HSMC-Whittier Social Innovation Competition 2018/19
Winning team’s representative in HSUHK:
- Champion: Mr Lam Chun Kai, Thomas
- 1st Runner-Up: Miss Tse Kwan Tsz, Jane
- 2nd Runner-Up: Mr Ho Kai Kong, Sean
Photo of Dr Eden Chow (Middle) and the representatives of HSUHK in Whittier College, Los Angeles, USA
Application Guidelines
Objectives
HSMC-Whittier Social Innovation Competition is a social innovation competition jointly organized by the Centre of Teaching and Learning (CTL), the Institute of Youth Sustainability and Leadership (IYSL), the Wu Jieh Yee Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WUCIE) at HSUHK and Whittier College, Los Angeles, US (Whittier). Its primary aims are to arouse the awareness of students from both Colleges about the critical social and environmental issues in local or across the globe and to promote innovative solutions for tackling social issues. It also aims at encouraging cross-cultural understanding through collaborative teamwork formed across campuses.
Eligibility
Current regular students at HSMC
Details of the Competition
Students from both Colleges will work as collaborative teams to devise innovative ideas for one of the Sustainable Development Goals specified by the United Nations.
In 2018/19, the chosen themes for the Competition are:
- Responsible Consumption and Production
- Quality Education
- Poverty
- Reduced Inequalities
- Sustainable Cities and Communities
Each team will be formed with one student from each College. A maximum of 5 teams will be admitted for the Competition in 2018/19. The selection and the matching of the team members will be done based on the criteria set by a joint committee formed by the faculty members of both Colleges.
Timeline
| Stage 1 | Date |
| Open for application
|
8 October 2018 – 22 October 2018 at 24:00
|
| Applicants need to submit a 1,000-word statement (in PDF file) via the online application form: https://goo.gl/AZybML on or before 24:00, 22 October 2018 (Monday). The statement should be written with the following sections with any diagrams or charts where appropriate:
– Problem identification (identify a social problem from the five chosen themes above) – Existing solutions (if any) – Proposed solutions – Key stakeholder(s) engagement – Expected achievement through the Competition |
|
| Stage 2 | Date |
| Interview with shortlisted candidates |
Interview period: 15 – 24 October 2018
|
| The shortlisted candidates need to attend an interview to
– Explain why they are interested in participating in the Competition; and – Elaborate more on their chosen social issue as submitted in the written statement. |
|
| Stage 3 | Date |
| Announcement of finalists on WUCIE website |
26 October 2018
|
| Stage 4 | Date |
| Announcement of Matching Results and Commencement of Teamwork |
Postponed to 8/9 November 2018 (Thur/Fri)
|
| Each of the five HSMC finalists will team up with a Whittier student to form a team of two. They will need to work together via virtual meetings on a mutually agreed social issue under one of the potential themes below:
– Responsible Consumption and Production (Goal 12) – Quality Education (Goal 4) – No Poverty (Goal 1) – Reduced Inequalities (Goal 10) – Sustainable Cities and Communities (Goal 11) Please refer to United Nation Sustainability Goals for more details about these themes. |
|
| Stage 5 | Date |
| Submission of the preliminary proposal of the social innovation initiative | Postponed to 28 December 2018 |
| Before submitting the preliminary proposal, each team should create a communication initiative (in form of social media platforms, websites, and/or exhibitions) to illustrate their chosen theme, the key message they want to deliver to the public and the rationales behind the key message (around 500 words) within November 2018. They are recommended to elaborate the research findings or statistics provided by international institutions such as World Bank, World Vision and United Nations etc. This will help you pave the way to address the social issues under the chosen theme through your proposed social innovation initiative.
|
|
| Stage 6 | Date |
| Competition, and cultural exchange activities in the Greater Los Angeles area |
Travel period: Final presentation: |
| The finalists will travel to the US to meet their teammates for finalising their social innovation initiatives, joining cultural exchange activities, and presenting their initiatives in the Final Competition hosted at Whittier College. | |
Cash Prize & Seed Fund
- Champion: US$2,500
- 1st runner-up: US$1,500
- 2nd runner-up: US$1,000
- Seed fund will also be provided for all three winning teams to launch their social innovation initiatives within a realistic timeframe.
Subsidy to HSMC Participants
- Round-trip economy class air tickets to and from Los Angeles, USA
- Local transportation costs – in form of petty cash
- Local accommodation during the visit
Announcement of Results
Applicants will be notified the result on 26 October 2018 via WUCIE website. The organising committee reserves the right of rescheduling the notification period. For enquiry, please contact WUCIE by phone (3963 5607/3963 5608) or email (cie@hsmc.edu.hk).
The decision of the organising committee is final. The organising committee reserves the right not to accept any application submitted in response to this competition and the right to interpret, amend, supplement the terms and condition in the guidelines.
General Terms
The organisers reserve the right to disqualify any team that violates the rules, conditions or spirit of the Competition. In case of any dispute, any decision made by the organisers shall be final and conclusive.
Confidentiality & Intellectual Property
All materials submitted must be original work and must not contain any unauthorised use of copyrighted or proprietary materials of any person or entity. Any form of plagiarism will result in automatic disqualification. Use of thoughts or work of another source must be properly referenced.