The Millenium Study Tour, sponsored by the Li Ka-shing Foundation with a donation of HK$10 million and co-organized by the Education Department, has been a great success. During this summer holiday, 1,000 outstanding local students traveled in small groups to 14 cities in mainland China, Japan, Singapore, Britain, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Germany, and the US. They experienced local culture and customs and visited a number of environmental protection and high-tech facilities. To cultivate their team spirit, organizers encouraged the students to work on special projects based on their travel experiences and invited a panel of judges put together by the Education Department to select the best work.
In today’s Millennium Study Tour Special Assignments Award Presentation Ceremony, awards were given to the two best projects in each tour group. In addition, the panel of judges comprising Dr. Ho Kin Chung, Professor and Programme Leader of Environmental Studies at the Open University of Hong Kong; Dr. Matthew Yuen, Director of Technology Transfer Center at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Mr. Leung Siu Tong, Vice President of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers; and Mr. Lam Kwok-keung, Senior Curriculum Development Officer of the Education Department; and Mrs. Wendy Tong Barnes, a representative of the Li Ka-shing Foundation, selected three overall winners out of the 25 projects submitted by the tour groups. The Qingdao B Group won first place. The Japan B Group took second place honours. And the Australia Group and the Eastern China B Group were joint winners of third place.
All the winning works will be on display from today until September 24 at The Center.
The judges gave high marks to all works submitted, noting that the students were able to analyze the development of new technologies and environmental protection facilities, and to cite examples that could be developed in Hong Kong. Some of the students created a multimedia web site to showcase their project, highlighting their grasp of the latest information technology.
A spokesman for the Li Ka-shing Foundation said, “Environmental protection and new technologies are major developments in the 21st century. We hope that their experiences will increase their awareness of environmental protection issues and pique their interest in technology development. We also encourage the students to share their experiences with their peers so that the younger generation can develop a greater awareness of these important trends.”