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Second Year of“Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme” Successfully Completed
Second Year of“Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme” Successfully Completed 2024-07-10
Press Release
For Immediate Release
For Immediate Release
Second Year of "Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme"
Successfully Completed
Combining Sports with Technology to Inspire Students' Creativity
Successfully Completed
Combining Sports with Technology to Inspire Students' Creativity
(8 July 2024, Hong Kong) The second year of the“Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme”, launched by St. James’Settlement (“SJS”) and Octopus Cards Limited (“Octopus”) with matching sponsorship from the Social Welfare Department's Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged, has successfully concluded with a graduation ceremony on last Saturday (6 July). This year, the Scheme has benefited over 210 students of 10 primary and secondary schools from low-income families. Students and teachers from the participating schools took part in the graduation ceremony of the Scheme and shared the joy of graduation. In addition to the presentation of certificates and awards, four groups of award-winning students presented their works and ideas and outstanding works of all participating students were showcased during the ceremony.
By combining sports and technology, the Scheme cultivates students' perseverance, teamwork and leadership skills. Additionally, it enables students to apply STEM knowledge to real-life situations, inspiring their innovative thinking and improving their problem-solving abilities. For instance, one group of award-winning students developed a golf ball dispenser using environmentally friendly materials such as paper boxes and plastic bottles. They incorporated a Micro:bit (microcomputer) and sensors to facilitate and attract beginners to continue practicing by eliminating the need to bend down to retrieve the ball. This project fully showcased the students' intelligence and creativity.
“Octopus is dedicated to driving the development of innovative technologies, with a mission to‘making everyday life easier’. Young people hold the key to shaping the future of our society, through the‘Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme’, we aim to cultivate their innovative and scientific spirit and inspire their potential and creativity from an early age. We pledge to continue nurturing future talents in STEM fields, thereby driving Hong Kong's future technological landscape forward by promoting innovation and technology within the community.” said Mr Tim Ying, Chief Executive Officer of Octopus.
Ms Josephine Lee, Chief Executive Officer of SJS, said,“We are grateful to Octopus Cards Limited and the Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged of the Social Welfare Department for their generous support of‘Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme’. The Scheme encourages students to use their creativity, explore new ideas and problem-solving methods. By participating in sports and technology activities, students can develop creativity and innovative thinking, and look at problems from different perspectives."
Integrating STEM knowledge into four sports
The Scheme incorporates four sports, including table tennis, bowling, golf and archery tag, to provide students with opportunities to innovate and apply STEM-related knowledge in sports activities. For example, students who learned archery tag attempted to programme a distance measuring instrument to test the distance between bows and arrows and the aiming angle of the target with the application of technology. Students who learned bowling created a simulated bowling track to understand how to use the principle of magnetic attraction to record players’scores.
Enrich students’learning experiences though visit to innovation and technology facilities and Innovative Sports Fun Days
To promote community engagement and enhance students’learning experience, two groups of secondary school students visited the innovation and technology facilities and experienced the technology workshops at Hong Kong Science Park, accompanied by Octopus volunteers in May. The students listened to the sharing of the professional boxing coach, experienced the VR game and learned how technology can be applied in boxing. With the assistance of Octopus volunteers, groups of primary school students participated in the“Innovative Sports Fun Days”from March to May, taking part in sports challenges aided by AI image analysis and blood oxygen sensors, to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between sports and technological innovation.
Photos with caption
Photo 1: Students and teachers from participating schools and representatives from the organisers joined the second year graduation ceremony for the“Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme”.
Photo 2: Students shared their learning, creative works and ideas during the graduation ceremony.
Photo 3 and 4: Octopus volunteers and participating secondary school students visited the Hong Kong Science Park.
Photo 5: Students enthusiastically participated in sports challenges during the“Innovative Sports Fun Days”
Information of awarded groups
Bowling group：Utilising the principle of magnetic attraction and using M5Stick (Mini IoT Boards) to create a simulated bowling track, allowing players to train at home.
Table tennis group: Using Micro:bit (microcomputer) and 3D printing to make a table tennis training robot and target hitting trainers, allowing players to train independently.
Golf Group: Using environmentally friendly materials such as cartons and plastic bottles, along with Micro:bit (microcomputer) and sensors, to create a golf ball dispenser, which addresses the issue of beginners having to bend down to place the ball during practice, and attracts beginners to keep training continuously.
Archery tag group: Using Micro:bit (microcomputer), sensors and 3D printing to make archery tag rangefinders and score prompters. In addition, App Inventor (Coding Tools of Mobile Programming) was used to design the application, enabling referees to score in real-time through the buttons on the interface and display the score promptly to improve the accuracy of scoring.
About Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme
Inaugurated in 2007 by Octopus Cards Limited and St. James’Settlement, the "Octopus Kids' Nurturing Programme" (OKN) subsidises grassroots students to participate in extra-curricular classes, thus fostering their whole-person development through music, physical education, arts, and assisting social services, etc. In 2019, OKN entered a new phase as "Octopus Talent Nurturing Programme" with an expanded focus to include STEM education and sustainability elements to promote building a smart city. The Programme also expanded its scope of beneficiaries to include both primary and secondary students. Since launch, the programme has achieved remarkable result with more than 4,300 grassroot students from 190 schools benefited. The "Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme" marks an evolution in the "Octopus Talent Nurturing Programme". The first three years of the Scheme will be implemented in the 2022-2025 school years, with a total of 30 schools participating, benefiting about 720 students. The Scheme offers the students STEM x sports activities, training courses, workshops, fun day camps, etc., with the aim of nurturing interest in sports and science.
About Octopus Cards Limited (Licence Number: SVF0001)
Operating under the Stored Value Facilities Licence, Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) provides innovative offline and online Octopus payment services to meet customers’diverse payment needs. Launched in 1997 by OCL, the Octopus system in Hong Kong is one of the world's leading and most extensively accepted contactless smartcard payment systems. Its aspiration is to bring diversity and inclusion in payment to customers of all facets of life. Today, more than 20 million Octopus cards and products are in circulation; spanning businesses including public transport, parking, retail, self-help services, schools, and leisure facilities, and access control for residential and commercial buildings. There are over 170,000 Octopus acceptance points in the market. Octopus’ application has been extended to online and mobile payment arenas with services including Octopus on iPhone and Apple Watch, Octopus on Samsung Pay, Octopus on Huawei Pay, Octopus App, Octopus Wallet, Octopus Mastercard® and UnionPay, bringing new payment experiences to customers.
The Octopus Group exports its unique experience and technology overseas, offering consultancy services across the world. The mission of OCL is simple: Making everyday life easier. For more information about OCL, please visit www.octopus.com.hk.
About St. James’ Settlement
Founded by the Rt. Rev. Bishop R.O. Hall of the Anglican Church in 1949, St. James’ Settlement began as a club for boys and girls in a temple in Stone Nullah Lane, Wanchai. It was then developed into a six-storey building on Kennedy Road in 1963 to provide diversified services, including children and youth services, elderly services and rehabilitation services. In 1987, the headquarters was opened in Stone Nullah Lane so that the scope of services could be further extended. Our first centre outside Wanchai (named Central and Western District Elderly Community Centre) was established in 1990. Since then, different service centres have been developed and most of them are located along the north coast of Hong Kong Island, from The Belcher’s in Western to Hing Wah Estate in Chai Wan. In recent years, in view of the society’s ever-changing needs, we have opened service centres in Kowloon and the New Territories. To date, our 96 service points are in operation across Hong Kong. Now, St. James’ Settlement served more than 3.23 million person-times, and our target beneficiaries include children, teenagers, families, the elderly and people with disabilities.
By combining sports and technology, the Scheme cultivates students' perseverance, teamwork and leadership skills. Additionally, it enables students to apply STEM knowledge to real-life situations, inspiring their innovative thinking and improving their problem-solving abilities. For instance, one group of award-winning students developed a golf ball dispenser using environmentally friendly materials such as paper boxes and plastic bottles. They incorporated a Micro:bit (microcomputer) and sensors to facilitate and attract beginners to continue practicing by eliminating the need to bend down to retrieve the ball. This project fully showcased the students' intelligence and creativity.
“Octopus is dedicated to driving the development of innovative technologies, with a mission to‘making everyday life easier’. Young people hold the key to shaping the future of our society, through the‘Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme’, we aim to cultivate their innovative and scientific spirit and inspire their potential and creativity from an early age. We pledge to continue nurturing future talents in STEM fields, thereby driving Hong Kong's future technological landscape forward by promoting innovation and technology within the community.” said Mr Tim Ying, Chief Executive Officer of Octopus.
Ms Josephine Lee, Chief Executive Officer of SJS, said,“We are grateful to Octopus Cards Limited and the Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged of the Social Welfare Department for their generous support of‘Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme’. The Scheme encourages students to use their creativity, explore new ideas and problem-solving methods. By participating in sports and technology activities, students can develop creativity and innovative thinking, and look at problems from different perspectives."
Integrating STEM knowledge into four sports
The Scheme incorporates four sports, including table tennis, bowling, golf and archery tag, to provide students with opportunities to innovate and apply STEM-related knowledge in sports activities. For example, students who learned archery tag attempted to programme a distance measuring instrument to test the distance between bows and arrows and the aiming angle of the target with the application of technology. Students who learned bowling created a simulated bowling track to understand how to use the principle of magnetic attraction to record players’scores.
Professional coaches were also invited to the school, including Mr Cyrus Cheung, the winner of Bowling at the Asian Games 2010, the former elite member of the Hong Kong Bowling National team, who received Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards in 2001 and 2008. He guided students to experience bowling and share his expertise by explaining correct postures, scoring calculations and rules to the students.
Enrich students’learning experiences though visit to innovation and technology facilities and Innovative Sports Fun Days
To promote community engagement and enhance students’learning experience, two groups of secondary school students visited the innovation and technology facilities and experienced the technology workshops at Hong Kong Science Park, accompanied by Octopus volunteers in May. The students listened to the sharing of the professional boxing coach, experienced the VR game and learned how technology can be applied in boxing. With the assistance of Octopus volunteers, groups of primary school students participated in the“Innovative Sports Fun Days”from March to May, taking part in sports challenges aided by AI image analysis and blood oxygen sensors, to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between sports and technological innovation.
Photos with caption
Photo 1: Students and teachers from participating schools and representatives from the organisers joined the second year graduation ceremony for the“Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme”.
Photo 2: Students shared their learning, creative works and ideas during the graduation ceremony.
Photo 3 and 4: Octopus volunteers and participating secondary school students visited the Hong Kong Science Park.
Photo 5: Students enthusiastically participated in sports challenges during the“Innovative Sports Fun Days”
Information of awarded groups
Bowling group：Utilising the principle of magnetic attraction and using M5Stick (Mini IoT Boards) to create a simulated bowling track, allowing players to train at home.
Table tennis group: Using Micro:bit (microcomputer) and 3D printing to make a table tennis training robot and target hitting trainers, allowing players to train independently.
Golf Group: Using environmentally friendly materials such as cartons and plastic bottles, along with Micro:bit (microcomputer) and sensors, to create a golf ball dispenser, which addresses the issue of beginners having to bend down to place the ball during practice, and attracts beginners to keep training continuously.
Archery tag group: Using Micro:bit (microcomputer), sensors and 3D printing to make archery tag rangefinders and score prompters. In addition, App Inventor (Coding Tools of Mobile Programming) was used to design the application, enabling referees to score in real-time through the buttons on the interface and display the score promptly to improve the accuracy of scoring.
About Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme
Inaugurated in 2007 by Octopus Cards Limited and St. James’Settlement, the "Octopus Kids' Nurturing Programme" (OKN) subsidises grassroots students to participate in extra-curricular classes, thus fostering their whole-person development through music, physical education, arts, and assisting social services, etc. In 2019, OKN entered a new phase as "Octopus Talent Nurturing Programme" with an expanded focus to include STEM education and sustainability elements to promote building a smart city. The Programme also expanded its scope of beneficiaries to include both primary and secondary students. Since launch, the programme has achieved remarkable result with more than 4,300 grassroot students from 190 schools benefited. The "Octopus STEM x SPORTS Scheme" marks an evolution in the "Octopus Talent Nurturing Programme". The first three years of the Scheme will be implemented in the 2022-2025 school years, with a total of 30 schools participating, benefiting about 720 students. The Scheme offers the students STEM x sports activities, training courses, workshops, fun day camps, etc., with the aim of nurturing interest in sports and science.
About Octopus Cards Limited (Licence Number: SVF0001)
Operating under the Stored Value Facilities Licence, Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) provides innovative offline and online Octopus payment services to meet customers’diverse payment needs. Launched in 1997 by OCL, the Octopus system in Hong Kong is one of the world's leading and most extensively accepted contactless smartcard payment systems. Its aspiration is to bring diversity and inclusion in payment to customers of all facets of life. Today, more than 20 million Octopus cards and products are in circulation; spanning businesses including public transport, parking, retail, self-help services, schools, and leisure facilities, and access control for residential and commercial buildings. There are over 170,000 Octopus acceptance points in the market. Octopus’ application has been extended to online and mobile payment arenas with services including Octopus on iPhone and Apple Watch, Octopus on Samsung Pay, Octopus on Huawei Pay, Octopus App, Octopus Wallet, Octopus Mastercard® and UnionPay, bringing new payment experiences to customers.
The Octopus Group exports its unique experience and technology overseas, offering consultancy services across the world. The mission of OCL is simple: Making everyday life easier. For more information about OCL, please visit www.octopus.com.hk.
About St. James’ Settlement
Founded by the Rt. Rev. Bishop R.O. Hall of the Anglican Church in 1949, St. James’ Settlement began as a club for boys and girls in a temple in Stone Nullah Lane, Wanchai. It was then developed into a six-storey building on Kennedy Road in 1963 to provide diversified services, including children and youth services, elderly services and rehabilitation services. In 1987, the headquarters was opened in Stone Nullah Lane so that the scope of services could be further extended. Our first centre outside Wanchai (named Central and Western District Elderly Community Centre) was established in 1990. Since then, different service centres have been developed and most of them are located along the north coast of Hong Kong Island, from The Belcher’s in Western to Hing Wah Estate in Chai Wan. In recent years, in view of the society’s ever-changing needs, we have opened service centres in Kowloon and the New Territories. To date, our 96 service points are in operation across Hong Kong. Now, St. James’ Settlement served more than 3.23 million person-times, and our target beneficiaries include children, teenagers, families, the elderly and people with disabilities.
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Media Enquiries:
Octopus Cards Limited
Media Hotline: (852) 2266 2226
Email: [email protected]
St. James’Settlement
Media enquiries: (852) 2835 4321
Email: [email protected]
Octopus Cards Limited
Media Hotline: (852) 2266 2226
Email: [email protected]
St. James’Settlement
Media enquiries: (852) 2835 4321
Email: [email protected]
