The city's interest in innovation and technology seems fully awake. Industry leaders say they sense a new vibrancy. Early this month the Education Bureau began a review of "STEM education" (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Its aim is to work with primary and secondary schools, encourage them to update their curriculums, placing greater emphasis on "creativity and problem-solving skills".

The Hong Kong Science & Technology Park declared its full support for STEM education, opening a program to engage more students to learn about robotics technology and coding.

The Women's Foundation, a non-government organization, is encouraging more girls to pursue STEM education. This foundation's "Girls Go Tech" program, launched this month, will work with three schools in underprivileged areas, offering 30 to 40 girls from each a chance to attend coding and technology workshops.

"Girls from underprivileged backgrounds face a double burden when it comes to technology skills," said Su-mei Thompson, CEO of the Women's Foundation. This is due to the outmoded technology and limited classes in the STEM subjects available to them, she explained.

"Girls also tend to shy away from STEM subjects early on without extra support and encouragement," added Thompson. She expects to see more young women consider a career in STEM, particularly in engineering and technology, two sectors that are currently dominated by men.

Thompson criticized the Education Bureau for not having recognized that "they are starting with a really unlevel playing field in terms of boys and girls" in STEM. She cited that the male to female enrolment for engineering in Hong Kong universities is around 4:1, and in 2012, zero female students registered in two undergraduate computer science programs at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

"We hope that the Bureau (ITB) will look at the current gender imbalance in enrolments and respond with program and initiatives that are sensitive to this," said Thompson.

There has been considerable skepticism among the IT sector about whether Hong Kong really would commit to high-tech development. With government and the city's leading educational institutions opening a new phase of Lion Rock Spirit and working toward that shared goal, much of that skepticism is being erased.

Contact the writer at sylvia@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 11/30/2015 page9)