📋 Tender Overview
Organised by the Innovation and Technology Commission ITC together with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation HKSTPC the second City IT Grand Challenge concluded its Grand Pitch at Hong Kong Science Park today August 10 More than 500 guests from all walks of life as well as an online audience witnessed the emergence of the next generation of innovators and celebrated the conclusion of the competition.
To promote an innovation and technology IT culture and enhance the application of IT in the community the second City IT Grand Challenge was launched under the theme of Hong Kongs Got IT on March 16 this year It invited applications from different sectors of the community to develop IT solutions focusing on two subjects namely IT for Nature Yama improving the operation and management of country parks and campsites and enhancing hikers experiences in nature and IT for Community Community Wellness enhancing support for carers between April 5 and May 16 The competition was divided into four categories which were the Primary School Group the Secondary School Group the UniversityTertiary Institute Group and the Open Group In all 1 172 submissions were received from nearly 2 500 local and nonlocal contestants on an individual or team basis.
After an initial screening and a semi pitch held in July 27 solutions were shortlisted to enter the Grand Pitch today Winners from four categories were selected by a judging panel consisting of eight representatives from the Government IT and academic sectors and subject matter experts Prototypes of IT solutions entering the Grand Pitch were also displayed onsite to foster exchanges and mutual learning among participants and guests on the technologies applied.
Addressing the award presentation ceremony the Secretary for Innovation Technology and Industry Professor Sun Dong said This event is not just a competition but also a good opportunity to promote science education for all Hong Kong is moving at full steam to develop into an international IT centre with talents being the key to the development and source of inspiration City IT Grand Challenge is thus a platform for identifying and training talents He also affirmed the participants passion for IT and their care for the community and hoped that they would continue to bring new ideas for the IT development in Hong Kong with their creativities.
The Commissioner for Innovation and Technology Mr Ivan Lee said that the City IT Grand Challenge aimed at promoting the application of IT to tackle social problems An enthusiastic response was received from all walks of life with the number of participants almost doubling that of the first Grand Challenge Mr Lee praised the 27 teams entering the Grand Pitch after stages of review and competition as the best of the best.
The Chairman of the HKSTPC Dr Sunny Chai said that the competition enhanced the IT atmosphere in Hong Kong by inviting societys participation This years competition received over 1 000 submissions which was a testament to the theme of Hong Kongs Got IT Dr Chai said he looked forward to seeing these highpotential innovative solutions be implemented to benefit the public in the future.
To drive applications of IT solutions for the benefit of the general public winners of the UniversityTertiary Institute and Open Groups will also be given financial support for research and development as well as training to refine their solutions for trials at designated venues such as government departments or public organisations At the sharing session after the award presentation ceremony the winners of this cohort agreed that the competition provided them with a platform and resources to realise their ideas and apply their IT solutions to hopefully benefit the public.
