Hong Kong team excels in International Olympiad of Metropolises (with photo)

     A team of eight Hong Kong students achieved outstanding results in the 3rd International Olympiad of Metropolises (IOM). The Hong Kong team won three gold medals and five silver medals, as well as a gold award in the team competition.

     The IOM is a competition covering four disciplines: physics, mathematics, chemistry and informatics. The competition was held in Moscow, Russia, from September 2 to 7, with around 260 students from 33 cities of 26 countries participating in the event.

     In the physics competition, Gaurav Arya (King George V School) and Chau Chun-wang (St Margaret's Co-educational English Secondary and Primary School) each won a gold medal. Cheng Yan-yau (Discovery College) and Alvin Tse (Yew Chung International School – Secondary) won a gold medal and a silver medal respectively in the mathematics competition. In the chemistry competition, Wong Chi-fung and Prudence Mok (both from La Salle College) each won a silver medal. Last but not least, Wai Ka-hei (Pui Ching Middle School) and Choi Chun-ming (Sing Yin Secondary School) each attained a silver medal in the informatics competition.

     The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, congratulated the Hong Kong team today (September 9) on their excellent achievements in the competition.

     "Amid the 21st century's rapid development in technology, the Education Bureau (EDB) has been striving to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education to unlock and nurture the youth's talent in science and technology. 

     "The impressive achievements of the Hong Kong team in the competition demonstrated the great potential of Hong Kong students in the relevant fields," he said.

     He added that the EDB will continue to support STEM-related learning activities, and strengthen the nurturing of talented students so that their potential could be developed.

     The members of the Hong Kong team were fully funded by the EDB to join the competition. The success of the Hong Kong team this year once again demonstrated the fruitful collaboration among different parties, including the EDB and the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) as well as the tertiary institutions and professional bodies concerned, in nurturing talented students in Hong Kong.

     To nurture more talents, the EDB is proposing to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council an injection of $800 million into the Gifted Education Fund to support the enhancement of services of the HKAGE and to provide quality advanced learning programmes for gifted students by different gifted education service providers, so as to further enhance the development of gifted education in Hong Kong.