Secondary 4 to 5 students, who will reach the age of 16 by the end of June 2026.
 
Students who are studying at a Government, Aided or Caput School in Hong Kong, or a DSS school with means-tested tuition fee remission or on government financial assistance (must submit relevant documents as proof)

A maximum 7 essays will be selected from each category (STEM or Humanities), and up to 14 shortlisted students will be invited to attend an interview to select up to 6 winners.

All winners may participate in a one-week all-expenses-paid trip to Cambridge and London in early July, to engage in different activities including the Cambridge Open Day and face-to-face supervisions with academics from Christ’s College Cambridge.
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All participants ​will receive a certificate of participation.

Shortlisted participants will receive a certificate of commendation.

 Humanities

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1. Suppose that the concept of a woman is socially constructed, and patriarchal norms cause oppression to women, does it follow that we should aim to eliminate “women” (as a concept of categories of people)?
    

2. Rousseau: “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”; Confucius: “Let the ruler be a ruler; the subject, a subject; the father, a father; the son, a son.” (Tr. by Watson, B., 2007) [原句：「孔子對曰：君君，臣臣，父父，子子。」《論語·顏淵》] In light of these two claims, are people born free? Or are people born with their roles and responsibilities predetermined? What implications does your answer have on how we ought to act?
    

3. In 1994, Lee Kuan Yew suggested for Singapore: “It is not necessary to change our system at present. But, later, we may have to give more weighting to the people whose views should carry more weight because their contributions are greater, and their responsibilities are greater; in which case, we should consider giving those between the ages of 35 and 60, married and with families, one extra vote. Their contribution to the economy and to society is greatest at this stage of life. Also, they need to vote for themselves and also for their children. Their children have an interest that needs to be protected. Once past 60, their children would have grown up, and would vote for themselves. Then the parents should drop back to one vote. But during those critical years, 35–60, people who carry twice as much responsibility should have two votes. This will make for a more viable system and a more stable society.” Do you agree?
    

4. Economics suggests that, if the market is perfect, using free market price mechanisms should ensure efficient outcomes and welfare maximisation. In which case, should friendships be priced and sold?
    

5. Does the Court interpret the law as a living instrument? Should they?
    

6. ‘There is no wrong pronunciation.' Discuss.
    

7. “The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory.”(Milan Kundera) Discuss.
    

8. From a literary perspective or otherwise, has metaphor been destructive? Or redemptive?
    

STEM

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1. Does altruism predict complexity of intraspecific interactions? Discuss.
    

2. “The characterisation of microbiomes is essential to understanding host physiology.” Compare and contrast how microbiome plasticity mediates host responses to environmental change in two named holobiont examples.
    

3. To what extent is innate knowledge required for language acquisition?
    

4. Pick an example of a phenomenon in physics that you found unintuitive when you first learnt about it and explain it in simple words as if to someone without a physics background. Evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of your explanation. What lessons could we learn from this example, such as regarding the nature of physics?
    

5. While problems posted in secondary school maths and physics have concrete analytical solutions, most real world problems in engineering cannot be solved analytically (i.e. through algebra). Hence, numerical methods, using physical principles, are used extensively in all facets of engineering to model such problems.　Investigate an engineering problem which you can model with numerical methods, then suggest how you may test the results of your model.
    

6. Carbon capture is a developing technology with the potential to mitigate climate change. Suppose you were tasked with designing a carbon capture plant. Suggest, qualitatively, the key processes and technologies you would include, and justify your choices.
    

7. ⁠Assess whether the Earth is undergoing a mass extinction event by comparing it to the past.
    

8. Neural networks are often treated as 'magical solutions' for many real-life problems nowadays. What are the fundamental principles that make neural networks effective for these kinds of problems? What are their limitations, whether inherent or when implemented?