Amaanat Rekhi is the only Student of the Year winner this year to recieve two awards.
Amaanat Rekhi is the latest Community Contributor winner at the Student of the Year awards. She was also the Grand Prize winner first runner-up. Photo: HandoutWhen Amaanat Rekhi was just four years old, she first came to Hong Kong from Delhi, India, and attended the Robots in Motion Expo in 2012.
“I was mesmerised by Geminoid F, a life-sized female robot,” recalled the now 17-year-old student at South Island School in Hong Kong.
This extraordinary encounter would go on to shape her academic journey: “I am passionate about technology because it has the potential to change the world. Technology can help solve global issues like climate change and social inequality,” she said.
Today, Amaanat is creating social change through her innovative projects. One of her key initiatives is Youth4Youth, a student-led organisation she founded four years ago dedicated to empowering and inspiring future generations by engaging them in fun, hands-on STEM activities.
“I hope to influence my peers to positively impact society ... I believe young people working together is the most powerful force to change the world.”
Since its inception, Youth4Youth has grown significantly, boasting more than 80 members and branches in Hong Kong, South Korea, and India. The organisation has hosted more than 120 STEM sessions, reaching over 250 children and encouraging them to consider careers in science and technology.
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Amaanat’s commitment to innovation also led her to found The Gen Z Nexus, a consultancy aimed at helping businesses connect with younger audiences in meaningful ways.
“Gen Z is the most social-media-savvy generation, the most progressive and ethnically diverse generation, and the most well-educated,” she said. “The stakes are high for organisations to understand Gen Z.”
The Gen Z Nexus helps companies understand the traits of this generation and learn to effectively market and engage with them. The consultancy offers focus groups, product feedback and marketing support.
Amaanat’s passion for STEM has also inspired her to tackle pressing social issues. She hopes to motivate students to address challenges like plastic pollution.
To that end, she launched Morph, a project dedicated to transforming plastic waste into usable products.
“We use a shredder and injection machine to create items from plastic waste,” Amaanat explained. “The purpose behind Morph was to show people that sustainability can be creative and fun ... [to inspire them] to have a long-term positive impact on the environment.”
Keeping up with her schoolwork while working on these projects is no small feat. “Balancing my academic commitments with my initiatives can be challenging. Just before my GCSE exams, I had to pause all my projects for about two months to prepare,” she said.
Even so, Amaanat achieved an impressive 10 A*/9s, even during a challenging Covid-19 exam period.
Recently, Amaanat was honoured with the Community Contributor Award and was the first runner-up for the Grand Prize at the Student of the Year (SOTY) Awards, organised by the South China Morning Post and solely sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. She was the only winner this year to receive two awards.
Amaanat expressed her gratitude to her parents for their unwavering support: “I especially want to thank my mother for always inspiring me to do my best and instilling in me the belief that I can achieve anything I dream of if I work hard. She has sacrificed so much for me. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.”