With the competition’s theme of ‘Innovate for a Better World’, Hong Kong primary and secondary students are encouraged to develop solutions for sustainability, happy learning, ageing population, and public health, and compete for prizes worth more than HK$270,000

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach^[1] - 16 July 2021 - The world's leading technology company, Samsung Electronics H.K. Co. Ltd, officially launched its annual 'Solve for Tomorrow' competition today. Now in its eleventh year, this year's theme is "Innovate for a Better World", and for the first time four crucial social issues are included in the competition, namely "Green Tomorrow", "Education Tomorrow", "Age-friendly Tomorrow" and "Healthy Tomorrow". The competition's aim is to inspire and motivate Hong Kong students to care about the wider issues affecting the community, encouraging them to develop solutions by applying their STREAM (Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) knowledge. Other than bringing them closer to their communities and caring for their social problems, Samsung believes that students can enjoy the fun of learning through the competition.

(From left) Mr. Gary Tang, Director of The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups HKFYG, Ms.Yiyin Zhao, Managing Director of Samsung Electronics Hong Kong Co., Ltd., and Mr. Albert Wong, Chairman of AiTLE launch the kick-off ceremony of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2021. For the first time, four crucial social issues – Environmental, Education, Ageing Population and Personal Health, are included to motivate Hong Kong students to develop innovative solutions for these social issues.

In order for participants to have a better grasp of the trends and tips of the four topics, Samsung specially invited (from left) Mr. Alex Tam, Founder of EcoSage Limited, Mr. Albert Wong, Chairman of AiTLE, Mr. Denis Huen, Co-Founder & CEO of MedEXO Robotics and Ms. Sylvia Lam, Consultant Dietitian, to share their thoughts and insights based on the topic 'How Technology Can Enable You to Be A Modern, Socially Conscious Citizen'.

"Samsung has spared no effort to achieve sustainable development goals and has accelerated its pace in recent years. For example, Samsung's new 'eco-packaging' reduces greenhouse gases by 10,000 tons annually. Our TV cardboard packaging can be transformed into funny animals and the 'Galaxy Upcycling at Home' gives new life to discarded Galaxy smartphones by converting them into a variety of IoT devices through a simple software update," said Yiyin Zhao, Managing Director at Samsung Electronics Hong Kong.

"With our organization's purpose of 'Together for Tomorrow. Enabling People', the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition encourages students to apply STREAM knowledge and improve their 4C skills. In addition to the 'sustainable development' theme of the competition, we added sustainability, happy learning, ageing population, and public health categories this year, so that every student can unleash their talent and creativity to innovate a better future for Hong Kong," continued Zhao.

Green Tomorrow: Environmental issues such as energy shortage, waste disposal, and global warming have been major concerns in recent years. About a quarter of Hong Kong's energy production is derived from coal and according to the Environmental Protection Department, over 65% of greenhouse gas emissions is attributed to electricity production[i]. In 2019, out of the 4.04 million tons of waste generated, less than 30% were recycled while the rest went to landfills[ii]. Food waste was the largest component of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in 2019 at 30%[iii]. Beyond the government's initiatives on sustainable development, this category may unearth solutions that encourage green lifestyles among the community.

Education Tomorrow: Online learning is the norm these days, yet many students miss the important in-person interactions with classmates and teachers. This category asks what is 'fun learning' to a student, as they deal with the pandemic in school, and whether the participants can apply STREAM knowledge to create solutions that integrate happiness, diversity, and interactivity into their classes.

Age-friendly Tomorrow: Hong Kong's average life expectancy is among the highest in the world, at 88.13 years for women and 82.34 years for men[iv]. According to the Hong Kong Population Projections 2020-2069 by the Census and Statistics Department, the aging population is expected to surge and by 2038, will reach 2.44 million, or 31.9% - one elderly person for every three[v]. This development may lead to pressure on the healthcare system and other issues, with many elderly people living alone and suffering from geriatric ailments such as Alzheimer's Disease. This category encourages students to be aware of the issues facing the elderly community and create solutions for them.

Healthy Tomorrow: The pandemic has made everyone more aware of their physical and mental health. Good nutrition and eating habits are essential to maintaining personal health, while clean and hygienic public areas are key to achieving public health. This category will create solutions that may help Hong Kong find even more ways to improve the health of residents, through personal or environmental applications. 

Mentorships and Presentation Day included, for additional fun, competition, and learning

The competition also cultivates and strengthens the students' 4C skills (creative thinking, critical thinking, communicating, collaborating). Mentors will be appointed to each of the final shortlist of 10 primary sector and 10 secondary sector teams to be announced in December, who will provide further guidance and advice before the "Presentation Day" (currently scheduled for January 2022). On "Presentation Day", judges will score and rank the entries, with winners and prizes announced in February 2022.

Encouraging students to be more socially conscious and participate in the creation of their future 

The annual Solve for Tomorrow 2021 competition is co-organized by Samsung, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, the Association of I.T. Leaders in Education, and Hong Kong Education City Limited. The competition opens in September 2021 and will run till February 2022 and all primary and secondary students can participate as teams representing their schools. Teams are encouraged to combine their STREAM knowledge with creativity to design innovative solutions that can help solve the city's social and sustainability issues. 

The competition cultivates and strengthens the students' 4C skills (creative thinking, critical thinking, communicating, collaborating). Mentors will be appointed to each of the final shortlist of 10 primary sector and 10 secondary sector teams to be announced in December, who will provide further guidance and advice before the "Presentation Day" (currently scheduled for January 2022). On "Presentation Day", judges will score and rank the entries, with winners and prizes announced in February 2022.  

There will be a championship winner, 1^st runner-up, 2^nd runner-up, a Creative Idea Award, and six Merit awards. The winners will be picked from the shortlist of 20 teams, with prizes worth more than HKD $270,000 waiting for them.  

Samsung will also be hosting workshops to promote STREAM knowledge and Design Thinking during the competition. Consultation workshops will also be available for students to speak with professionals from the technology and green fields to finetune their entries before submission. These workshops will be held in September. Details of the Consultation Workshop will be announced on the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2021 webpage.  

To participate or learn more about Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2021 "Innovate for a Better World", please visit http://www.samsung.com/hk_en/offer/solvefortomorrow2021/^[2]. (The website will go live soon)

References

1. ^{^} Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)
2. ^{^} http://www.samsung.com/hk_en/offer/solvefortomorrow2021/ (www.samsung.com)