Hackathon Reaches Out Beyond HKUST The contest was co-organized by HKUST students and Tencent Foundation, along with other HKUST units and alumni associations and the start-up community. It was the second year that the Hackathon had been held but the rst to be open to participants beyond HKUST. The project received the President’s -HKUST Student Life Award in in recognition of its contribution to fostering a greater sense of belonging and engaging students from di erent backgrounds at HKUST. he rst university Hackathon led by students successfully took place at HKUST in Spring . Over students and alumni in teams from di erent local universities took part in Hackathon@HKUST, an intensive -hour coding competition. Participants in the Hackathon had to identify a particular problem and a solution related to one of the three themes of charity, entrepreneurship and women consumers. They then worked in teams to build a relevant so ware or hardware prototype application within the timeframe and present their solution to a panel of judges comprising industry experts, start-up founders, and academics. To help participants prepare, a series of workshops, talks, and information sessions took place ahead of the competition. Industry professionals and specialists provided mentorship during the contest. Following the event, a post-Hackathon Tech Show was organized at HKUST to showcase the prototypes. A total of awards were presented to teams or individuals, with the RoundUp, Chariful and Everhelp teams proving multi-award winners. The three teams created a donation website based on online transactions, charity-focused game app, and app to help people use fragmented moments of time for charitable activities respectively. T MSc Students Drive Greener Future through Ford-HKUST Conservation Program wenty Master of Science (MSc) students from the School of Engineering have become the latest recipients of the enterprising Ford-Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Conservation and Environmental Research Grants program. The unique program between Ford Motor Company and the University promotes environmental research focused on green technologies and transportation. Research projects being undertaken by the recipients include battery e ciency for next-generation vehicles, smart car windows to conserve energy, and personalized ventilation in vehicles. The program, established in , has bene ted of the School’s MSc students to date. As in previous years, Ford contributed HK$ , for the graduate research grants, which was matched by HKUST for a total grants pool of HK$ million. Prof King Lun Yeung, Associate Dean of Engineering (Research and Graduate Studies), said partnerships with Ford and other industry leaders were “testaments of our continuing e orts to build international connections and provide a collaborative learning environment”. In mid- , recipients visited Ford Motor Company’s regional headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, to present their Grant research ndings to Ford executives, toured company manufacturing facilities in Rayong and learnt about advanced automotive technologies. Mr David Westerman, Managing Director, Asia Paci c Emerging Markets, Ford Motor Company, said: “The Grants program demonstrates our shared commitment to building a better world through original ideas and new technologies.” T 24 IN FOCUS
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