Preamble:
Science and technology are widely applied in our daily life.  From invention of paper and printing press in ancient times to the coming of age of computers and the Internet recently, science and technology have brought convenience to human's life.  Of course they have also spawned social problems.  What is your opinion on the use of science and technology in Hong Kong?  Can we do better?  Try to use your imagination and tell us about your dreams to improve human's life.

Objective:
To enhance understanding and interest in science. Through activities including information collection, research and analysis, the competition is also aimed at strengthening students' scientific thinking, critical reasoning and communication skills.

Theme:
"How do Applications of Science and Technology Enhance Quality of Life?"

Entries:
Two categories: primary and secondary schools. No more than five teams from each school. At most six students in each team, to be guided by a teacher. No student shall be represented in more than one team.

Rules:
All submissions will not be returned. The copyright of all prize-winning submissions belongs to the Organizer. Participation in the competition automatically means that the relevant participants and participating schools accept the Organizer's authority to publish, exhibit, display, and distribute all prize-winning submissions to any media, without prior approval from the participants or schools.

All participants and participating schools accept and agree with the rules and regulations upon taking part in this competition. The Organizer reserves the sole and absolute right to interpret these rules and regulations as well as other prescribed conditions and regulations and to settle finally and determine all matters in regard thereto or otherwise arising out of the competition. Any decisions made by the Organizer and the judging panel will be final.

Intellectual property right:
All participants and participating schools shall respect intellectual property rights. All sources of information, including but not limited to articles, journals, books, webpages, pictures, graphs etc., that have been used in the report must be fully acknowledged. All participating teams must obtain authorization from the owners of the intellectual property right before use, wherever necessary. All participating teams are responsible and shall ensure their submissions will not infringe other people's intellectual property rights.

Submission of report:
Each team should submit a report of no more than 20 pages (including text, photos and graphics), in either English or Chinese, on or before 1 March 2010. The report shall be prepared on A4-size paper, with font size 12 or above. The duly completed form (pdf format), together with two printed copies of the report and a CD containing the report in digital form, shall be mailed or submitted in person during office hours to: Hong Kong Observatory Resource Centre, Units 2304-2309, 23/F Miramar Tower, 132 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Please print the theme, school name, name of supervising teacher, and names and classes of participating students on the report cover.

Adjudication:
Adjudication will take place in the first quarter of 2010. Finalists will be invited for a short presentation of their reports. The panel of judges will consist of senior professionals in the civil service and experts from other organisations. Submissions will be assessed by their accuracy of contents, insight, creativity, practicality, language and presentation skills.

Prizes:
There will be a total of 20 prizes. For each of the primary and secondary school categories, there will be a winner, a 1st-runner up, a 2nd-runner up and seven meritorious winners. The prizes for each category are as follows:

Winner	A trophy, a certificate, and book coupon of HK$5,000
1st runners-up	A trophy, a certificate, and book coupon of HK$3,000
2nd runners-up	A trophy, a certificate, and book coupon of HK$2,000
7 "Meritorious"	A trophy, a certificate, and book coupon of HK$1,000

Results and awards presentation:
Results will be announced in the second quarter of 2010. Prize-winners will be notified separately by mail or email, and will be invited to an awards presentation ceremony.