A send-off ceremony for the Young Astronaut Training Camp 2023 was held at the Hong Kong Space Museum today (July 25). Thirty selected local secondary students will set off for Beijing on July 29 for an eight-day training programme.
Addressing the send-off ceremony, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is fully committed to implementing the strategy of invigorating the country through science and education. More internship and training opportunities are provided to help build a solid foundation of knowledge for the youth to participate in the field of innovation and technology, and unleash their potential to make contributions to Hong Kong as well as to the nation.
Launched in 2009, the Young Astronaut Training Camp has been held for 12 years and a total of 330 students participated in the programme. This year's training camp is the first one since the pandemic started in 2019. Recruitment of the training camp started in May and has received overwhelming responses. After three rounds of selection, which included a quiz on astronomy and space science, a three-day pre-camp training and an interview, 30 students of Secondary 2 to Secondary 6 were selected as Young Astronauts out of more than 160 applicants from around 100 local secondary schools.
The training camp will run from July 29 to August 5. In addition to visiting key science research and education facilities as well as understanding more about the development and achievements of China's exploration of the Moon and planet Mars, students of the training camp will meet aerospace experts to learn of the development of China's aerospace programmes and appreciate the indomitable spirit of Chinese astronauts. The camp aims to broaden the knowledge of the students about the latest technological development of the country and nurture the future research and development talent for Hong Kong.
Other officiating guests today included the Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Raistlin Lau; the Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Dr Jonathan Choi; the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Vincent Liu; the President of the Beijing-Hong Kong Academic Exchange Centre, Mr Hsu Hoi-shan; Vice-Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce Mr Ricky Tsang; and the Museum Director of the Hong Kong Science Museum, Mr Lawrence Lee.
The training camp is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in association with the Beijing-Hong Kong Academic Exchange Centre. The training camp is implemented by the Hong Kong Space Museum and sponsored by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce.
For details of the training camp, please visit the website of the Hong Kong Space Museum at hk.space.museum/en/web/spm/activities/yatc.html or call 2734 2765.
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