Three students from Hong Kong Academy (HKA) recently took part in a STEAM competition, pitting their design skills against over a hundred local and international schools in HK. And some results are in!
The “Tencent Little Safflower” Community STEAM Scholars Award encourages secondary students to make use of their STEAM knowledge to help enhance the quality of life of disadvantaged people in Hong Kong. This year’s theme was around mental wellness.
The HKA mission statement nurtures a culture of being intellectually curious and intrinsically motivated. Unsurprisingly, when the school shared news of the STEAM competition among its middle school cohort, enterprising students came forward and expressed a desire to get involved.
Three of them, Grade 10 students Anna Zhou, Leo Lin, and Nancy He, formed a team. And, with the support of HKA teacher Miss Yuxi, they worked on creating an innovative, technology-based response to the overall wellbeing situation in society.
“Our school counsellors and advisors run a weekly check-in wellbeing session,” says Miss Yuxi. “So the students know of the importance of mental health and the challenges they or their peers might face.”
More than just an AI chatbot
Anna, Leo and Nancy came up with the idea of a gadget – a small box – with a range of different functions. It’s a talking AI companion, a stress-relief fidget device, and even an indicator of red-flags for potential self-harm behaviours, all rolled into one.
An interactive display uses ferromagnetic plates to provide visual stress relief, while a soft, flexible 3D-printed accessory (like a small green plant) offers tactile relief. The AI companion, meanwhile, lets you chat in two languages, Mandarin and English. (A third, Cantonese, is still being developed.) Aside from communicating in a friendly and precise manner, the AI chatbot is specifically tailored to middle school scenarios that might cause problems for a student, from academic pressure to bullying. A planned future modification will send an email to a guardian or trusted adult if a conversation detects mental health red flags in a user.
Teamwork and tenacity
The project was entirely student-led. This reflects the IB approach at HKA, and its focus on self-initiated projects. The three students also utilised a range of skills they’d acquired during their MYP studies, from 3D modelling and woodwork to coding and exploring AI technology.
To get their submission finished, they took advantage of the school’s three 50-minute “Flex” sessions a week, which allow students to pursue self-directed projects.
“We shared the work,” explains Leo. “I was mostly involved in building the shell and the casing. Nancy was in charge of AI, and Anna oversaw the whole project.”
It wasn’t all plain sailing, of course! Along with having to 3D-print many different versions of their device to fix various imperfections, there was a major hiccup with the finish line in sight.
“We unfortunately burnt the PCB (printed circuit board) just a few days from the deadline,” says Leo. “We had to go across to Shenzhen to get parts. That whole process was very stressful, but we fixed it. We also got the AI to work, put the old model into the new one, and were able to submit the supporting video – all in just four or five days.”
Miss Yuxi says that the group didn’t panic. They just managed the situation, brainstormed different solutions, and got on with things.
The end result is a piece of technology that is sure to challenge teams from every other school for top spot in the competition. Winners are announced in August. Best of luck, Anna, Leo and Nancy!
STEAM Competition Update!
In the last week of May, the team heard that they had successfully made it through to the next stage of the Community STEAM Scholars award. They’ve been granted a scholarship worth $3,000 and will vie with seven other remaining teams for the top spot in the competition. Well done to all three and to HKA!
Hong Kong Academy is at 33 Wai Man Road, Sai Kung.
2655 1111 | hkacademy.edu.hk
