Organised by the Junior Police Call (JPC) of the Force and fully supported by the Bank of China (Hong Kong) (BOCHK), the JPC Innovation and Technology (I&T) Competition 2024-25 held its Award Presentation Ceremony cum Carnival at the Hong Kong Science Park on April 12. 70 awards were presented to 110 winners. Commissioner Chow Yat-ming, Under Secretary for Education Dr Sze Chun-fai, General Manager of Information Technology Department of BOCHK Mr Yung Fai and Director of Operations Chan Tung officiated at the ceremony.

In his welcome remarks, the Commissioner said that as the Force had stepped up enforcement against “space oil drugs”, the competition introduced the theme of youth drug prevention, encouraging participants to raise anti-drug awareness among young people through creative solutions. He also highlighted the quality of entries received, which underscored the pivotal role of experiential learning in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) education. JPC would launch more innovative activities to nurture I&T talents for Hong Kong and our country.

It was the fourth consecutive year that JPC organised the competition. The competition aimed to encourage primary and secondary school students to utilise their knowledge and skills in STEAM to construct innovative and feasible solutions for Smart City. Two Best Smart City Awards were introduced this year to recognise the most innovative entries in AI and gerontechnology, while the Best Safe City Awards were also presented to acknowledge innovative solutions for fraud prevention and crime fighting, youth drug prevention and community safety enhancement, for ensuring that citizens could continue to thrive in a safe living environment. Over 1 700 students from nearly 160 schools participated, and over 1 300 submissions were received. The list of winning teams has been uploaded onto the JPC website.

Some winners introduced the creative ideas and stories behind their works at the ceremony. An I&T carnival which featured a workshop on simulated evidence collection at crime scenes and a number of virtual reality games was held for participants to learn about the work of the Force while experiencing the fun of technology.

JPC members demonstrate their innovative entry to the Commissioner (second right, front row) and Assistant Commissioner (Public Relations) Chan Sze-tat (first right, front row).

The Commissioner touring the booths.

The Commissioner takes a selfie with the partipants.

Participants taking part in the virtual reality game that simulates a ride on a raft boat.