos of the invention should be delivered, on CDROM or DVD-ROM, together with the report, before the deadline of submission. |
| R-06 | Each group will be allocated 15 minutes for presentation. Participants are suggested to spend about 10 minutes for presentation and/or demonstration, and 5 minutes for questions and answers from the judges. VGA connection and a computer with projection facility will be provided at the presentation room. |
| R-07 | Submission of deliverables should be sent to the specified address, otherwise it will not be entertained. |
Registered participants are eligible for attending talks organized by the HKU Faculty of Engineering. 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 lectures.
Registration should be completed on or before 2015-10-28[Wed]. Participants can register online. Late registration will not be entertained.
The deliverables should be sent to the following address on or before 2016-05-03[Tue] 1730:
| Address |
Room 319, 3/F, Chow Yei Ching Building, The University of Hong Kong (Map) Contact: Ms. Jolly Cheng |
| Submission date and time: |
Date: 2016-04-28[Thu], 2016-04-29[Fri] and 2016-05-03[Tue] Time: 10:00-13:00 and 14:30-17:30 |
| Submission checklist |
|
Presentation materials can be submitted on the day of presentation. 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 and the industry. The judging criteria are as follows:
| Criterion | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| J-01 | Research | Content of report, design, data collection and testing methodologies. |
| J-02 | Innovation | How innovative ideas have been applied in the invention for school. |
| J-03 | Practicability | How practical the invention is in school. |
| J-04 | Presentation | Performance in the project presentation session. |
The awards of each category are as follows:
| Award | Details |
|---|---|
| Champion | A trophy, a book coupon and a souvenir from RS Components Ltd will be awarded to the team, and a certificate to each team member. |
| First runner-up | |
| Second runner-up | |
| The Most Innovative Invention for School Award | A trophy will be awarded to the team, and a certificate to each team member. |
| The Most Practical Invention for School Award | |
| The Best Presentation Award | |
| Merit | A certificate will be awarded to each team member. |
| Certificate of Participation | A certificate will be awarded to all participants who have submitted their invention and attended the presentation. |
All participating teams are invited to an award presentation ceremony tentatively scheduled on 2016-05-21[Sat]. Certificates of participation will be awarded to all the participants and the results will be announced. The list of winners will also be published in this web site.