On November 23, 2025, the BJMTR STEAM Innovation Challenge officially kicked off. This event not only provided students with an opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the rail transit industry and cultivate their engineering thinking and practical skills, but also built a platform for interaction and exchange between young people from Beijing and Hong Kong, promoting the interaction and sharing of culture and knowledge.
With experts providing guidance throughout the process, classroom learning is deeply integrated with metro operation scenarios
The recently held BJMTR STEAM Innovation Challenge broke the boundaries of traditional classrooms, transforming real metro operation scenarios into students' practical learning arenas. Since June this year, engineer mentor teams from BJMTR departments such as Signaling & Communications, Facilities, Rolling Stock, and Technology Services have entered multiple primary schools in Beijing. Focusing on four major topics—"Fare Gate Safety Upgrade," "Wheelchair Accessibility Optimization," "Train Door Anti-pinch Protection," and "Platform Congestion Optimization"—they guided students through the entire innovation process from research and conception to solution development.
The challenge progresses step by step, deepening exchanges and discussions between Beijing and Hong Kong
The competition was structured around three main segments: the innovation proposal defense and evaluation, the metro STEAM course experience, and the train performance match. During the innovation proposal presentation and defense session, student teams from various schools put forward numerous creative solutions to address practical issues in metro operations. After comprehensive evaluation by a panel of professional judges, awards were ultimately decided at various levels. An on-site award ceremony was held to encourage students to continue forging ahead on their path of innovation.
Meanwhile, the metro STEAM course experience segment was also underway. Under the professional guidance of BJMTR engineers, student representatives from Hong Kong gained in-depth insights into the structural principles of metro trains and personally completed the assembly of train models.
Subsequently, the challenge reached its climax with the train performance m
atch. In this segment, students from Beijing and Hong Kong formed teams to collaborate on debugging their competition models. Through this cooperation, they exchanged technical insights and enhanced mutual understanding in the spirit of friendly competition.
Leveraging industry resources to foster youth development and promote exchanges between Beijing and Hong Kong.
This event is not only a practice of BJMTR in deepening STEAM education, but also an epitome of multi-party collaboration in promoting youth development and deepening exchanges between Beijing and Hong Kong. It is reported that the BJMTR STEAM Innovation Challenge was jointly organized by BJMTR and Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in China. It was carried out under the guidance of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport and United Front Work Department of the Beijing Dongcheng District Committee of the Communist Party of China, as well as support from the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China in Beijing.
Frank Liu, General Manager of BJMTR, stated that over the years, BJMTR has leveraged its industry strengths to consistently invest resources and create opportunities for young people's learning and growth. This time, by organizing the BJMTR STEAM Innovation Challenge, the company has transformed rail transit operational scenarios into tangible and experiential teaching practices, sparking teenagers' interest in engineering and technology and guiding them to pay attention to the development of urban rail transit. While showcasing the innovative achievements of the students, this event also established a platform for exchanges between young people in Beijing and Hong Kong, promoting mutual learning and shared growth in technological exploration. In the future, BJMTR will continue to deepen its STEAM education initiatives, using rail transit as a vehicle to cultivate young people's engineering thinking and innovation capabilities, and to contribute consistently to the growth and exchanges of youth in both Beijing and Hong Kong.