Preamble:
In recent years, mainland China is actively developing nuclear energy for electricity production.  Two nearby nuclear power plants in Yangjiang and Taishan will be in operation within the next two to three years.  However, the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan caused by the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami earlier this year triggered hot debates about the safety and necessity of using nuclear as an energy source.  Hong Kong is a densely populated city without natural resources.  There is a lack of potential for developing the use of renewable energy.  In the broader context of sustaining the development of our society and mitigation of climate change, what are your views on using nuclear energy in Hong Kong?  Can you arrive at a logical conclusion from a scientific angle?

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:
"Challenges and opportunities of using nuclear energy"

Entries:
Two categories: primary and secondary schools.  No more than five teams from each school.  A team should comprise of no more than six students, each 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 February 17, 2012. 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 2012. 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.

Competition Guidelines:
With the tragic nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan still fresh in the memory, the competition is meant to encourage students to learn more about the science and applications of nuclear energy, and to provide an opportunity for them to scrutinize the pros and cons of such an important subject of profound relevance.  

The participating teams are expected to study the issues from different perspectives in a scientific, objective and rational manner.  The projects will be judged not so much on the conclusions to be drawn about the issues per se, but rather on the students' ability in the assimilation and analyses of information for a coherent discussion in support of their conclusions, as well as their skills and clarity in the presentation of ideas and findings.  

The underlying principle, for both participating teachers and students, is to promote critical as well as creative thinking, in an open-minded approach untainted by biases or prejudices.  This has always been the basis how science evolves down the years and the learning path we hope our younger generations would continue to follow in the future.

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 2012. Prize-winners will be notified separately by mail or email, and will be invited to an awards presentation ceremony.