HPE Student Conference 2024/25 showcases innovation and excellence

Fifty final-year students from the Department of Health and Physical Education (HPE), typically seen competing in track and field events, swimming, playing ball sports or working out in gyms, present their final-year projects in formal attire at the Tai Po campus on 7 April. This event highlighted how they innovatively applied knowledge from their HPE classes to promote sports culture, enhance awareness of physical fitness, and improve athletic performance.

“The annual HPE Student Conference is a signature event for the department. It provides a platform for final-year students of the Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Physical Education (BEd(PE)) and Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Sports Science and Coaching (BSc(SPSC)) programmes to showcase their Honours or Capstone Projects. This event offers them an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how they apply knowledge learnt over the years in real-life scenarios,” Dr Gary Chow Chi-ching, Associate Head of HPE, said. He added that students refined their presentation skills by explaining their projects to staff members from HPE and other departments, fellow students, and external visitors.

All final-year students in the five-year BEd(PE) and two-year BSc(SPSC) programmes are required to design and implement either an Honours Project or a Capstone Project. Those opting for research-focused Honours Projects conduct investigations into traditional sports science topics, such as kinematics, injury research, performance and recovery assessments, biomechanics, and sports psychology. Students undertaking Capstone Projects apply sports science and pedagogical theories to create innovative solutions related to sports promotion and physical and health education. Both groups are required to present their projects at the HPE Student Conference towards the end of their studies.

This year, 41 students presented Capstone Projects, and nine students presented Honours Projects using well-designed posters, project products, and audio-visual aids at the HPE Student Conference 2024/25 held on 7 April at Tai Po campus. The event was coordinated by two PhD students at HPE — Mr Kong Yu-hin and Ms Jaclyn Tsang Hei under the guidance of Dr Gary Chow, Dr Zheng Chen, and Dr Bob Sun Fenghua who formed the convening committee for the Honours Projects and Capstone Projects.

The conference featured projects that utilised virtual and augmented reality to improve educational experience and engagement in sports. Some projects employed motion capture technology to gather data for improving athletic performance. Other students explored new methods for sports documentation and examined different approaches to physical education and sports coaching, while some investigated the latest research in sports science.

HPE teachers voted for their favourite projects based on originality, methodological rigour, and significance, alongside presentation skills. The six students with the most votes were awarded the Best Poster Presentation titles. Recipients included Ms Ngai Lok-ching, Ms Siu Ngai-yiu, and Ms Carmen Leung Ka-man from the BEd(PE) programme, and Mr Hugo Chow Tsz-hei, Mr Sunny Chu Yiu-nam and Ms Lie Hiu-man from the BSc(SPSC) programme.

In her capstone project, Ms Carmen Leung designed a card game to increase primary school students’ physical activity levels and fitness performance, motivating them to participate in physical activities beyond physical education classes. She described it as a fun way to learn about physical fitness through playing a card game. “My project was similar to product development, covering the entire journey from concept incubation to final product delivery. This included designing prototypes, collecting feedback, revising the design, and sourcing a printer," shared the long-jumper.

Carmen highlighted that the biggest challenge was creating 58 fitness and stretching exercises tailored for primary school children. Additionally, she found it difficult to arrange text alongside pictures on the cards in a clear, easily understandable and visually attractive way due to her limited experience with card design. “I want to thank my project supervisor Dr Leung Ka-man for helping in research design and data analysis, and I am thrilled that the conference boosted my confidence in public presentation,” she said.

Mr Hugo Chow Tsz-hei aimed to promote windsurfing through his capstone project. “I interviewed former members of the city’s windsurfing team, coaches, event organisers and key figures involved in the sport’s development. Using AI-assisted tools, I transcribed the recordings into text and completed the layout work for the 86-page book,” the windsurfing and windfoiling sportsman said.

While Hugo found producing a book of oral history rewarding, the life lessons learnt from the interviewees were his biggest takeaway. “I was greatly inspired by a sharing from Mr Chan King-yin, Head Coach of the Hong Kong Windsurfing Team. He said that no one can predict when Hong Kong windsurfers will win the next Olympic Gold medal, but it won’t happen unless we believe in it,” Hugo said. He thanked his supervisor Dr Gary Chow for his continuous support: “At one point, I thought about giving up, but I persisted to the end because of Dr Chow’s encouragement.”

“The student conference has become a highlight of the year, providing a platform for final-year students to share ideas and connect in a friendly atmosphere. With 50 students participating, this year’s conference was a huge success! I saw students putting in a lot of effort to come up with a topic, devise and implement a plan, and prepare for the final presentation. They overcame many challenges and gained new experiences in the process. We are proud of all the incredible achievements our students have made," Dr Gary Chow concluded at the debriefing-cum-closing ceremony of the conference.

Click conference’s official website to understand more information.

List of best presenters: