Site safety has always been a priority in the construction industry. For welders, there can be significant health risks from enduring intense light, high temperatures and harmful gases for extended periods.
One local engineering equipment firm recently acquired a welding robot, primarily for connecting foundation piles. Project Manager Ken Lai highlighted that the robot not only enhances worker safety but also accelerates construction times.
Significant benefits
“Traditional welders must work close to the workpieces, exposing them to harmful light and gases,” Mr Lai explained. “By using welding robots, operators can control them from a safe distance, effectively reducing health risks.”
He added: “With programmed operations, we can ensure each procedure is performed under stable conditions, improving efficiency and significantly enhancing the final product’s quality.”
In the current context of labour shortages, Mr Lai believes construction robots can address this issue effectively. “Our operators can control at least two robots simultaneously, significantly enhancing construction efficiency. This allows us to maintain high productivity levels even with a reduced workforce.”
Besides its welding robot, the company has acquired a painting robot, a transportation robot and a cutting robot. For these four purchases, it has been granted funding in excess of $3.3 million via the Construction Innovation & Technology Fund (CITF).
“Our robots have received up to 80% funding assistance from the CITF, which encourages us to explore more applications for construction robots and drive innovation in the industry.”
Extensiveprogramme
The CITF, established in 2018, has channelled $2.2 billion in government funding towards promoting innovative construction methods and technologies. Its objectives include enhancing productivity, improving construction quality, increasing site safety and boosting environmental performance. The Construction Industry Council advises the Government on the fund’s operations and participates in funding approvals.
As of March of this year, the fund had approved applications totalling approximately $1.68 billion, benefitting around 1,330 companies. About 60% of these firms have been small or medium-sized enterprises.
The council’s Executive Director Albert Cheng revealed: “The most popular categories are building information modelling and advanced construction technologies, with over 60% of applications falling into these areas.”
Full menu
In recent years, the fund has run a special programme to support the implementation of the Smart Site Safety System. This programme provides a “package” of options to help the industry select and apply the most suitable innovative technologies to enhance construction site safety across various environments.
“Some contractors lack clarity on the best safety devices to adopt under different conditions and stages,” said Mr Cheng. “The Construction Industry Council aims to assist these stakeholders by creating standard lists of devices.
“We also provide information on the market providers for each device and their pricing, enabling stakeholders to quickly understand the costs and types of devices they need to adopt.”
Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Rosanna Law will depart tomorrow for a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia to strengthen co-operation between Hong Kong and the Middle East in culture, sports and tourism.
Miss Law will attend the Arabian Travel Market 2025 in the UAE and meet government officials, trade representatives, and cultural and tourism organisations there before proceeding to Saudi Arabia.
She will return to Hong Kong on May 1. During her absence, Under Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Raistlin Lau will be Acting Secretary.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region 3
LCQ10: Nurturing and attracting innovation and technology talents Question:
There are views that in order to realise the vision of developing Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre, as well as to develop new quality productive forces and promote sustainable economic development, Hong Kong needs to nurture and attract sufficient I&T talents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers and ratios of senior secondary students who took the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and the Extended Part of Mathematics, as well as those who took two or more of the above subjects at the same time in the past three school years;
(2) of the measures the Government has put in place to encourage students to take science subjects including Physics, Chemistry, Biology and the Extended Part of Mathematics, etc, so as to further nurture local I&T talents;
(3) as there are views that in order to realise Hong Kong’s positioning as centres for development in eight key areas as set out in the Outline of the National 14th Five-Year Plan, relevant human resources plans are a crucial complementary part, of the Government’s plans in place to further nurture and attract talents, so as to achieve the objectives of the relevant human resources plans;
(4) as there are views that artificial intelligence (AI) has become a major element required for future development, whether the Government will study making coding and AI applications compulsory subjects in primary and secondary schools and provide relevant teaching guidelines for teachers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5) as there are views that there is currently a shortage of teachers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) education, whether the Government will consider introducing AI-assisted teaching and “Massive Open Online Courses” (i.e. opening up courses to a large number of online users for participation in learning through the Internet) to enable students to receive multi-model software application training online and equip themselves early, so as to meet the needs of the future job market; and
(6) as there are views pointing out that at present, generative AI has already been integrated into life, for example, free chatbots such as DeepSeek can be downloaded and used free of charge on the Internet, whether the authorities will consider providing teaching guidelines for teachers to make full use of AI-assisted teaching, such as allowing AI to act as classroom assistants and assist teachers in drawing up curriculum frameworks, and at the same time encouraging students to interact with AI, so as to enable students to master as early as possible the skills of using AI?
Reply:
President,
The government continues to proactively promote science and mathematics education in primary and secondary schools, and strengthen digital education so as to provide talent support for developing Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology (I&T) hub as well as fully implementing the national strategies of invigorating the country through science and education, strengthening the nation with talents, and driving development through innovation. The Education Bureau (EDB), by optimising the curriculum and enhancing teacher training, creates a learning atmosphere of science and I&T in schools and cultivates students’ interest and ability in learning mathematics, science and technology from an early age, as well as their digital literacy, fostering their aspirations in science and I&T, and enabling students to embrace the opportunities brought by the development of I&T and meet the requirements of the future workplace.
Regarding the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Elizabeth Quat, our reply is as follows:
(1) and (2) Following the implementation of the optimisation measures for senior secondary curriculum introduced by the EDB in the 2021/22 school year, which has provided students with more space, the number of students taking three elective subjects at the senior secondary level has increased significantly. Among them, the number and percentage of students taking Physics, Chemistry, Biology and the Mathematics Extended Modules (M1/M2), as well as those taking two or more of these subjects have shown a steady increase from the 2021/22 school year to the 2023/24 school year. Details are as follows:
School Year(32.7%)(25.9%)(19.7%)(34.7%)(34.6%)(33.1%)(25.6%)(20.1%)(35.5%)(35.0%)(33.1%)(25.8%)(20.8%)(36.1%)Source: The Survey on Senior Secondary Subject Information conducted by the EDB. The data is provided by approximately 440 schools (including government and aided secondary schools, caput schools, and secondary schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme) offering the local senior secondary curriculum. Data for the 2024/25 school year is still being collected.
The EDB is taking a multi-faceted approach to strengthen students’ foundation in science and mathematics so as to further nurturing local I&T talents. In respect of curriculum, the EDB will continue to optimise the curriculum, including reviewing the current senior secondary curricula of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, and enhancing I&T elements. We are also strengthening mathematics education by launching more school support programmes on promoting mathematical modelling education, fostering students’ ability to apply mathematics and their interest in learning mathematics.
Regarding teacher training, the EDB continuously organises professional development programmes in science, mathematics, and I&T for teachers, enabling teachers to stay abreast of the latest developments in I&T and incorporate innovative elements into classroom teaching. Topics in these programmes cover biotechnology, robotics, energy technology, and mathematical modelling, with an aim to enrich students’ learning experiences.
On student activities, we continue to collaborate with I&T related organisations, such as tertiary institutions, Cyberport, professional engineering bodies, and the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education, to provide students with I&T related experiential activities, lectures, competitions, and training programmes both within and beyond the classroom. Examples include the Distinguished Lecture Series on Applications of Mathematics in STEAM World, the Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition, and the Innovative Engineering Education Programme for Primary and Secondary Schools. All these initiatives aim to inspire students to pursue careers in scientific research and I&T, so as to meet the future demand for innovative talents in society.
We will set up an ad hoc committee under the Curriculum Development Council Committee on Science Education to engage various stakeholders in exploring options for further optimising science education.
(3) Education is the key to nurturing talents. For the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities, the Government has set the target in the 2022 Policy Address to continue to enhance post-secondary education by encouraging them to offer programmes with greater relevance to future economic development, such that students from the UGC-universities studying in disciplines relevant to the “eight centres” will reach around 60 per cent by the 2026/27 academic year. Through the triennial Planning Exercise of UGC, the UGC-funded universities will offer more new programmes relevant to the “eight centres” in the 2025-28 triennium, thereby nurturing more talents to meet the development needs of Hong Kong and creating impetus for the development of the “eight centres”.
(4), (5) and (6) The promotion of digital education (including artificial intelligence (AI)) in primary and secondary schools by the EDB focuses on enhancing students’ digital literacy and laying a solid foundation for the development of digital skills, nurturing students to become responsible citizens and lifelong learners.
To encourage schools to adopt AI in supporting teaching, the EDB launched the “AI for Science Education” Funding Programme on a pilot basis for Junior Secondary Science in the end of 2024. This funding programme is open to applications from publicly funded secondary schools. Successful applicant schools will receive a one-off grant of $100,000 to arrange for science teachers to enroll in training courses offered by tertiary institutions or relevant professional bodies, fostering pedagogical innovation.
To enable students to master coding and AI skills from an early age, the EDB has launched the “Module on Artificial Intelligence for Junior Secondary Level” and the “Enriched Module on Coding Education for Upper Primary Level” in 2023, which further cultivate students’ computational thinking more systematically and enhance students’ understanding of the foundation and application of AI. The curriculum modules include suggestions and guidelines of learning and teaching for teachers’ reference. Almost all publicly-funded schools have implemented the enriched coding education and AI education in upper primary level and junior secondary level respectively.
Regarding teacher training, the EDB continues to provide professional development programmes related to coding and AI. These programmes focus on guiding students to effectively utilise I&T and information technology tools to solve problems, thereby enhancing learning and teaching effectiveness. The training courses also cover the application of AI tools in teaching across various subjects, including helping teachers master essential skills to teach students how to effectively pose questions to generative AI tools, enabling them to fully leverage AI to support teaching. The courses also share the good practices from schools on integrating AI technology into teaching, such as using these tools to design lesson plans and develop teaching materials. Additionally, the training assists teachers in developing school-based arrangements or guidelines for the use of AI, tailored to their specific teaching contexts. The training courses are conducted in both online and offline modes to benefit a greater number of teachers.
With regard to e-learning platforms and resources, the Quality Education Fund of the EDB has reserved $500 million to provide schools with a total of 22 projects, which have commenced at the beginning of the 2023/24 school year. The projects will deploy innovative technologies such as big data and AI to enhance learning and teaching effectiveness in a wide array of subjects/areas, including mathematics and science education, coding, robotics. It is expected that in mid-2025, the deliverables of projects will be successively released for use by schools. In addition, we are collaborating with the Hong Kong Education City to launch an online learning platform on AI and computational thinking, as well as a webpage featuring expert lecture videos by 2025, aiming to promote self-directed online learning among students (including learning the application of various software).
The higher education in Hong Kong has always been bold in innovation and growing together with technological development. With the advent of generative AI, innovative and breakthrough technologies have presented new challenges and enormous opportunities in transforming pedagogies and student learning experiences. To this end, the UGC, with the support from the Quality Assurance Council, has allocated $100 million to set up the Fund for Innovative Technology-in-Education to provide impetus for universities to harness innovative and breakthrough technologies in transforming pedagogies and enriching student learning experiences, and to nurture a digitally competent and technologically responsible generation, for the future success of their students in the digital economy. Universities also actively explore the application of AI in teaching and learning, such as providing AI learning tools and introducing AI lecturers, etc. In addition, a number of universities are currently providing Massive Open Online Courses for students from all over the world to study programmes online, with some being free of charge. Through a more flexible and innovative learning mode, these courses provide a more convenient progression pathway for students who aspire to self-enhancement. Issued at HKT 11:50
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region 3
From the 2017/18 academic year, the Government provides a non-means-tested annual subsidy for eligible students pursuing full-time locally accredited local and non-local self-financing undergraduate (including top-up degree) programmes in Hong Kong (save for those enrolling in places already supported under the Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/Sectors) offered by eligible institutions.
The non-means-tested annual subsidy is up to $35,120 in the 2025/26 academic year. The subsidy will apply to both new and continuing eligible students, and is tenable for the normal duration of the programmes concerned. Eligible students enrolling in the relevant programmes will pay a tuition fee after subsidy. Students in need may still apply for student financial assistance from the Student Finance Office of the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency in respect of the actual amount of tuition fee payable.
To understand the eligibility, participating institutions and programmes of the scheme, please visit www.cspe.edu.hk/nmtss for details.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ17: Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination programme offered outside Hong Kong It is learnt that the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) is widely recognised, and its multiple pathways have attracted quite a number of students outside Hong Kong to register for it. To meet the needs of students, the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority has accepted four Mainland schools in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as “Participating Schools” and allowed them to present their eligible candidates to register for the HKDSE as school candidates. These “Participating Schools” have been accredited by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications as meeting the requirements for offering HKDSE programmes. In addition, other eligible students may register for the HKDSE as private candidates. There are views that, on the contrary, the quality and qualifications of teachers of HKDSE programmes offered by non-“Participating Schools” and other training institutions outside Hong Kong vary, and problems even frequently arise in some training courses for the HKDSE operated under affiliated overseas organisations, not only affecting the students but also tarnishing the image of the HKDSE. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of cases with people outside Hong Kong registering for the HKDSE as private candidates were rejected in the past three years, and the reasons for that; among such cases, the respective numbers of review applications involved and successful review applications;
(2) of the following information on the requests for assistance or complaints received by the authorities in the past three years in relation to training programmes for the HKDSE offered outside Hong Kong: (i) the number of cases received, (ii) the main details of the cases, (iii) the specific follow-up measures taken by the authorities, (iv) the number of cases for which follow-up actions were completed, and (v) the time taken by the authorities to complete the follow-up actions on these cases; and
(3) whether the authorities have considered setting up a qualification accreditation system for teachers, teaching materials and curricula of the HKDSE programmes offered outside Hong Kong; if so, of the specific standards and procedures; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply: The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) is a widely recognised academic qualification in Hong Kong and abroad. Apart from using the HKDSE results for further studies or employment in Hong Kong, candidates can apply for direct admission to non-local universities or post-secondary institutions. Post-secondary institutions worldwide accept applications from students using their HKDSE results. More than 1 000 of them have published their entry requirements for HKDSE holders on the website of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) and the number of overseas institutions doing so is steadily increasing.
The reply to the question raised by Professor the Hon William Wong is set out below:
(1) In the past three years, there were 11 (2023), 52 (2024) and 77 (2025) cases in which applications from persons outside Hong Kong for entry to the HKDSE as private candidates were rejected. It is because the applicants concerned failed to meet the requirements of the examination regulations of the HKDSE for private candidates.
As at March 18, 2025, there were a total of 199 cases for review of the application for the 2025 HKDSE by persons outside Hong Kong, of which 169 were successful, with the vast majority involving the submission of additional supplementary information. For the 2024 HKDSE, there was only one case for review of the application by a person outside Hong Kong, which was successful. There was no application for review for the 2023 HKDSE.
(2) In the past three years, the Education Bureau has not received any requests for assistance or complaints relating to training programmes for the HKDSE conducted outside Hong Kong.
(3) The entry qualifications for the HKDSE are categorised into school candidates and private candidates. School candidates should be bona fide Secondary Six (or Secondary Six equivalent) students of HKDSE “Participating Schools” and studying at the registered address of the schools as per the record of the HKEAA. If a school for Hong Kong children/Hong Kong and Macao children in the Greater Bay Area in the Mainland intends to become a HKDSE “Participating School”, for recommending its bona fide Secondary Six students to sit for the HKDSE as school candidates, it has to obtain the approval of the relevant Mainland authorities and the consent of the HKEAA. In order to meet the requirements for the implementation of the Hong Kong curriculum, the schools concerned must make complementary efforts in terms of the quality of teaching and learning and the administration of the senior secondary schools. It should also be fully accredited by, among others, the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications on its curriculum and operation to demonstrate that it is comparable to a registered school in Hong Kong before it can apply to the HKEAA to become a “Participating School” in the HKDSE. Since there is already a well-established system for schools to become “Participating Schools” in the HKDSE, the Education Bureau does not consider it necessary to set up other accreditation system for HKDSE programmes outside Hong Kong at this stage. Issued at HKT 11:30
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is a question by the Hon Lam Chun-sing and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (March 19):
Question: (2) According to the JUPAS Office, the number of dependants admitted to UGC-funded FYFD programmes through the JUPAS route in the three years from the 2022-23 to 2024-25 academic years are 62, 68 and 185 respectively.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region 3
The Education Bureau, Hong Kong Education City, and Committee on Home-School Co-operation will co-organise the “Embracing the e+ Internet Generation Parent Seminar (4): Identifying Fake News & Vision Management Tips”. The seminar will be held on 12 April 2025 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm in webinar mode. Registration is now open (application deadline: 11 April 2025 5:00 pm). An Assistant Professor from the Department of Communication at Hong Kong Baptist University will share the fact-checking strategy and relevant tools, using real-life cases to demonstrate how to discern the authenticity of online information. A clinical assistant professor (Honorary), from Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, will share methods for preventing myopia in children, slowing its progression, and treating high myopia. Parents are cordially invited to join the seminar. For details, please refer to the website (https://www.hkedcity.net/eventcalendar/event/67e0da91cc9f93313d08642f).
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Plastics are widely used in our daily lives, but their decomposition may take over a hundred years, during which they will be fragmented into plastic particles. If waste plastics accidentally enter into the sea, not only will they affect the marine ecosystem, plastic particle fragments or microplastics will also enter into the food chain if absorbed by marine organisms, thereby threatening human and animal health.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Government launched the Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050 on 8 October 2021, setting out the vision of “Zero-carbon Emissions· Liveable City·Sustainable Development”, and outlining the strategies and targets for combating climate change and achieving carbon neutrality. For details, please see the Action Plan.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Government issued the Clean Air Plan for Hong Kong 2035 with the vision of “Healthy Living．Low-carbon Transformation．World Class”. It leads Hong Kong to a liveable city with air quality on par with major international cities by 2035.