In a race dominated by women, Kong took the lead from the start and held on to win the gold medal with a time of 1:19.27. Her performance earned her the praise of social media users. One netizen said she was impressed by Kong’s courage and confidence to fight back when facing challenges.
The Hong Kong prize is a biennial competition to inspire secondary school students to explore beyond boundaries and fulfill their potential in mathematics. It also promotes excellence and passion in research and showcases Hong Kong students on the world stage. It was established in 2004 and sponsored by Hang Lung Properties. The competition received overwhelming support from the public and has been recognised by the government as an important part of the educational incentive scheme. The 20th edition of the competition kicked off on Tuesday (December 19) with The Hon John KC Lee, The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, delivering opening remarks virtually.
A total of HK$2 million will be awarded to winners of the first prize. HK$500,000 will be awarded to each of the second and third prize winners. The remaining HK$1 million will be used to enhance and sustain the quality of research and development in the award fields. The review makes independent judgments and objective evaluations by assessing candidates’ scientific and technological innovation achievements; the transformation of those achievements; and the social or economic value created.
If no winner is found in the 1st division, the winnings will be added to a jackpot for the next draw. It can build up to about HK$100 million in total, as seen in past draws.
Organised by Generocity, the competition gathers innovative ideas on establishing an Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme for Hong Kong, which can help shape the city’s role in international development efforts. Participants can submit their proposals in Chinese or English online.
The Hong Kong prizes will be presented at an award ceremony in the spring of 2023. The prizewinners will be honoured by representatives of the HKSAR government and the sponsoring organisations. The awards will be accompanied by a publicity campaign and a series of activities to encourage and recognise the achievement of young people in Hong Kong.
In partnership with The Shaw Prize Foundation, the Hong Kong Science Museum will jointly present a special exhibition to introduce this year’s Shaw Laureates. The exhibition will guide visitors to discover the fascinating research journeys of this elite group of scientists.
In addition to a range of educational and fun competitions, the exhibition will feature interactive exhibits highlighting the work of this year’s Xplorer Prize winners. This award, supported by Tencent Foundation, encourages young Mainland and Hong Kong-based scientists to explore unexplored areas in advanced interdisciplinary research. This year, it honoured researchers in five fields: 2021 Life Science Prize Laureate Yuen Kwok-yung and Joseph Sriyal Malik Peiris; 2022 Physical Science Prize Laureates Luk Kam-biu and Mok Ngai-ming; and 2022 Mathematical Sciences Prize Laureate Fan Zhiyong.