Hong Kong team excels at International Junior Science Olympiad (with photo)
A team of six secondary school students representing Hong Kong has achieved excellent results in the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) 2018, winning a total of six silver medals.
The IJSO is a science competition for secondary school students aged 15 or below. The competition covers three disciplines, namely physics, chemistry and biology up to senior secondary level. It comprises written assessments and science experiments on unfamiliar problems that require analytical and problem-solving skills. This year, the IJSO was held from December 3 to 10 in Botswana, with participation of around 250 students from over 45 countries or regions.
The Hong Kong team has six members, comprising Chris Zhou, Li Hoi-wang and Li Yung-chi from Diocesan Boys' School; Leung Chun-fung from GT (Ellen Yeung) College; Yau Chi-kin from SKH Lam Woo Memorial Secondary School; and Justin Cheung from St Paul's College. They each won a silver medal and achieved excellent results in the individual competition.
The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, congratulated the Hong Kong team today (December 12) on their outstanding performance. "The impressive results of the Hong Kong team this year have demonstrated the concerted efforts and achievements of different stakeholders in promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. We will continue to collaborate with post-secondary institutions and other related organisations in conducting more large-scale and high-quality student activities to unleash students' potential in science and technology and nurture talents in innovative technology for the future," Mr Yeung said.
"The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been actively supporting the development of gifted education in Hong Kong and attaching great importance to nurturing talents. The Finance Committee of the Legislative Council has earlier approved an injection of $800 million into the Gifted Education Fund to support the service enhancement of the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) and the implementation of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Gifted Education, which include enabling various gifted education service providers to offer quality advanced learning programmes for gifted students and to promote the development of gifted education in Hong Kong," he added.
The members of the Hong Kong team, which was fully funded by the Education Bureau to join the competition, last year distinguished themselves in the International Junior Science Olympiad – Hong Kong Screening. They subsequently completed the enrichment programme provided by the HKAGE. The best-performing students in the programme were then selected as contestants to represent Hong Kong in the IJSO this year.