Hong Kong’s leader calls on technology and education sector to cultivate talent while youth drive city’s development
2023.06.18 21:03Hong Kong’s leader has called on the education, business and science sectors to keep collaborating with the government to cultivate innovation and technology talent by providing more diverse learning activities inside and outside classrooms.At an award ceremony at the city’s second Hong Kong Science Fair on Sunday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also urged the youth to become the driving force of innovation and technology growth and the country’s high-quality development.“The current administration is going all out to intensify the atmosphere for developing innovation and technology, which includes providing more professional training for teachers in STEAM education,” Lee said, referring to a learning approach that uses science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics as access points.“I hope the technology and education sector will keep working with the government in cultivating talent while the youth could join in Hong Kong’s development into an internatio
Hong Kong’s leader has called on the education, business and science sectors to keep collaborating with the government to cultivate innovation and technology talent by providing more diverse learning activities inside and outside classrooms.
At an award ceremony at the city’s second Hong Kong Science Fair on Sunday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also urged the youth to become the driving force of innovation and technology growth and the country’s high-quality development.
“The current administration is going all out to intensify the atmosphere for developing innovation and technology, which includes providing more professional training for teachers in STEAM education,” Lee said, referring to a learning approach that uses science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics as access points.
“I hope the technology and education sector will keep working with the government in cultivating talent while the youth could join in Hong Kong’s development into an international hub for innovation and technology.”
Lee said Hong Kong enjoyed a solid and globally recognised foundation for innovation and technology development, referring to the city securing nearly 300 awards at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions 2023, five times more than what the city bagged in 2017.
The fair, held on Saturday and Sunday, saw over 120 teams from local primary and secondary schools showcasing their science projects and attracted over 20,000 visitors. Among the teams taking part, 10 were awarded prizes by the fair’s judge panel for being outstanding.
Separately, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po wrote in a blog post published on Sunday that the city had made strides in innovation and technology.
He noted that Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks had 320 companies based there, which amounted to a 30 per cent increase from last year. The park’s technology companies also raised HK$780 million (US$99.7 million) in 2022.
Tech hub Cyberport, meanwhile, now has more than 1,900 companies in its community. Its start-ups have also raised more than HK$35.7 billion since its establishment, Chan said.
The financial secretary noted that the government’s five research and development centres have also achieved results, with a total of 210 research projects started in the 2021-2022 financial year, which is 10 per cent higher than the previous financial year.
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The centres had 135 patents approved in the 2021-2022 financial year, which is also 16 per cent higher than the previous 12-month period.
Chan also revealed that the government’s Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises had met representatives from more than 150 companies so far, with most being leaders in their sectors.
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