A hongkong prize has been launched for students who demonstrate excellence in academics and creativity. It is designed to encourage students in their pursuit of knowledge and help them develop their leadership qualities. Students in government, aided, direct subsidy scheme, per capita grant and private schools, as well as those studying in Vocational Training Council (VTC) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, are eligible to participate in the competition. There are five prizes in total, including a Grand Award and Certificates of Merit.

The winners were honoured at the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening (December 19), with The Hon John KC Lee, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, delivering the opening remarks via video conference. HKUST’s Prof Kyan CHEUNG Ka-Hin and Ethan SOH Jon-Yi from Harrow International School Hong Kong won Gold Award for their research report “On the Properties of the Semigroup Generated by the RL Fractional Integral”.

Two people are expected to walk away with the first prize in this year’s Hongkong Prize. The winner of the First Prize will receive a trophy, a gold medallion and a cash prize of HK$200,000. The Second Prize winner will receive a trophy, a silver medallion and a cash prize of $20,000. The Third Prize winner will receive a trophy, $10,000 and a cash prize of HK$10,000. The four finalists will also be awarded certificates of merit.

The public are also invited to join the public vote online for this year’s prize. They can do so by entering the name of their nominating teacher on the competition website. The public vote will be counted until December 25 and the winner will be announced on January 18.

Hongkong prize is an annual competition organized by the Hong Kong Institute of Scientists & Engineers to celebrate outstanding young scientists who have made great contributions in science and technology. The competition aims to encourage the youths to become scientific researchers and make their mark in this field.

This year, the prizes have been increased to HK$20.8 million, which is double the amount last year. During the first three draw days, the First Prize pool was topped up with additional HK$10.2 million from the Jackpot Reserve. The first prize money for the Fourth Draw day on January 31 is HK$15.3 million, which is boosted by a further HK$5 million from the Jackpot Reserve.

The HKSAR Government is committed to supporting local talent, especially in sports. It has been introducing a variety of measures to support players in their development, such as funding for professional tournaments to give them opportunities to gain experience and to test themselves against their peers. This will allow the talented youngsters to advance more quickly in their sporting careers. In addition, the Government will continue to expand and diversify its sports funding. It will further increase the pool of supplementary funding to boost the performance of our athletes in international competitions, and also expand the opportunities for our youngsters to gain valuable training experiences in overseas events.