Incubate your way to creative ideas

Shortlisted teams announced!

The PolyU Design Hatch Awards: An Unique Design Incubation Programme for Hong Kong’s Secondary School Students

Unleash your creativity and collaborate with like-minded schoolmates by entering the PolyU Design Hatch Awards, an exciting design incubation and award programme open to all secondary school students in Hong Kong. It’s the perfect opportunity for young creative minds from diverse academic backgrounds - be it STEM enthusiasts, economists, artists, or designers - to come together, learn, and challenge their creative thinking.

Our Theme

Hong Kong’s Rural Culture

Are you passionate about design and keen on preserving Hong Kong's rich rural culture? Join us in celebrating the unique traditions, folklore, and craftsmanship that make Hong Kong's rural culture so special through this exciting design competition!

The theme of this competition is "Hong Kong’s Rural Culture". We invite students to create innovative and impactful designs that showcase the beauty, history, and significance of Hong Kong's rural communities. Whether it's through landscape and environmental design, graphic design, service design, product design, UIUX/App design, AI or any other medium, your work should reflect the essence of rural life, protect its legacy, and inspire future generations to cherish and preserve it
.

First Round (Registration deadline: 23 March 2025 23:00 HKT)

Under the common brief above, participants are invited to submit their relevant works during first round.

Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to grow as a designer and potentially become the next generation of innovative problem identifiers and solvers. Team up with fellow students and embark on an innovative journey. Get your teacher’s nomination to enter the awards and let your creativity soar!

*Refer to guideline document for full details

Final Round (Announcement of the shortlisted participants: 3 April 2025)

Participants who are shortlisted will advance to Final Round, where they'll take part in an exclusive 2-day Hatch Programme.
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The Programme in April is packed with engaging activities such as tutorials, lectures, and workshops designed to help shortlisted participants develop a comprehensive understanding of design and acquire essential skills to improve their design proposals.

Final Presentation & Prize Presentation Ceremony: 24 May 2025

This immersive experience culminates in a final presentation, where participants have the chance to showcase their newly honed abilities and creative concepts. They will also need to create a prototype. Note that the final presentation document should be submitted 1 week before the presentation.

How
to enter?

Team Formation

Students can join either as a group of TWO to THREE from the same school or solo participation (ONE-MAN TEAM).
One student can only join only one team.

Registration

First Round registration deadline is 23 March 2025 (Sun) at 23:00 (HK Time).
Registration is free of charge.
A team name must be submitted during registration (applicable for both individual and group registrations).
Designated submission link and folder with your assigned team number and name will be sent to your email after registration.
No changes to team members are permitted after registration.
By submitting an application, the participating team acknowledges and agrees to the terms and conditions of the Awards.
Late registration will not be accepted.

*Click the button "GUIDELINES (ENG & 中)" above for more details on registration and submission.

FAQ

Q: Is there a design category for the 2025 edition? How can participants approach their submissions?
A: For the 2025 edition of the PolyU Design Hatch Awards, we have moved away from the predefined categories used in 2024. This year, there is a single, unified theme: 'Hong Kong’s Rural Culture.' We encourage participants to embrace the multidisciplinary nature of design. Submissions can span a wide range of fields, including landscape and environmental design, graphic design, service design, product design, UI/UX and app design, AI, or any other medium. Let your creativity explore and interpret this theme through any design discipline.

Q: What will the shortlisted students do in the 2-day Hatch Programme?
‍A: We will offer various activities for the students to broaden their horizons. Activities include ideation sessions, lectures and sharing from the speakers in design industry. Students are able to meet our representatives in the School of Design and receive comments to improve their design.

Q: What do I need to submit in the first round submission?
‍A: Students are asked to submit 10 to 20 pages of PDF document to showcase their initial ideas, which may include the research process, sketches, drawings, images, mind-map, trial and errors etc. The materials should be able to communicate their ideas in an effective way. Besides, students can also upload a video as a supplementary document if they want (1-minute long, in MP4 format). No physical and tangible outcomes need to be sent.

Q: After the first round submission, when should I start working on my prototype?
A: The shortlisted students after the first round submission will be announced in early April via email and on official website. They may proceed to the next stage afterwards according to their schedule with comments from the judges. Within the 2-day Hatch Programme, students may prepare questions and small dummy to meet our tutors for advice. They can improve their design with the technical support from our tutors and design students. The final presentation will be on 24 May which students will present their work on that day at PolyU.

Q: Can I submit my previous work?
A: There is no limitation to the works that to be submitted. However, please be aware that the design should meet the theme and your target audience.

Tips: If you are working on projects related to Hong Kong local culture e.g. slangs, be aware of the context as some of our judges are not based in Hong Kong. You may need some explanation and background information in your submission.