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Meet Sean Kong, the 13-year-old maths prodigy who is the youngest student ever at City University of Hong Kong

  • Sean Kong raced through his early education, skipping his last year of kindergarten and four grades after that
  • He is pursuing a degree in engineering and hopes to change how technology is used in manufacturing

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Teachers discovered Sean Kong could perform double-digit multiplication at age five. Photo: Dickson Lee

A 13-year-old maths prodigy is taking in stride the pressure that comes with being the youngest student in the history of City University of Hong Kong.

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Sean Kong Ko-lun is used to being younger than his classmates. He skipped his last year of kindergarten and then four grades after that before acing his GCE A-level exams.

“Even though I was admitted at a younger age than normal, I don’t feel much pressure because I interact with other students very well in a friendly manner,” he said. “So I feel accepted, just like any university student.”

Sean with his parents, Ada and Eric Kong. Photo: Dickson Lee
Sean with his parents, Ada and Eric Kong. Photo: Dickson Lee

Sean is pursuing engineering and hopes to shape the technology of the future, especially how it relates to manufacturing.

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“I’m taking a course called intelligent manufacturing engineering … this course is very interesting to me because it combines some computer science-related things, like artificial intelligence and big data, to help with the processes of the industry,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

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