HKUST Annual Report 2021-2022

32 INSPIRING TOMORROW’S TECHNOSTARS A variety of University-organized Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) activities over the year offered a dynamic way to inspire the younger generation to study and develop a career in these fields. Among such experiential learning opportunities, HKUST students went on two field trips to the Tramways Depot at Whitty Street on Hong Kong Island to gain a first- hand perspective of how engineers and technicians work in a transportation company. Following the field trips, students gradually created a photorealistic 3D model of trams. The collaboration between the University and Hong Kong Tramways continued to expand into a STEM project in which students will assist in the development of STEM modules for high school students, using the 3D model as a teaching tool and reference. Another program, created by the University and sponsored by the Lee Hysan Foundation, assisted secondary school students to use HKUST-patented technology to construct hi-NW light disinfection devices for deployment in elderly homes and community centers. Separately, HKUST’s Academy for Bright Future Young Engineers arranged soccer robot workshops in July 2021 and January 2022 for secondary school students to devise football-playing robots as part of its new Bright Future Cup – Soccer Robot Competition. To raise further awareness of air pollution and the need for original ideas to solve this issue, IENV partnered with the Clean Air Network to launch a city-wide Clean Air Challenge for secondary school students. The competition sought to nurture young people’s critical thinking and ability to come up with creative solutions for air pollution. The programs reached over 460 secondary schools and received over 125 submissions for the competition. BROADENING CREATIVE HORIZONS Celebrations for the opening of the University’s new Shaw Auditorium included two concerts featuring the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in November 2021. The well-received performances demonstrated how the state-of-the-art facility will boost the presence of the arts within HKUST and foster connections with the outside community. In May 2022, the young Hong Kong-born star pianist, Aristo SHAM, held a solo recital drawing hundreds to the auditorium. On the visual arts front, an online Animators’ Roundtable Forum on Hong Kong Animation took place over three days in May 2022, attracting around 1,300 animation professionals, faculty members, students and the public. The history and current directions of the art in business and education in Hong Kong were among the topics discussed during the event.