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5.3 General awareness and education competitions. In 2017, the HKCSS and EMSD co-organised the 5
Gerontech Youth Challenge, an annual competition to encourage
on gerontech
youth to design innovative products for older persons (HKCSS,
As previously noted, our survey results found that people’s 2019). We recommend the continuation of youth competitions
awareness of gerontech has seen the most significant like the Gerontech Youth Challenge on an annual basis. Also,
improvement, receiving the highest score from our respondents to transform students’ innovative ideas into reality, we recommend
(score 1.08). This comes as no surprise with widespread gerontech that youth competitions incorporate a follow-up prototype
initiatives surfacing in recent years. However, despite efforts to stage to commercialise innovative designs. Education & Talent Development
raise awareness, there is a lack of initiatives tailored towards
younger people. Increasing general awareness and education At the tertiary level, students should be offered courses on
of gerontech among our younger population is important since gerontech-related content. At present, only a few courses are
many young people have some form of relationship to the elderly, offered by PolyU and LingnanU (PolyU, 2020; LingnanU Bachelor
whether through familial ties, as informal caregivers, or even as of Social Sciences (Honours), 2021; LingnanU Master of Social
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potential talent that may want to work in the gerontech industry. Sciences in Health and Social Service Management, 2021).
This section therefore hopes to bridge the intergenerational gap Apart from the two universities, most higher institutions do not
in awareness through targeted efforts. offer gerontech-related content. This is especially concerning as
students interested in solving elderly problems with technology
may be disincentivised to pursue gerontech as an official field
Recommendation 5.3: Promote a of study. For example, tertiary students under the Vocational
gerontech educational curriculum Training Council (VTC) Group successfully developed gerontech
products at the HKHS’s Gerontech Competition this year (HKHS,
and related competitions 2021). Despite this, no gerontech courses are being offered
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to students in applied education. We therefore recommend
To initiate this, different educational methods can be employed that tertiary courses covering gerontech-related content
at various stages of learning. For example, at the primary and be expanded across all universities and applied education
secondary levels, students’ interest can be sparked through school institutes in Hong Kong.

69 For example, the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Polytechnic University offers a course on Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology (PolyU, 2020). At the
Lingnan University, Master of Social Sciences in Health and Social Service Management students are offered gerontech-related content in a course on Modern Technology in Health
and Social Services course (LingnanU Master of Social Sciences in Health and Social Service Management, 2021).
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The HKHS organised the Gerontech Competition to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and gerontechnology in the community. More than
750 students from nearly 150 teams participated (HKHS Press Release, 2021).
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