Winners of the Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition 2004 received awards Friday.

The competition was jointly organized by the Innovation and Technology Commission, the Education and Manpower Bureau and the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups.

By encouraging the students to develop innovative applications for everyday life, the competition aims to inspire in them a creative approach to science and a desire to pursue science as career.

Champion of the competition went to a team of five students from S.K.H. Li Ping Secondary School. The team carried out a project entitled Cinnamon Substance Investigation (CSI).

The severe problem of mould in Hong Kong initiated the team to conduct the investigation. They eventually found that cinnamon was the most effective and natural method to solve the problem.

"We conducted a series of tests and cinnamon was found the best. With reference to the pharmaceutical literature, we tried to apply our findings to discover natural, inexpensive, environmentally friendly applications for the substance," said Man Ka-yan, one of the team members.

The team members said they have learnt how to apply what they learnt from text books to the daily life, and also, a team spirit has been cultivated during the process of the investigation.

Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government John Tsang said at the award ceremony that he was very impressed by the team work and presentation skills demonstrated by the students.

"The event has successfully provided a good opportunity to promote students' interest in science and technology by allowing them to go through the process of scientific research and invention. I am glad to know that they applied their scientific knowledge in almost every aspect of daily life," he said.

A total of 86 teams from 48 secondary schools joined the competition. The 12 winning teams will be sponsored to participate in the 3rd APEC Youth Science Festival to meet and exchange views with other young people from the Asia-Pacific region.
 
(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2004)