‘Tram-azing’ competition encourages innovation to attract visitors to explore Hong Kong’s wonders
Tramplus ‘BuilDING Our Future’ Grand Challenge 2024 is co-organised by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s Academy for Bright Future Young Engineers and Hong Kong Tramways.
Each champion team has received HK$10,000 and a one-month tram body advertisement. Photo: HandoutOn December 14, 20 shortlisted secondary student teams pitched their ideas to visitors to their booths at the Tramplus “BuilDING Our Future” Grand Challenge finale.
Organised by Hong Kong Tramways’ sister company, Tramplus, and co-organised by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s (HKUST) Academy for Bright Future Young Engineers and Hong Kong Tramways, the finale was held at Shaw Auditorium, a fitting venue for a competition that combines the traditional charm of Hong Kong’s iconic “ding ding” trams with cutting-edge ideas and technologies.
The champions of the two divisions, Chinese and English, were students from Queen’s College Old Boys’ Association Secondary School for their “Tram Experience Museum” proposal and students from St Mary’s Canossian College for their “Tramendous Tramways” proposal.
Each champion team won HK$10,000 and a one-month tram body advertisement for their schools to promote their remarkable achievements. Other awards for each division included the Best Innovation Award, Best Design Award, Best Presenter Award, Best Social Impact Award, Best Sustainability Award, Best Use of Technology Award and Audience’s Choice Award.
With the theme “Reimagining the HK Tramways Experience: Blending Traditions with Innovations to Captivate Tourists” the teams were asked to be ambitious and dream big.
One judge, Nixon Cheung, general manager at Tramplus, said that it’s best to let students figure out for themselves why Hong Kong trams with 120 years of history are worth preserving.
“Each one of us represents Hong Kong and by telling our stories, we help others to better understand the city and all its wonders,” Cheung said.
A ride on a tram can take passengers on a foodie adventure as well as a journey through the city’s past and present. The student projects highlighted the importance of bringing new dimensions to the experience using technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, polymer-dispersed liquid crystal smart glass displays and more.
In the months before the finale, students took a tram heritage tour and a masterclass where they learned about design thinking, different technologies, heritage conservation and sustainable development, and they also gained valuable peer feedback to refine their projects.
Competition judge Professor Ben Y.B. Chan, associate director of HKUST’s Academy for Bright Future Young Engineers, was very pleased to see how passionately the students spoke about their ideas.
“Each idea exists in its own world. Develop that world. Creativity is about infinitely expanding your ideas and transforming them into tangible results,” said Professor Chan.
In their winning proposal, “Tram Experience Museum”, the Chinese Division champion team from Queen’s College Old Boys’ Association Secondary School plans to set up an immersive tram exhibition featuring trams from past to present at the harbourfront, so participants can experience the rich cultural roots of trams in Hong Kong.
The winning proposal “Tramendous Tramways” from the English Division champion team from St Mary’s Canossian College brings trams to life with animated digital displays and LED lights using Bluetooth technology for tram-to-tram interaction. Additionally, a photo competition would be introduced to boost engagement on social media.
Competition judge Ang Jin, chief growth officer at the South China Morning Post, was impressed by the presentations and commented that the St Mary’s Canossian College team began with key points which were echoed in their conclusion, closing the pitch perfectly.