Introducing new concepts into schools requires the joint efforts of teachers and students. The IMMC-QEF workshop aims to promote the application of mathematical modeling and STEM in the academic community. It is hoped that the academic community can be exposed to relevant knowledge and skills as soon as possible and promote the development of Hong Kong's academic community in all aspects.

Saturday, Dr. Yong Hong KUO held two consecutive workshops, "Introduction to Mathematical Modeling & STEM Education", namely a teacher workshop in the morning and a student workshop in the afternoon. The purpose of these workshops is to briefly introduce basic mathematical modeling concepts, examples, and exercises to teachers and students so that they can have a basic understanding of mathematical modeling and how mathematics is applied to real-life problems.

In the morning teacher workshop, Dr. Kuo introduced the concept of mathematical models and gave vivid examples, from physical models (such as dinosaur models) to graphical models in physics to mathematical models. He clearly compared and pointed out the uses and differences of each. Later, he also introduced the mathematical methods commonly used in mathematical modeling, such as calculus and linear programming, as well as commonly used software and calculation methods, such as Python, R, and Excel. In addition to explanations, Dr. Kuo also prepared in-class exercises so that participants could learn while using Excel to calculate results and experience how to use technology to help them find answers when building mathematical models. Then there are more in-depth thinking questions. Participants needed to form groups to discuss and present their group's ideas or conclusions to everyone, allowing them to experience teamwork and presentation that are often encountered in mathematical modeling.

The student workshop in the afternoon gave a more detailed explanation based on the teacher's workshop. To facilitate students' understanding, Dr. Kuo even drew graphs on the whiteboard and illustrated the concepts step by step. In addition to the exercises using Excel, the discussion question in the student workshop was the contest problem, "Earth's Carrying Capacity" from the 2019 IMMC International Round. Students also need to form teams to collect required information within a time limit, discuss various possible arguments, and even find possible mathematical methods. Due to the limited time in the workshop, the students had less time for discussion than during the contest, but they all tried their best to discuss and find the required data and information within the time limit and reported the results of their discussion.

The purpose of this workshop is to give teachers and students an introductory understanding of mathematical modeling and STEM. If you want to know more deeply, you are welcome to attend future IMMC-QEF workshops on different topics. I would like to thank Dr. Yong Hong KUO from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering of the University of Hong Kong for his time and preparation. I would also like to thank all the teachers and students who attended, and I would also like to thank the Department of Applied Mathematics of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for its support. Another workshop.

See you next time!