OFCA announces 5G Campus Application Competition 2025 finalists
The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) announced today (August 8) the list of 10 school teams shortlisted for the final round of the 5G Campus Application Competition 2025.
OFCA is organising the Competition for the third year under the theme "5G x Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) - The Sky is the Limit for Knowledge" to enhance secondary school students' understanding of fifth generation mobile (5G) technology and UAS, and encourage them to explore the application of 5G technology in the low-altitude economy, with a view to enhancing their creativity and uncovering their potential in innovative technologies.
Launched in May this year, the Competition consists of two contest rounds. The first-round submission of entries closed at the end of July, with entries from 48 teams across 38 schools received. The entries showcase the abundant creativity of the participating teams. They cover a wide range of applications integrating 5G and UAS technologies with the low-altitude economy, which provide innovative and practical smart living solutions, such as anti-phone deception, search and rescue, crowd and traffic control, construction site safety, and real-time monitoring and maintenance.
The first-round judging panel comprised representatives from OFCA and the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the co-organiser of the Competition. After a detailed assessment based on the scoring criteria, the following 10 school teams have been shortlisted to compete in the final round (listed in alphabetical order of the school names):
Team |
Entry title |
Cheung Chuk Shan College |
Smart Landfill Monitoring and Campus STEAM Resource Platform |
Hong Kong Sea School |
5G Beach Monitoring and Emergency Rescue System |
Lok Sin Tong Leung Kau Kui College |
Anti-scam Spider Drone |
Marymount Secondary School |
Trailbuddy |
Po Leung Kuk Ma Kam Ming College |
Drone Park |
Queen Elizabeth School Old Students' Association Secondary School |
SKYGUIDE 5G |
Shun Tak Fraternal Association Yung Yau College |
Smart System on Maintenance Work after Severe Weather |
S.K.H. Chan Young Secondary School |
Construction S.A.F.E. |
St. Paul's Convent School |
5G x UAS for Traffic Enforcement |
Tsuen Wan Government Secondary School |
I Mist the Summer |
The finalists will be invited to participate in the Drone Operation and Mobile App Development Training Workshop to gain hands-on experience with drone operation and learn how to develop advanced mobile applications to demonstrate the feasibility and objectives of their entries. The finalists will then participate in the final-round competition on December 6 to present and explain their entries to the final-round judging panel, which comprises representatives from OFCA, academia, research institutes and industry experts. The judging panel will select the winners based on the scoring criteria. The award presentation ceremony will be held on the same day.
For more details and the latest news of the Competition, please visit the thematic website.
Source: AI-found images
Seven persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operation
The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted an anti-illegal worker operation codenamed "Contribute" today (January 15).During the operation, ImmD Task Force officers raided premises under renovation in a newly built public housing estate in Sheung Shui district.A total of six suspected illegal workers and one suspected employer were arrested. Thearrested suspected illegal workers comprise six men, aged 22 to 41. Furthermore, one man, aged 45, suspected of employing the illegal workers, was also arrested. An investigation into the suspected employers is ongoing, and the possibility of further arrests is not ruled out.
Apart from mounting the enforcement operation, ImmD officers and a promotional vehicle have been deployed to distribute "Don't Employ Illegal Workers" leaflets and convey the message in the estate.
An ImmD spokesman said, "Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him or her shall be guilty of an offence. Also, visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years' imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties."
The spokesman stressed that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. Under the Immigration Ordinance, the maximum penalty for an employer employing a person who is not lawfully employable, i.e. an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land, has been significantly increased from a fine of $350,000 and three years' imprisonment to a fine of $500,000 and 10 years' imprisonment to reflect the gravity of such offences. The director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, of the company concerned may also bear criminal liability. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.
According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $150,000 and to imprisonment for one year. In that connection, the spokesman would like to remind all employers not to defy the law by employing illegal workers. The ImmD will continue to take resolute enforcement action to combat such offences.
Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct an initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) and/or forced labour victims. When any TIP and/or forced labour indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the ImmD officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP and/or forced labour elements. Identified TIP and/or forced labour victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter or temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP and/or forced labour victims to report crimes to the relevant departments immediately.
For reporting illegal employment activities, please call the dedicated hotline 3861 5000, by fax at 2824 1166, email to anti_crime@immd.gov.hk, or submit "Online Reporting of Immigration Offences" form at www.immd.gov.hk.
Seven persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operation Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Seven persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operation Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
