The Financial Secretary announced in the 2014-15 Budget that “we plan to incorporate IT enrichment programmes in secondary schools which areoutstanding in IT education. By so doing, we hope to cultivate young IT professionals and evenentrepreneurs to meet the development needs of a digital society.” A funding of $75 million is provided for the implementation of this initiative for eight school years from 2015/16 to 2022/23. With the efforts of various stakeholders, Man Kwan Pak Kau College was selected as one of the schools that implemented the  ” Enrichment IT Programme Plan”.

The Enriched IT Programme in Secondary Schools comprises two complementary elements as follows —

(a) Enriched IT Class — Eight partner schools will provide intensive IT training to students (from secondary two to secondary five) who are interested and talented in IT.

(b) Enriched IT Activities — IT activities will be organised by secondary schools each year to foster a pro-IT atmosphere and stimulate interest in IT in the school community.

The Enriched IT Programme is a collaborative effort of schools to work with tertiary institutions, the industry and government to scout and cultivate IT talents early in their secondary school years. A steering committee, led by the Government Chief Information Officer and comprising members from tertiary institutions, teacher associations, Curriculum Development Council, Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education, Education Bureau and the industry, was established in August 2014 to develop the guiding principles and curriculum framework for the Programme.

Enriched IT Class

Enriched IT Class aims at developing students’ interest and curiosity in IT, creativity and innovative talents, computational thinking and problem-solving abilities through professional exposure and project-based learning. Our school  sets aside one class of normal size (about 30 students in secondary 2-3 and 25 in secondary 4-5) for intensive IT training. While IT Class students study the school curriculum alongside their peers in other classes, we undertake at least 96 extra class hours every school year for a more structured and advanced IT curriculum.

Enriched IT Activities

School organises at least three activities every school year. These activities would enrich IT learning outside the school curriculum, e.g. intensive workshops to prepare students for IT competitions, coding and programming boot camps, hackathons, short courses in apps development, seminars in business intelligence, etc.

Curriculum Framework

Funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, CLAP-TECH Pathway, being under the Jockey Club Multiple Pathways Initiative, is a project that aims to develop an alternative study pathway for students which equips them with the skills and experience for the new-collar jobs that the ICT and STEM industries in Hong Kong will require. Our school is one of the pioneer schools joining this innovative scheme starting from AY 19-20. 

The project is a tripartite collaboration between three parties, the School of Continuing Education (SCE), a number of secondary schools in Hong Kong, and industry partners. Students who are pursuing the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE), but who prefer a non-conventional mode of learning, can obtain work-ready skills and workplace experience from the lessons and activities of CLAP-TECH Pathway.

Tam Tsz Long, a S5 student, expressed that ever since being accepted in the CLAP Tech Information and Communication Technology course, his understanding about computing manners, Python, project management and etc. has been deepened. Also, these enriching learnings has filled the gaps of knowledge left by the ICT curriculum that he took. He also stated that this course provided a 3 day [MIT Innovation Entrepreneurship Training Camp]. He was able to use his knowledge to complete projects. The media had reported this, and it helped Tam Tsz Long garner praises from the business world, greatly benefitting him.

CLAP-TECH Pathway is largely based upon a learning paradigm first initiated by IBM in 2011, known as P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School), that has already been launched in 24 countries and regions, including Australia, Singapore, United Kingdom and the United States. The programme also draws heavily from CLAP for Youth @ JC, Hong Kong’s first cross-sectoral support platform initiated by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, which helps young people discover their passions and abilities, and explore multiple pathways to a fulfilling adulthood through a five-year career and life development programme.

Starting from 2017-18, InnoTech Genius Hour is one of the most popular extracurricular activities in our School. The programme is initially funded by the “Hong Kong Jockey Club Charity Trust-Jockey Club- InnoPower Teacher Fellowship programme” (InnoPower@ JC).

Genius hour is a movement that allows students to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom. The goal of our InnoTech Genius Hour is to strengthen students ’design, scientific logical thinking and analysis skills, and apply learned or existing knowledge to solve problems. The teacher provides a set amount of time for the students to work on their passion projects integrated with STEM knowledge and deep-learning skills. Students are then challenged to explore something to do a project over that they want to learn about.  Design thinking and SCAMPER training are also involved in the activities, so that students can connect with social life problems from innovation.

Students can choose their own interesting project catagories for in-depth research.

• Elite Science Team

• Changemakers in Action

• Greenovation for future

• Digital Game Workshop 

• iproduct Design Studio

• I Build my future 

Our school participates in the “CUHK Jockey Club AI for the Future” sponsored by the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, and jointly develops Artificial Intelligence courses, which are fully implemented in our CIT curriculum.

The school uses artificial intelligence technologies to optimize school facilities and student learning activities, such as setting up the “AiOT Innovation Lab”. We also received OGCIO”IT Innovation Lab” funding to strengthen students’ experience in artificial intelligence development.

The Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Alfred Sit, and the Vetting Committee on “IT Innovation Lab Programme in Schools” visited our school on 21 October 2021 to keep abreast of the schools’ views on the “IT Innovation Lab in Secondary Schools” Programme. Mr Sit took the chance to listen to views of teachers and students and encouraged students to seize the opportunities to learn and actively participate in AI and STEM activities and competitions to broaden their knowledge and widen their exposure.

Participating in this event enlightened me greatly. I was able to understand the needs of people with visual impairment, and it has changed my understanding and impression towards them.