ESF STEM Innovation Fair (InnoFair) 2023

We are thrilled to announce that Island School students won 1st and 2nd place at the ESF STEM Innovation Fair (InnoFair) 2023. Airi Tachino in 12D and Anson Chan in 12F won first place, while Hannah Lee, Quenie Lam and Tammi Ip, all in 12R, were awarded Second Runner Up.

The InnoFair is a competition open to Y10-13 high school students across Hong Kong, designed to encourage investigation within the fields of STEM. Participants conduct research within their own areas of STEM interest and present findings at the final exhibition, which took place on Saturday at Renaissance College. Throughout this process, students have the opportunity to be mentored by professors in various STEM fields across Hong Kong. 

Airi and Anson reflect on the experience, “It is an honor to be crowned champions of the ESF Innovation STEM fair 2023, and we could not have done it without the support of Ms. Harte, Mr. Hood, Annette, Angus, and our mentor HKMU Professor, Dr. Chan Ping Lung Panda. Our project, which focused on investigating the antimicrobial properties of lichens and their potential to be utilized for hand sanitizers, came with much turmoil of continuous challenges; from the stress of balancing work with IB to the long stays in the science facilities at school to sourcing our materials from both our Professor and the schools’ inventory, nonetheless, we were glad to see that our hard work paid off at the end.”

Hannah, Quenie and Tammi commented, “It was an honour to participate in this year’s Innofair experience! We were awarded 2nd Runner Up for our project investigating the sustainability and feasibility of gelatin-based biopolymer plastic in comparison to traditional oil-based plastics. Preparing for Innofair was both an fulfilling and fun experience! Although we ran into some difficulties in the process of conducting experiments, we were able to put our problem-solving skills to the test and develop ourselves even further. It allowed us to grow our interest in the topic as we found the link between science and our results. The fair challenged our communication skills, giving us an opportunity to present to groups of like-minded students. Overall, it was an amazing experience and we can’t wait to be back!”