Sixty Gifted Youngsters from 4 Continents Complete 3-week Intellectual and Social Challenge at HKUST

Abstract

The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

02/08/2008 Sixty Gifted Youngsters from 4 Continents Complete 3-week Intellectual and Social Challenge at HKUST

Bright youngsters under bright sunshine on HKUST campus

A batch of 60 talented youngsters from over 10 countries across four continents celebrated the completion of the 3-week Talented Youth Summer Program 2008 at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Organized by HKUST and sponsored by Savantas Policy Institute, the program aims to achieve 'Accelerated Societal Development though Science and Technology'. 'I am pleased to say that the program has fully achieved its goal - to expose gifted youngsters to science and technology in the context of societal development,' said Prof Nelson Cue, Program Director of the Talented Youth Summer Program 2008. The 60 youngsters came from Australia, UK, USA, Canada, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Korea, Taiwan, as well as Mainland China and Hong Kong. The teaching team comprised six professors from HKUST - Professors Shiu-Yuen Cheng, Yik-Man Chiang, Nelson Cue, Tai-Kai Ng, Leonard West and Wan-Keung Wong - as well as a guest instructor from Stanford University - Patrick Lui. 'The youngsters are very interactive and inquisitive. They think critically and on many occasions they questioned the data that I provided. Their different ethnical backgrounds add diversity to the program,' Mr Lui said.

Students break national boundaries as they start breaking the ice

Apart from the lectures, laboratory experiments and group projects, the youngsters also had a chance to relax and see colorful parts of Hong Kong, such as Ocean Park and the Mong Kok flower market. While the core course in the program was Societal Development through Science and Technology, there were four electives - Critical Thinking, Global Climate Change and Energy Issues, Introductory Game Theory, and Frontier Techniques in Biotechnology. There was also a competitive element in the program, with students vying for the Best Project Award, Best Poster Award, and Best Reflective Journal Award, where individual students were required to put down on paper their daily reflections on what they have learnt and experienced during the program. 'It seems that after going through this program, we start seeing the world as 10-dimensional,' mused Desiree Ho, who won the Best Reflective Journal Award. Said Fred Kim Tae Yoon from Korea, 'The lectures about global climate change was mind-boggling. I could not go to sleep when I found out all the effects that carbon dioxide emission has had on our lives!' All News More News at Media Information Center

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