News & Events
Launching Ceremony for Assessment Scheme for Engineering and Technology Education
2022-06-16
Launching Ceremony for Assessment Scheme for Engineering and Technology Education
The shortage of innovation and technology (I&T) talents has been hindering the I&T development in Hong Kong in past years. The Centre for Innovation and Technology (CINTEC) under the Faculty of Engineering of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), in collaboration with Coventry University and Institute of Coding (IoC) in UK, is recently supported by the Innovation and Technology Commission, HKSAR, to conduct the “Assessment Scheme for Engineering and Technology Education” (ASSETE) project, whose objective is to introduce international STEM education standards to Hong Kong for effective nurturing of local I&T talents.
The Kick-off ceremony of the project was held today at CUHK. It was officiated by Mr. Victor Lam, JP, Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO), and attended by guests including Professor Martin D.F. Wong, Dean of Engineering at CUHK, Professor Kam-Fai Wong, the Principal Investigator of the project cum Associate Dean of Engineering (External Affairs) of CUHK, and representatives from the British Consulate-General Hong Kong. Also, Hon. Duncan Chiu, JP, Legislative Council member (Technology and Innovation Functional Constituency) and representatives from the Institute of Coding joined the Ceremony and greeted the participants online.
The CUHK research team will design and develop an assessment scheme for evaluating the engineering and technology knowledge and skill levels of the local school students. The scheme will be based on the IoC assessment model which is widely used in UK schools. Professor Martin D.F. Wong said “I am very glad to know that Professor Kam-Fai Wong is supported by and will collaborate with many local and overseas experienced experts in the education field for the project. I am confident that ASSETE will be helpful for nurturing local I&T talents. This will lay down a solid foundation for strengthening Hong Kong’s international competitiveness.”
The scale of STEM assessment for schools provided by ASSETE is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. The collected data will not only be useful for teachers to assess the levels of STEM education of local secondary and primary school students, it can also be helpful for school managements to justify their resource allocation in STEM, thereby providing more suitable learning activities to enhance relevant skills of students. “The Government has all along been promoting STEM education in different aspects. Apart from regular curriculum, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer launched various projects to support local schools to organize I&T related extra-curricular activities. This CUHK project aligns with the government’s development direction of STEM education. It will also create an important reference to the I&T level of local students, which in turn can assist the government to allocate resources more effectively and to continue its active role in promoting STEM education.” Mr. Victor Lam, GCIO, said.
Mr. Victor Lam, JP, Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO)
Professor Martin D.F. Wong, Dean of Engineering at CUHK
Professor Kam-Fai Wong, the Principal Investigator of the project cum Associate Dean of Engineering (External Affairs) of CUHK
The missions of ASSETE project include (1) to establish the “Centre for Realization of Engineering and Technology Education” (CRETE) to oversee the operation of ASSETE; (2) to setup the “Sliver Minds Assessment and Realization of Technology and Engineering Education” (SMARTEE) program to gather a house of retired senior STEM teachers to “train-the-trainers”; and (3) to provide a series of theme-based extra-curricular engineering and technology activities to enhance students’ relevant skills.
There are currently 25 local secondary and primary schools registered to participate in this project. The research team will provide different levels of modules for students to choose based on their own interests. Students will be given short tests for evaluation of their learning progress. Senior educators from SMARTEE will serve as trainers to deliver talks in schools to highlight the key features in different modules and to deepen students’ basic understanding of various technology. In addition, through theme-based practical activities, trainers will encourage students to work in groups and apply what they have learned to problem solving. For assessment, trainers will evaluate students’ understanding of the technology and their ideas on design and application through interviews. Students’ basic I&T knowledge will then be assessed in accordance with the IoC’s assessment guidelines. Trainers will observe students’ performance throughout the whole project and will further suggest and design appropriate I&T activities to schools, for achieving the aim of “learning with pleasure and teaching without pressure”. Moreover, students with good performance will be given the opportunities to visit technology corporations in the Greater Bay Area.
The Kick-off ceremony of the project was held today at CUHK. It was officiated by Mr. Victor Lam, JP, Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO), and attended by guests including Professor Martin D.F. Wong, Dean of Engineering at CUHK, Professor Kam-Fai Wong, the Principal Investigator of the project cum Associate Dean of Engineering (External Affairs) of CUHK, and representatives from the British Consulate-General Hong Kong. Also, Hon. Duncan Chiu, JP, Legislative Council member (Technology and Innovation Functional Constituency) and representatives from the Institute of Coding joined the Ceremony and greeted the participants online.
The CUHK research team will design and develop an assessment scheme for evaluating the engineering and technology knowledge and skill levels of the local school students. The scheme will be based on the IoC assessment model which is widely used in UK schools. Professor Martin D.F. Wong said “I am very glad to know that Professor Kam-Fai Wong is supported by and will collaborate with many local and overseas experienced experts in the education field for the project. I am confident that ASSETE will be helpful for nurturing local I&T talents. This will lay down a solid foundation for strengthening Hong Kong’s international competitiveness.”
The scale of STEM assessment for schools provided by ASSETE is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. The collected data will not only be useful for teachers to assess the levels of STEM education of local secondary and primary school students, it can also be helpful for school managements to justify their resource allocation in STEM, thereby providing more suitable learning activities to enhance relevant skills of students. “The Government has all along been promoting STEM education in different aspects. Apart from regular curriculum, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer launched various projects to support local schools to organize I&T related extra-curricular activities. This CUHK project aligns with the government’s development direction of STEM education. It will also create an important reference to the I&T level of local students, which in turn can assist the government to allocate resources more effectively and to continue its active role in promoting STEM education.” Mr. Victor Lam, GCIO, said.
Mr. Victor Lam, JP, Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO)
Professor Martin D.F. Wong, Dean of Engineering at CUHK
Professor Kam-Fai Wong, the Principal Investigator of the project cum Associate Dean of Engineering (External Affairs) of CUHK
The missions of ASSETE project include (1) to establish the “Centre for Realization of Engineering and Technology Education” (CRETE) to oversee the operation of ASSETE; (2) to setup the “Sliver Minds Assessment and Realization of Technology and Engineering Education” (SMARTEE) program to gather a house of retired senior STEM teachers to “train-the-trainers”; and (3) to provide a series of theme-based extra-curricular engineering and technology activities to enhance students’ relevant skills.
There are currently 25 local secondary and primary schools registered to participate in this project. The research team will provide different levels of modules for students to choose based on their own interests. Students will be given short tests for evaluation of their learning progress. Senior educators from SMARTEE will serve as trainers to deliver talks in schools to highlight the key features in different modules and to deepen students’ basic understanding of various technology. In addition, through theme-based practical activities, trainers will encourage students to work in groups and apply what they have learned to problem solving. For assessment, trainers will evaluate students’ understanding of the technology and their ideas on design and application through interviews. Students’ basic I&T knowledge will then be assessed in accordance with the IoC’s assessment guidelines. Trainers will observe students’ performance throughout the whole project and will further suggest and design appropriate I&T activities to schools, for achieving the aim of “learning with pleasure and teaching without pressure”. Moreover, students with good performance will be given the opportunities to visit technology corporations in the Greater Bay Area.