To continuously enhance and nurture the interest of students and the Macao community in creative technology and 3D programming, Macao Polytechnic Institute (MPI) has organised the ‘Macao-wide IT Competition – ALICE 3D Programming Contest’ every year since 2008. Now in its ninth year, this competition has become very popular in the local academic sector. The theme of this year’s contest is ‘Macao – our livable city’.
With our standard of living ever increasing, public attention on livable cities has surged. A livable city encompasses many aspects: in addition to having a desirable natural environment, other areas such as its economy, culture, transportation, public security and competitiveness are also of great importance. The Report on the Competitiveness of Chinese Cities in 2016, released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ranked Macao in fourth place in terms of the livability among 289 cities in China (including cities in Taiwan and Hong Kong). The Five-Year Development Plan of the Macao SAR released last year also mentioned that Macao should be further developed as a ‘smart’ city.
Competitors this year mostly focused on creating projects related to the protection of our ecological environment and the need to regulate and develop a green city. Competitors were also keen to offer solutions to make better use of public transportation for the convenience of citizens and tourists in small yet crowded Macao. Using ALICE 3D programming, these projects reflected the competitors' understanding and vision of what makes a livable city, as well as their love towards Macao, their beautiful home.
Many competitors mentioned that while developing their projects for this competition they had been able to further master their 3D programming skills as well as improve their creativity and team-building techniques. Also, participating teams stated that they were able to take home some valuable feedback from the judging panel during the oral presentation stage.
The contest was once again co-organised by the Gaming Standards Association and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), sponsored by Canon Hong Kong Company Limited (Macao Branch), and supported by the Macao Education and Youth Affairs Bureau and the Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau.
As in past years, the competition received an enthusiastic response with 89 entries consisting of 260 contestants representing Macao's tertiary institutions, secondary schools and all sectors of the community.
During the competition, MPI provided specialised training in ALICE 3D programming to let participants gain a better understanding of the programming skills needed to complete their projects. MPI invited external experts onto the judging panel to ensure that the judging process is both fair and authoritative. This panel comprised the following distinguished academics: Professor Lee Ho Man from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Professor Wu Zhimei from the Multimedia Communication & Network Engineering Research Center, Institute of Software at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing); Professor Wang Lili from the School of Computer Science & Engineering at Beihang University (Beijing); Dr. Angus Wong from the School of Science and Technology at the Open University of Hong Kong and Dr. Wang Yapeng from the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at QMUL.
The results from the judges revealed that this year’s projects closely resembled the contest theme and were evenly matched in terms of quality. Winning entries demonstrated not just the contestants’ superb 3D programming skills, but also the livability of Macao, a city which for over 400 years has enjoyed a unique mix of cultures from the East and West.
The ‘9th Macao-wide IT Competition – ALICE 3D Programming Contest Awards Ceremony’ was held at MPI on 28th July where the officiating guests in attendance were Professor Lei Heong Iok, President of MPI; Ms. Tam Van Iu, Acting Deputy Director of the Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau; Ms. Lai Iok In, Division Head of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, and Mr. Guo Gui, principal representative of Canon Hong Kong Company Limited (Macao Branch). Winners of this contest, their teachers and representatives from the respective secondary schools were also present at the ceremony.
Professor Im Sio Kei, Vice President of MPI, delivered a speech at the awards ceremony, noting that the competition will further support the popularity and application of information technology in Macao, providing a good platform for contestants to demonstrate their achievements. As the competition enters its tenth year, MPI will continue to organise similar events for students and the general public who have an interest in this area, bringing them together to showcase their talents and engage in productive discussions with their peers.
Students Chao Hio Fong and Kuok Chi Hou, under the mentorship of their teacher Leong Chon Hou from Colégio Diocesano de São José 4th Branch, won first prize in the Secondary School Category with their project titled ‘ROAD’. Another project with the title ‘Your ideal livable city’ by students Lei Sio Kuan, Tsai Szu Huei and Wu Ying (instructed by Lo Wai Fo) of the Workers' Children High School won second prize. The ‘Government simulator’ project by students Lei Ian Tong and Sou Ioi Teng (instructed by Kuan Hou Wang) from the Affiliated School of the University of Macau won the most creative idea prize, while ‘The story of a wimpy child’ entry by Ho Sin Ian, Ip Weng Chi and Chao Cheng Neng (instructed by Chao Iok Kuan), also of the Workers' Children High School, ‘A policy for the people – building Macao as a livable city’ by students Ng Kit Lan and Lei Ka Hei (instructed by Cheang Kuai Cho) from Fong Chong School of Taipa, and a third project titled ‘Me and my wand of a livable city’ by Chou Chan Wai, Kuan Kin Weng and Chio Song Lok (instructed by Hoi Heng Hou) from Xin Hua Middle School were awarded merit awards. In the Open Category, the entry ‘Making a move to a livable city’ by Lou Wai Fo and Hoi Nei Tat won first prize, and a project titled‘My livable city – Macao’ by Chan Ka Weng, Zhu LingXi and Li XinWei won second prize.
The winning teams from the two categories demonstrated their projects at the awards ceremony, all of whom were rewarded with very positive recognition and applause from the audience.
