Students and teachers from the Macao Polytechnic Institute (MPI) participated in the grand finals of the ‘2017 Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Universities IT Project Competition’ held in Hong Kong from 3-5 July. Tens of thousands of university students took part in this annual event which aims to promote innovative thinking. A project team comprising four MPI students: Lam Choi Ut, Song In Man, Ngai Chong Cheong and Lai Chi Meng won the silver award at the competition, bringing great honour to Macao. The student team worked on a project entitled ‘Big-data based smart parking management solution’ under the supervision of Dr. Jacky Tang, Associate Professor of MPI’s Computing programme.

Now in its 12^th year, the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Universities IT Project Competition is an advanced IT competition for university students in the Chinese Mainland. This competition has gained much prestige in the industry and academic arenas. Students from 18 cities and regions, including Guangdong, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hunan, Hainan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guangxi, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao participated in the competition. The contest has encouraged interaction between university students of the four regions across the Straits, improving their professional capabilities.

Lam Choi Ut, Song In Man, Ngai Chong Cheong and Lai Chi Meng, four students from MPI’s Computing programme, collaborated in their efforts in the project inspired by the concept of a smart city with the topic ‘Big-data based smart parking management solution’. Under the supervision of Dr. Jacky Tang, this project gained recognition with a silver prize at the competition. This project made use of electronic license plates to collect data related to the movement of vehicles, allowing drivers and managers to take note of real-time situations of a car park. Consequently it would tackle problems of the allocation of car park resources in view of increasing traffic.

According to Dr. Tang of MPI’s Computing programme, the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Universities IT Project Competition is a good platform to nurture students’ technical capability and creativity. Dr. Tang affirmed that the splendid achievement gained by MPI students is the fruit of their hard work and perseverance, noting that his students have put in a lot of effort to strive for perfection and recognition. At the award ceremony Dr. Rita Tse, Director of MPI’s School of Public Administration, was presented with an award in recognition of her contributions as well as of MPI’s remarkable performance at the competition.

MPI’s Computing programme has been playing an active role in nurturing IT professionals. Accredited by UK’s Institution of Engineering and Technology in 2011, it is the first higher education programme in Macao successfully going through an international academic review. Students, upon meeting the required academic standards, are eligible to apply for internationally recognised professional qualifications in the UK when they graduate. Graduates thus enjoy bright prospects in the job market. In addition, MPI has established collaborations with globally renowned universities, allowing outstanding graduates of the Computing programme to pursue graduate studies overseas.