SOTY 2023/24: Hong Kong teen coding champion breaks gender stereotypes
Helen Ching excels in competitive programming and STEM; she aims to revolutionise healthcare with AI
Helen Ching, a coding prodigy, challenges gender norms in STEM, winning accolades and envisioning tech-driven societal improvements. Photo: HandoutIn the realm of competitive programming, a world often coded with binary expectations, 16-year-old Helen Ching from Diocesan Girls’ School is proving that brilliance knows no gender.
As a Form Five student deeply immersed in this challenging field, Helen noted: “This mind sport is really male-dominated. I think there might be some sort of stereotype that girls are less proficient.”
The teen first developed her passion for STEM through activities at school.
“I joined a wide range of STEM activities provided by my school in my junior secondary years, such as programming courses, maths modelling courses and AI-related courses. I was also nominated by the school to join the International Junior Science Olympiad,” she said.
Her experiences have helped her understand how maths and programming can help solve real-world problems.
“Usually, the first step in developing a mathematical model is to identify an existing problem and the factors contributing to it,” she explained.
“Then I will use maths to simplify the problem and solve it with computing algorithms. Then I will use programming to manipulate large data sets and implement the solution.”
One of her most memorable projects was about land use planning.
“It involved balancing sustainability and profitability among other factors. Our team used maths theorems to simplify the situation and computing algorithms, such as non-linear programming, to solve the problem,” Helen said.
Another project she focused on was related to pet adoption suitability. This involved creating a model for animal shelters and pet shops to assess a household’s suitability for adopting a particular species.
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In addition, she led a food waste project in which her team created a prototype of an app that tracked the inventory in supermarkets and restaurants.
The app reminded stakeholders to use stock nearing expiration or to donate it.
“Our idea and the prototype obtained a People’s Choice Award in a technological challenge,” she said. “But a month after we got the award and were going to start working on the app, we found that another team had obtained funding for a similar idea.”
In August, Helen joined the 23rd China Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad, where she won a silver medal. In November, she led her school team in the first Hong Kong Girls’ Olympiad in Informatics. Her team secured first runner-up, and she was the top scorer.
She also placed third in the Scientist/Mathematician category of the Student of the Year (SOTY) Awards 2023/24, organised by the South China Morning Post and sponsored solely by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Helen sees STEM as a way to address social issues, particularly in healthcare.
“In China, there are some smart hospitals where technology is used to increase efficiency. Using an automated system to efficiently store and package medicine based on the doctor’s diagnosed dosage reduces manpower and time needed in the process,” she said.
“I think STEM can be applied to increase the efficiency of Hong Kong hospitals as well.”
Looking ahead, she aspires to study computer science in university and work in AI research.
“I hope that in 10 years, when I look back, I would have applied my technological knowledge to improve society’s quality of life in general,” she shared.