To promote and stimulate the interest of secondary school students in developing their career in Hong Kong's construction industry, CityU's Department of Building and Construction is holding the region's first-ever Build And Shake Inter-School Competition (BASIC).

BASIC challenges students to design and build small-scale models of buildings that will resist artificially generated earthquakes. The competition aims to inspire students' interest in structural engineering.

Teams of up to four members, each of whom must be in Form 5, 6 or 7, are invited to submit proposals showing how their models will be built before 15 May. Twenty teams will be selected to enter the final competition on 29 June.

On the morning of the competition, each team will be supplied with materials consisting of strips of wood, strings and glue, to build a three-storey frame model 600 millimetres high. The models will be shaken on the shaking table in the Heavy Structures Testing Laboratory in the Department of Building and Construction.

The model that withstands the highest shaking intensity will be declared the winner. The winning team will receive a trophy engraved with the name of their school and HK$20,000. Second prize is $10,000. Third prize is $5,000.

"We believe this new event will inspire and attract the attention of school students to pursue careers in the building industry," said Professor Sritawat Kitipornchai, Chair Professor in the Department of Building and Construction.

For further information, contact Ms Rita Yeung at 2788 7602 or visit www.bc.cityu.edu.hk/basic