Hong Kong students achieve best ever results in IOM

HONG KONG, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- A team of eight Hong Kong students has achieved the best ever results in the sixth International Olympiad of Metropolises (IOM) by winning seven individual medals comprising four gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal, as well as a silver medal in the team competition.

Kevin Yeung, secretary for education of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, on Tuesday congratulated the Hong Kong team on its outstanding performance.

"I am proud of the remarkable results of the Hong Kong team this year, which is testimony to the hard work and high ability of our students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education," Yeung said.

Yeung noted that the Education Bureau of the HKSAR government, in keeping with its goal of continuously promoting STEM education, is looking to strengthen its collaboration with different stakeholders in organizing quality student learning activities such as the STEM Education Fair to be held next year.

The fair will provide an opportunity for students to showcase their learning achievements in STEM-related areas and for teachers to exchange teaching strategies in implementing STEM education, he added.

The bureau also encouraged schools to support the development of STEM education by arranging more out-of-classroom experiential learning activities so that students can apply what they have learned, Yeung said.

The IOM is an international competition covering informatics, mathematics, physics and chemistry. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's IOM was held online from Dec. 6 to 13, with around 260 contestants from 33 cities taking part.