Co-organisers Sponsors

For Immediate Release

Shanghai - Hong Kong - Taiwan Youth IT Summer Camp 2016 Concludes with Great Success

Cultivating Students’ Knowledge and Inspiration for IT in Daily Life

·  Student teams’ smart-living innovations created in Camp show great talent

·  New survey reveals students’ different aspirations for the role of IT in future daily life

Hong Kong, 16 August 2016 – Student representatives from the Shanghai - Hong Kong - Taiwan Youth IT Summer Camp 2016 (the Camp), held July 27-31 at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, today showcased smart-living innovations from an interactive IT workshop in the Camp at a post-event sharing session where findings from a survey entitled “Detecting IT Trends”, on students’ views on IT’s role in future daily life were also revealed.

In the five-day camp, which was co-organised by Hong Kong Computer Society (HKCS), Shanghai Computer Society and Information Management Association, Taiwan, and jointly sponsored by PCCW and HKT, 60 secondary school student participants aged 14-17 from Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan demonstrated exceptional inspiration through innovation and technology in a series of activities and personal exchanges. Great talent was shown with innovations on smart living created by the student teams at the workshop and the subsequent presentations held during the Camp.

Throughout the workshop and the presentation sessions, five groups comprising students from Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan were challenged to develop a simple programme for controlling smart living devices with basic coding and programming skills. The winning innovation successfully demonstrated creativity and innovation in its unique design for smart living with IoT technology. It received the highest overall score under the key judging criteria, including creativity, feasibility, integration, value, IT concept and presentation skills, with the other four teams also displaying ambitious talent.

“This year, the Camp was themed ‘Mobility and Innovation, Internet of Everything’, with an objective of encouraging the young generation to master the concepts of these mega trends and embrace them in daily life. During the presentation session, each of the five groups demonstrated their self-designed smart living system with an impressive and well-organised presentation. These students were highly cooperative and innovative, fully displaying their passion in their projects,” said Ms. Barbara Chiu, Chairperson of the Shanghai - Hong Kong - Taiwan Youth IT Summer Camp 2016 Organising Committee.

Mr. Michael Leung, President of the Hong Kong Computer Society said, “The survey results announced today have clearly shown that technology has become an integral part of youngsters’ lives. We can see that these young people from Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan are ready for their digitally-native future. And in the midst of this digital transformation, these students remain highly engaged with families and friends in their daily lives.”

With an aim of investigating the impact of new technologies among our younger generation, and of comparing the opinions, thoughts, concerns and beliefs of students from different backgrounds and societal environments about this new technological paradigm, the survey interviewed 50 student participants at the Camp. All the students felt strongly that smart innovation enabled by mobility and IoT will be everywhere and will be widely spread into homes, cars, robotic servants and intelligent buildings.

Key findings of the “Detecting IT Trends” survey were:

·  66% of the students agreed that IT can meet the needs of daily life while further improving the quality of life, and 61.7% of them are ambitious to develop mobile applications in the next 5 to 8 years that will change the world. [See Appendix 1]

·  Out of the three home-base locations of the students, Hong Kong students have a stronger preference for using the Internet to find solutions, while more Taiwanese students like to seek help from “classmates/friends/siblings”, and Shanghai students prefer going to “parents/seniors. [See Appendix 2]

·  Despite the fact that the participants generally agreed that IT would bring them greater convenience, over 50% of respondents regarded family, friends and health as the most important part of their lives. In addition, over 60% indicated that ‘face to face’ communication with family and friends is most common and is preferred. [See Appendix 3]

In addition to the presentation and workshop, the 60 student participants were greatly inspired by innovation and technology through numerous visits to leading corporations, including Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Ocean Park Hong Kong, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited (CLP Power), PCCW Limited and Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited.

Ms. Barbara Chiu said, “We are glad to see that the Camp has served as a platform for scientific and cultural exchange among the student participants, and that the Camp programmes have given them good knowledge of mobility, IoT and smart living. Looking ahead, HKCS will continue to provide our talented youth with more IT activities to better equip them in pursuing future development in ICT and innovation.”

About Shanghai - Hong Kong - Taiwan Youth IT Summer Camp

The Shanghai - Hong Kong - Taiwan Youth IT Summer Camp (the Camp), co-organised by Hong Kong Computer Society (HKCS), Shanghai Computer Society and Information Management Association, Taiwan, and jointly sponsored by PCCW and HKT, aims at promoting mutual interaction and inspiration in Information Technology, and pushing forward collaboration on technology and economy between the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Since 2001, the Camp has provided valuable opportunities for new generations to broaden their vision and thinking, and at the same time encourage their confidence in developing an IT career, so as to cultivate future pillars for the local IT industry.

This year, the Camp returned to Hong Kong after last hosting the event in 2013. Underscoring the overarching theme “Mobility and Innovation, Internet of Everything”, approximately 80 members, including instructors, volunteers and students aged 14-17 from Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan, met at the Camp to exchange ideas and build friendships. Major activities included corporate visits, interactive IT workshops, and scenic spot tours, all of which were designed to promote cross-border cultural exchange.

About Hong Kong Computer Society

Founded in 1970, Hong Kong Computer Society (HKCS) is a recognised non-profit organisation focused on developing Hong Kong's Information Technology (IT) profession and industry. Members hail from a broad spectrum of Hong Kong's IT community, from corporations to like-minded individuals, all coming together to raise the profile and standards of the profession and industry. As a well-established IT professional body, the Society is committed to professional and industry development as well as community services that ensure the IT sector continues to make a positive impact on peoples' lives with three main goals, namely, 1) talent cultivation and professional development, 2) industry development and collaboration, and 3) the effective use of IT in our community.

For more information, please visit http://www.hkcs.org.hk.

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Appendix 1：Detecting IT Trends

Question: If IT is omnipresent in the future, which aspects would you want IT to help you with?

Hong Kong (Total: 18 people) / Taiwan (Total: 17 people) / Shanghai (Total: 15 people) / Total Response Rate and Respondents
Interpersonal / Communication Problems / 16.67% (3) / 17.65% (3) / 6.67% (1) / 14% (7)
Daily Needs / 33.33% (6) / 35.29% (6) / 13.33% (2) / 28% (14)
Better Quality of Life / 33.33% (6) / 17.56% (3) / 66.67% (10) / 38% (19)
Workplace Issues / 5.56% (1) / 11.76% (2) / 6.67% (1) / 8% (4)
Entertainment / 11.11% (2) / 17.65% (3) / 6.67% (1) / 12% (6)
Total Response Rate and Respondents / 100% (18) / 100% (17) / 100% (15) / 100% (50)

Question: If you were an expert in application development, what kind of ideal application would you like to develop?

Hong Kong (Total: 17 people) / Taiwan (Total: 16 people) / Shanghai (Total: 14 people) / Total Response Rate and Respondents
Personal Issues / 5.88% (1) / 18.75% (3) / 14.29% (2) / 12.77% (6)
Beer and Skittles / 17.65% (3) / 6.25% (1) / 0% (0) / 8.51% (4)
Conservation / 11.76% (2) / 0% (0) / 7.14% (1) / 6.38% (3)
Getting Closer with Friends / 11.76% (2) / 6.25% (1) / 14.29% (2) / 10.64% (5)
Change the World / 52.94% (9) / 68.75% (11) / 64.29% (9) / 61.7% (29)
Total Response Rate and Respondents / 100% / 100% (16) / 100% (14) / 100% (47)

Appendix 2

Question: If you face a challenge in life, who/what will you ask for assistance?

Hong Kong (Total: 17 people) / Taiwan (Total: 16 people) / Shanghai (Total: 15 people) / Total Response Rate and Respondents
Classmates / Friends / Siblings / 29.41% (5) / 43.75% (7) / 33.33% (5) / 35.42% (17)
Parents / Elders / 17.65% (3) / 31.25% (5) / 40% (6) / 29.17% (14)
Teachers / 11.76% (2) / 0% (0) / 0% (0) / 4.17% (2)
Search for Answers on the Internet/ Seek help from other people online, such as KOLs / Discussion / 41.18% (7) / 25% (4) / 26.67% (4) / 31.25% (15)
Total Response Rate and Respondents / 100% (17) / 100% (16) / 100% (15) / 100% (48)

Appendix 3

Question: Which way do you communicate with friends and family?

Hong Kong (Total: 18 people) / Taiwan (Total: 16 people) / Shanghai (Total: 15 people) / Total Response Rate and Respondents
Face to Face / 55.56% (10) / 87.5% (14) / 46.67% (7) / 63.27% (31)
Phone Call / 16.67% (3) / 0% (0) / 0% (0) / 6.12% (3)
Text / Voice Message / 27.78% (5) / 12.5% (2) / 26.67% (4) / 22.45% (11)
Email / 0% (0) / 0% (0) / 0% (0) / 0% (0)
Social Media / 0% (0) / 0% (0) / 26.67% (4) / 8.16% (4)
Total Response Rate and Respondents / 100% (18) / 100% (16) / 100% (15) / 100% (49%)

Question: Can you rank the following five people and things by importance?

Most Important / Not Important
Electronic Equipment / 7 / 6
Family / Friends / 26 / 0
Money / 7 / 5
Academic Results / Knowledge / 9 / 1
Health / 22 / 1
Entertainment / 7 / 8

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