HKUST Co-hosts The 2nd My Toy Design Competition with Toy Industry Leaders to Foster Local Creative Culture
The 2nd My Toy Design Competition co-hosted by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management (IELM) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Hong Kong Toys Council and the Toys Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong Limited was concluded today. HKUST co-hosted the competition with toy industry leaders with the aims of fostering local creative culture, bringing innovative ideas to the industry, cultivating the creativity of students and designers, as well as giving them a chance to understand more about the toy industry.
With keen participation this year, the competition received 309 entries from over 1,000 participants, where 38 finalists from Student Group (Secondary schools and Tertiary Institutions)and 24 finalists from the newly added Designer Group of two categories of entries: Traditional Toys and Toys with Smart Device Apps were selected by professional judges comprising design professionals, specialists in academics and industry as well as toy players.
During the award presentation ceremony today, 13 awards were presented, including Gold Award, Silver Award and Bronze Award in each group. A team of young participants aged 15 years old in the Student Group was awarded with Special Award as an encouragement. Two HKUST student teams were given the Bronze Awards in each category from the Student Group. “Big Money”, Bronze Award winner of the Traditional Toys category, is a card game that highlights business negotiation, hoping to improve the communication skills of players. Another Bronze Award winner of the Toys with Smart Device Apps category is “Spiderbot”, which is a spider-like remote-control robot that behaves both like a spider and a car. It can be controlled via Bluetooth through smartphone Android apps using voice input and buttons.
The award presentation ceremony took place with the presence of Mrs Janet Chu, Assistant Head of Create Hong Kong, HKSAR Government; Prof Roger Cheng, Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning of HKUST; Prof Fugee Tsung, Professor and Head of IELM of HKUST; Prof Ravindra Goonetilleke, Professor and Associate Head of IELM of HKUST; Mr Stanley Lau, Chairman of Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Mr John Tong, Chairman of Hong Kong Toys Council; Dr K M Cheung, President of The Toys Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong Limited and other guests.
Throughout the competition, different workshops about toy Industry, toy design, apps and toy safety and marketing were held for the participants in order to enhance their knowledge in toy design industry. In addition, over 30 industrial and academic professionals were invited to join the “Mentorship program”, during which experienced mentors helped the finalist students to transform their creative ideas into tangible products with play values and enhance their knowledge of toy design. This also helps to nurture more toy designers for the industry. Apart from gaining knowledge in toy design and receiving cash prizes, winners will also be supported by sponsors to mass produce their toy designs in order to let more toy players know their creative ideas and talent.
About “My Toy Design Competition”
“My Toy Design Competition” was first launched in 2012. It aims to nurture students’ creativity and discover talented designers. By encouraging them to participate in the competition, the toys industry can help raise the competitiveness of Hong Kong. The ultimate goal of the competition is to enhance creativity and promote the value and importance of play in order to bring positive effects to children’s growth. Please visit mytoydesign.ust.hk/ for more information about “My Toy Design Competition”.
