Information technology has been one of the fastest growing sectors in Hong Kong, but it is also one of the three sectors affected by a manpower shortage. That is where the Enriched IT Programme in Secondary Schools hopes to bridge the gap.
Announced in Financial Secretary John Tsang's 2014-15 Budget, the programme develops students' interest in IT by incorporating enrichment classes in eight secondary schools which are outstanding in IT education. A total of $75 million in funding is provided to implement the initiative for eight school years from 2015/16 to 2022/23.
The programme is comprised of two elements: Enriched IT Class and Enriched IT Activities. For the Enriched IT Class for Secondary Two to Six, the eight partner schools set aside a normal-sized class of up to 30 students for intensive IT training which involves at least 96 extra class hours every school year.
Enriched education
Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School is one of the partner schools that launched an Enriched IT Class for its Secondary Two students this academic year. The students have designed and built robots that can play football and developed an unmanned aircraft system.
Student Peter Au described his robot as his "child" since he was involved in every step of the process, from writing the programme to building it. The robots use infrared sensors to detect the ball, defend, pass and score goals.
Aside from robotics, the Enriched IT Class at Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School involves developing an unmanned aircraft system.
Tutor Ng Chi-wai said the students had to rely on their physics, mathematics and engineering knowledge as they developed a computer programme for controlling the unmanned aircraft, testing its operational speed and constructing the electronic components.
Beyond programming
St Paul's Convent School is another Enriched IT Programme partner school. The Secondary Two students have been divided into groups and are creating their own games and mobile applications.
The students' confidence grew after discovering that programming was not as complicated as they had initially thought.
Student Madeline Leung is part of a group that designed a virtual pet game.
"When I found out that I could write apps and games so easily, my confidence grew and I actually started to like IT and I found that it's really fun."
Madeline's classmate Maria Guzman was at first, discouraged by the thought of studying IT because it is often perceived as a complex subject.
"I thought IT was boring and was just for boys, but now I can make apps and manipulate the computer to do things I want it to do. I felt empowered and felt like I have the possibility of a career in IT."
Technological advancements
St Paul's teacher Peter Blythe said joining the programme was a good opportunity for the school to expand its work and bring in some new, more innovative approaches to IT teaching. He noted that the programme also exposed students to the possibilities of IT in way that can keep up with changing technology.
"We're careful to not present it as the dry academic subject it sometimes is, it's really something practical, it's something that they do and they make real products and they have ownership over what they do. We give them the tools, but the whole course is very much structured around giving them the opportunity to decide what it is they want to do with IT."
Each partner school is allocated $1 million for enhancing IT facilities and $250,000 per class per year for running the Enriched IT Class.
The programme also encourages schools to organise three IT activities every academic year to stimulate interest in the subject in the school community.
