Student Science Conference 2006

This year, St. Paul’s Co-educational College (SPCC) is proud to host the Student Science Conference 2006.  To provide the participants with a more comprehensive experience, SPCC has invited The University of Hong Kong (HKU) to be the co-organiser of the conference.  We are also fortunate to have obtained sponsorship for the event from the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement 2000 and the Council of St. Paul’s Co-educational College Charitable Trust. 

The theme for the Student Science Conference 2006 is “Conservation and Sustainable Development”. 

Background

A Student Science Conference was held in April 2005 in Singapore.  This conference involved five different schools from five different locations. 

Table 1    List of Schools Participating in Student Science Conference 2005

Students were involved in workshops and field trips and each school made a presentation at the end of the conference.  This conference was organized by Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore.

The 2006 builds upon the framework established at the 2005 conference to develop a conference on a much larger scale.  The number of schools participating in the week-long conference has been increased from five to eleven.  We have also invited other schools from Hong Kong to observe the presentation of papers by the various teams on the last day of the conference. 

Goal of Student Science Conference 2006

The goal of the Student Science Conference is to provide a platform for participating students to:-

–            Learn about the high standard of Hong Kong’s science and technology research and education as well as to understand Hong Kong’s strategies towards environmental protection;

–            Understand the basic principles of environmental sciences and their implications in our society;

–            Gain an awareness of the myriad of environmental issues that different societies face today;

–            Discuss openly the environmental issues that face their communities;

–            Deliberate workable solutions for selected environmental problems to recommend to the authorities; and

–            Establish lasting friendships through networking opportunities.

The teachers accompanying the students will also benefit as the conference will provide a platform for the teachers to:-

–            Network and share new strategies to infuse Environmental Sciences into the curriculum; and

–            Be introduced to the resources and instruments for teaching Environmental Sciences.

All secondary school students in Hong Kong can benefit from the conference proceedings as the papers and the discussions of the participating schools are made available to them in the following ways:-

–            Prior to the conference, a discussion forum was set up on the internet at http://info.spcc.edu.hk/forum/.  SPCC is the administrator of this discussion forum.   All participating schools and all secondary schools in Hong Kong will have access to the forum. 

–            At the conference, students will have the opportunity to listen first hand to the topics presented as well as the opinions of the panel judges.  An abstract of each paper will be given to them at the conference.

–            Post-Conference, all secondary schools will be given a copy of the reports submitted by each school.  The discussion forum will continue for at least one year after the conference so that students will be able to continue the exchange of ideas.

These students will develop a better understanding of the challenges on conservation and sustainable development in different countries around the world and the ways to address these challenges.  The large number of schools involved, both the participating schools and the observer schools, will provide the students with more networking and more learning opportunities.

Lastly, for teachers from the local schools, SPCC will conduct a sharing session post-conference to discuss the findings and the proposals from each of the teams. 

Key Features of the Conference

The week-long conference will have the following activities:-

1.         Sharing by Senior Officers from Kadoorie Farm Botanic Garden, The University of Hong Kong

–            Mr. Ken So, Senior Officer, Flora Conservation Department, Kadoorie Farm Botanic Garden

–            Dr. Chiu Sein Tuck, Senior Management Education Department, Kadoorie Farm Botanic Garden

2.         Environmental Science Workshops

3.         Forestry Work

4.         Visits to industries / sites related to Environmental Science

–            Wetland Park

–            Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden

–            Sewage Treatment Department

–            Castle Peak Power Station

–            Swire Institute of Marine Science

5.        Presentations (Opinion-Paper Presentation)

A presentation from each school on the theme of Conservation and Sustainable Development before a distinguished panel of environmental science experts from The University of Hong Kong who will give a critique of the papers presented on the final day of the conference.  The panel is comprised of:-

–            Dr. A.S.C. Cheung, Associate Dean, Faculty of Science, Panel Head

–            Dr. Billy C.H. Hau, Department of Ecology and Biodiversity, Faculty of Science

–            Dr. Kenneth M.Y. Leung, Department of Ecology and Biodiversity, Faculty of Science

–            Dr. Cynthia Yau, Department of Ecology and Biodiversity, Faculty of Science