Speech by Mr. Victor Lam, JP, Deputy Government Chief Information Officer, at the “30th Anniversary Dinner of the Association for Computing Machinery Hong Kong Chapter (ACM-HK) cum Dinner Banquet of ACM-HK Programming Contest” (with photos)
Dr LI (Dr LI Min-ming, Chairperson, Association of Computing Machinery – Hong Kong Chapter), Charles (Mr Charles MOK, Legislative Council Member), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, fellow students,
It is my great pleasure to be here with you this evening to join this very special occasion – celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Association for Computing Machinery – Hong Kong Chapter (ACM-HK) and the prize presentation ceremony of the 2018 ACM-HK Programming Contest.
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to ACM-HK for organising various educational activities for tertiary students over the years, in particular this very meaningful programming contest which has been held annually for more than two decades.
I understand that later tonight, winners will be announced and prizes will be presented. No matter who the winners will be, let me congratulate all participating students who have endured hours of hard work this afternoon to tackle the challenging problems of the contest. This contest has indeed provided a great opportunity for you to brush up your skills in problem solving, teamwork and innovative thinking, not to mention the fun and friendship that you should have also earned today.
The Hong Kong SAR Government has a strong belief in the importance of technology in enhancing our lives, transforming the society and driving economic growth. The Government’s commitment and determination can be demonstrated by the unprecedented investment of over $50 billion in this year’s Budget, as announced by the Financial Secretary in February, to further speed up the development of innovation and technology of Hong Kong.
Besides monetary resources, the key to Hong Kong’s success in the international technological race lies in human capital, and the Government is very keen to nurture local talents for Hong Kong to stay competitive in the 21st century.
The Education Bureau has been promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education through various means such as allocation of resources, updating of curricula and setting up of the STEM Education Centre at Lok Fu recently. The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer has also rolled out the Enriched IT Programme in Secondary Schools since the 2015/16 school year to enrich IT learning outside the school curriculum.
Last year, we also launched the “IT Career Role Models Platform”, which is a website that provides up-to-date information on the IT profession in local and multinational companies and enterprises of different industry sectors. This website is useful in facilitating students to have an earlier planning and preparation for the necessary technical skills and business knowledge for working in different sectors of the IT industry.
To nurture local technology talents and incentivise more students to engage in research work, the Chief Executive has pledged in last year’s Policy Address to inject an additional $3 billion into the Research Endowment Fund providing studentships for local students admitted to UGC-funded research postgraduate programmes. The studentship scheme will commence from the 2018/19 academic year.
Furthermore, through the Internship Programme under the Innovation and Technology Fund, the Government supports incubatees and tenants of Cyberport and Science Park as well as projects of the Fund to hire local university graduates as research and development interns. The Programme will be further extended later this year to benefit more university graduates.
The above initiatives are just a few examples the Government is taking to support the development of ICT talents. Today’s contest is also an excellent occasion to prepare our younger generation for challenges in this fast-changing technological era. I encourage fellow students to keep up with your passion and enthusiasm in computer programming. The capabilities you acquire such as logic, abstract thinking, teamwork and communication will not only benefit you in pursuing your career in IT, but also reward you in whatever path you take in future.
I wish you all a most pleasant and enjoyable evening. Thank you.
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