International College Hong Kong
Jun 06, 2022

Science Research

Senior students have been working with research scientists as part of a pioneering science initiative.

A team from CUHK’s SEAMAR visited school to work with Year 12s as part of their annual Group 4 project.

The Group 4 project is a unique opportunity for IB students to “develop an understanding of the relationships between scientific disciplines and their influence on other areas of knowledge, apply 21st century skills in the field of science, and become critically aware, as global citizens, of the ethical implications of using science and technology”.

The aim of this year’s project was to investigate the role of drones in ecological surveys of the population density and habitats of the Chinese white dolphin, Sousa chinensis, in Hong Kong waters.

SEAMAR researcher Naomi Brannan and drone operator, Henry Chan, and his team spent Wednesday morning at ICHK working on a portion of an exciting joint project which has been developed with our school.

SEAMAR, a programme led by Dr. Lindsay Porter, investigates the viability of marine mammals including the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and porpoises, and evaluates threats to their habitats with the aim of making recommendations to the government on ways to sustainably develop land in Hong Kong.

This week, Naomi gave a presentation describing the challenges to studying cetacaens. She explained how drones fit into this field by bridging the gap between invasive practices such as telemetry and capture, and passive approaches like visual observation at the surface.

Students and the visitors then moved to the beach area near school to demonstrate how three types of drones can be used to collect data on the dolphins.

In addition to this project, there will be further opportunities for our students to work closely with SEAMAR, processing data, utilising drone footage and helping to create multi-media pieces.

It is evidence of the growing relationship between ICHK and SEAMAR and builds on research work that was carried out by Year 13 students last year.

This led to amazing opportunities for the students involved, and the learning acquired by Year 12s will be a valuable addition to their IB studies, Mastery Transcript portfolios, and university applications.

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