Our students shone at the 8th Challenger Cup Competition, a national inter-varsity contest for academic, scientific and technological research, by winning second place overall (Hong Kong/Macau section) and several individual awards.

The contest, held once every two years, took place at the South China University of Technology at Guangzhou, 20-24 November, and featured exhibitions, talks, forums, company visits and cultural activities, among others (see more photos). This year's contest attracted a record of over 3,000 participants and 1,100+ academic papers / research work from hundreds of universities in the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The entries were judged according to their scientific methodology, innovativeness and practicability.

The CityU delegation excelled, clinching six individual awards, including a Distinction Award, three Second Prizes and two Third Prizes. 

Prize	Winner	Project (Faculty Advisors)
Distinction Award	Kenji Yum and Liu Yangfan (Department of Electronic Engineering)	Quasi-lumped Compact Microstrip Resonant Cell (CMRC) Study and Its Applications in Microwave Circuits (Faculty Advisor: Professor C H Chan, Professor (Chair), EE)
Second	Thomas Wu (Department of Physics and Materials Science)	A Differential Measurement Approach for Improving Surface Plasmon Resonance Phase Sensing Performance (Faculty advisor: Dr Lawrence C M Wu, Associate Professor, AP)
	Daphne Lai (School of Creative Media)	Learning Chinese Could Be Fun for Primary Students (Faculty advisors: Mr Winston W C Yang, Lecturer, SCM)
	Steven Yang (Department of Electronic Engineering)	Novel Design of Base Station Antenna for 2G and 3G Mobile Communication Systems (Faculty advisor: Professor K M Luk, Professor Chair, EE)
Third	Anthony Ou (Department of Public and Social Administration)	Just War Theory: A Confucian View (Faculty advisors: Professor (Chair) Ian Holliday,
		Associate Professors Dr Daniel Bell and Dr Jermain Lam, Assistant Professor Dr Fan Ruiping, SA)
	Francis Kwong (Department of Computer Science)	Research and Development of Semantic Web Application with Intelligent Web Crawler (Faculty advisor: Dr Andy Chun, Associate Professor, CS)

CityU's winners learned lessons from participating in the contest that reached beyond academia. "I was particularly impressed by mainland students' eagerness to acquire new knowledge, even on subjects beyond their profession or expertise," said Kenji Yum, winner of the Distinction Award. "Meanwhile, I also learned a lot from our local counterparts."  

"I appreciated that university students on the mainland make constructive criticism in an open, direct and objective manner for the sake of intellectual pursuit," Steven Yang added. "Their sincerity towards learning deserves our respect."

"I used to think that the mainland students lack innovative ideas," Thomas Wu commented. "I have now changed my view because I find that they are indeed very creative!"

 In addition to being an eye-opening and enjoyable experience, the contest helped the students expand their contacts and network with others. "I am glad to have met a number of experts in my field. I'll keep in touch with them through email," Anthony Ou said.

Mr H Y Wong, Director of Technology Transfer Office, and Dr Ruth Yee, Associate Director (Activities and Welfare) of Student Development Services, were advisers to the delegation. They commended the students for good team spirit and cooperation. "This is an educational experience that broadens our students' horizons on the professional and personal level," said Dr Yee, who also served as Deputy Chairperson of the Hong Kong delegation. "With appropriate resources and opportunities, I believe that CityU also can, in collaboration with other local education institutions, organize similar events such as the Challenger Cup in Hong Kong to promote exchange and cooperation among university students."

An exhibition of the winning projects is on at the Covered Terrace until 24 December.