Engineer in School - Powering Tomorrow’s Innovators Challenge
The Engineer in School programme deepens students’ understanding of clean energy, electrical engineering, artificial intelligence and innovation through school talks, visitations and workshops, inspiring them to use technology and creativity to tackle real-world challenges. Since its launch in 2016, the programme has reached more than 80,000 students from over 270 secondary schools.
Powering Tomorrow’s Innovators Challenge
The programme is launching the new Powering Tomorrow’s Innovators Challenge in the 2026/27 academic year. Designed as a year-long learning journey, the Challenge encourages students to gain first-hand exposure to power engineering and turn cross-disciplinary knowledge into innovative ideas and practical solutions for real-life situations.
Supported by the Education Bureau, the Electrical Division of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and Hong Kong Education City, the Challenge adopts the theme “Powering a Resilient Future”. Students are required to submit project proposals that leverage artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, robotics and other emerging technologies to address various challenges facing the industry, enhancing grid resilience and power supply reliability and helping build a smarter, lower-carbon and more sustainable future.
Competition Details
Extreme weather has been placing increasing pressure on power systems in recent years. CLP is actively leveraging innovative technologies and AI to enhance grid resilience and reliability, with applications in grid monitoring, asset inspection, predictive maintenance, extreme weather response, energy management and renewable energy integration. Participating teams are invited to develop innovative technology-driven solutions to strengthen grid resilience and power supply reliability.
An online briefing session will be organised by CLP Power for participating schools to introduce the competition theme, entry requirements and judging criteria, helping students better understand the challenge and prepare their project proposals and ideas.
- Students in Secondary 1 to Secondary 3 in the 2026/27 academic year
- Participants must enrol through their secondary schools
- Each team must consist of 3 to 5 students, who may be from different grade levels
- Each student may join only one team and participate only once
- Each team must be supervised by one teacher
- There is no limit on the number of team entries from each school
- Stage 1: Preliminary Round – Proposal Submission
- Each team is required to submit a proposal and a prototype concept design. The concept design can be presented as a hand-drawn sketch, flowchart, interface design or in other visual formats. No physical prototype is required at this stage. A panel of judges will shortlist 10 finalist teams for the next stage of the competition.
- Each team is required to submit a proposal and a prototype concept design. The concept design can be presented as a hand-drawn sketch, flowchart, interface design or in other visual formats. No physical prototype is required at this stage. A panel of judges will shortlist 10 finalist teams for the next stage of the competition.
- Stage 2: Finalist Support and Prototype Development
- The 10 finalist teams will receive:
- HK$10,000 to support prototype development
- Participation in a school-based AI workshop
- A visit to Black Point Power Station
- A Power Quality Workshop and a visit to the Grid-V Condition Monitoring Centre
- A consultation session with industry professionals
- Finalist teams will develop their prototypes based on their proposals and submit a final project report
- The 10 finalist teams will receive:
- Stage 3: Final Round and Award Ceremony
- Finalist teams will present their projects, showcase their prototypes and demonstrate their solutions to the judging panel. Winners will be announced at the Award Ceremony, which will be held on the same day as the final round.
Project proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Innovation (50%)
Creativity, originality and the uniqueness of the proposed solution. - Technology Application (25%)
Effective use of artificial intelligence and innovative technologies to address the challenge - Effectiveness and Feasibility (15%)
The solution’s ability to address the challenge, create positive impact, and demonstrate practical implementation potential. - Proposal Quality (10%)
Completeness, logical structure, clarity of presentation and overall quality of the proposal.
The Champion, First Runner-up, Second Runner-up , Most Innovative Award and Merits winners will be selected based on the following criteria:
- Innovation (20%)
Creativity and innovative value of the solution. - Technology Application (20%)
Depth of integration and effectiveness of AI and innovative technology adoption. - Prototype Design and Completion (35%)
Functionality, proof of concept, and level of technical implementation demonstrated by the prototype. - Presentation Skills (10%)
Quality of the team’s presentation, demonstration and responses to the judges’ questions. - Effectiveness and Feasibility (15%)
The solution’s ability to address the challenge, create positive impact, and demonstrate practical implementation potential.
The following awards will be presented: Champion, 1st Runner-up, 2nd Runner-up, Most Innovative Award and Merit Awards.
- Champion: Trophy and HK$20,000 gift vouchers
- 1st Runner-up: Trophy and HK$15,000 gift vouchers
- 2nd Runner-up: Trophy and HK$10,000 gift vouchers
- Most Innovative Award: HK$5,000 gift vouchers
- Merit Award(s): Certificate
All participating students will receive an e-Certificate of Participation.
Extended Learning Activities
To enrich students’ learning experience and deepen their understanding of energy, power engineering and innovative technologies, participating schools may take part in the following activities:
“Engineer in School” School talk
CLP engineers visit participating schools to share insights on electricity, decarbonisation and the challenges that extreme weather poses to power systems, while introducing engineering career pathways and opportunities.
CLP Power Academy InnoPower Hall Visit
Explore how innovative energy technologies are driving the development of smarter cities.
CLP Pulse Visit
Explore Hong Kong’s electricity development journey and the transformation of the energy landscape.
As enrolment for the extended learning activities is limited, registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Exclusive Activities for the 10 Finalist Teams
The 10 finalist teams will have the opportunity to participate in the following exclusive activities:
- School-based AI Workshop
- Black Point Power Station Visit
- Power Quality Workshop and Grid-V Condition Monitoring Centre Visit
- A consultation session with industry professionals
CLP will contact the 10 finalist schools directly to arrange these exclusive activities.
Competition Schedule
27 October 2026
Registration Opens
24 November 2026
Online Briefing Session
18 November 2026 to
15 July 2027
- Engineer in School Talks
- CLP Power Academy InnoPower Hall Visit
- CLP Pulse Visit
18 December 2026
Registration Deadline
1 February 2027
Proposal Submission Deadline
Early March 2027
Announcement of 10 Finalist Teams
March to May 2027
Prototype Development and Exclusive Activities for the 10 Finalist Teams
Late May 2027
Consultation Session and Prototype Enhancement
Late June 2027
Final Report and Presentation Submission
Early July 2027
Prototype Showcase and Demonstration, and Award Ceremony
Competition Fee
Free of charge
Registration Deadline
18 December 2026 (Friday), 11:59 p.m. (Hong Kong Time)
Registration
The Engineer in School – Powering Tomorrow’s Innovators Challenge is coordinated by Sing Tao News Corporation.
For competition details and registration, please visit: https://www.stheadline.com/theme/clp_eis2026
Personal Information Collection Statement of CLP Power Hong Kong Limited
For the Personal Information Collection Statement relating to the Engineer in School – Powering Tomorrow’s Innovators Challenge, please click here.
