PolyU Junior Researcher Mentoring Programme 2025: Nurturing Future Research Innovators
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) recently held its fifth Junior Researcher Mentoring Programme (JRMP) aimed at developing research skills among high school students. The program attracted 147 participants from 97 local and international schools. Approximately 70 academic staff members from various faculties and departments supervised the diverse research projects undertaken by the students.
Program Overview
This year’s initiative enabled participants to engage in 31 projects across multiple fields, including nursing, land surveying, social sciences, biomedicine, design, fashion and textiles, hotel and tourism, and engineering. Over a four-month period, students worked either individually or in groups to enhance their research design, data collection, literature review, and results reporting skills. The program also featured laboratory visits that provided students with insights into PolyU’s extensive undergraduate programs, potentially guiding their future academic paths.
University Commitment
Professor Geoffrey Shen, Associate Vice President (Global Partnerships) and Director of Global Engagement at PolyU, noted the university’s commitment to using its academic resources to support the development of young research talent in Hong Kong. The JRMP is designed to engage secondary school students in the research process, with opportunities for participants to present their findings at international conferences. Professor Shen expressed the hope that the program would inspire a lasting interest in research among its participants and motivate them to consider further studies at PolyU.
Featured Projects
A significant project within the program involved eight students from various schools researching “Youth mental health and resilience.” These students participated in the “Mission ReST” resilience-building program offered by the PolyU ReST Hub, where they developed an innovative solution that combined environmental adaptation with gamification. Participants indicated that the experience improved both their research skills and their understanding of mental health issues.
Additionally, two students collaborated on a project titled “Deriving long-time series vegetation phenology using artificial intelligence in the Boston area.” Representing the Hong Kong International School and Shung Tak Catholic English College, these students focused on creating a deep learning model to reconstruct seasonal vegetation dynamics effectively.
Program Impact and Future Directions
The JRMP was launched in 2021 with the goal of encouraging secondary school students to explore various research fields and cultivate innovation and technological skills in Hong Kong. Since its inception, nearly 700 students have participated in the program, leading to the completion of 175 research projects. Looking ahead, the JRMP aims to welcome more schools and students, with applications for the 2026 program set to open early next year.
(Original source: Hong Kong Polytechnic University News Release)
