Community Service Project Touching is touching

In the summer of 2018, a group of over 130 students and staff from the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) engaged in various community service projects at the Ebenezer School for the Visual Impaired which included
students from the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI). Not only were they exposed to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in the process, students also learnt about the importance of commitment, teamwork and empathy.

For their efforts and dedication, eight of the FCE students including 2 degree students from LSGI were selected for Prize Awards from the Rotary Club of Wanchai, which they received in a sharing session organized by the Ebenezer School at its campus on 5 September 2018. After welcoming speeches from Dr Alice Yuk, CEO of Ebenezer School, and Prof. Xiaoli Ding, Associate Dean (FCE), students from the Ebenezer School and PolyU took turns expressing their thoughts on the community service project “Touching is Touching.”

Led by Dr Matthew Pang and Mr Nelson Chan of LSGI, students from LSGI applied their knowledge of land surveying and spatial data processing to produce a 3-dimensional computer model of the school for the visually impaired students of Ebenezer to touch and feel.
According to Mr King Wah Lau, a fourth-year student from LSGI, the project was mutually beneficial for both PolyU students and the Ebenezer community. On the one hand, LSGI students practised their technical skills in conducting a Global Positioning System (GPS) survey and piloting an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to take aerial photos as part of the modelling process. On the other hand, the sight-impaired students gain a better idea of their school through touching the 3D model. His classmate, Mr Gabbo Ching, agreed it was definitely a worthwhile project, even though it was not without its share of difficulties, such as processing the data from the many photos taken by the photogrammetry survey and operating the UAV in windy weather conditions.

Awarded students all welcomed the opportunity to serve the community in such a meaningful way. Serving the Ebenezer community was indeed a valuable experience for these students, who all
exemplified PolyU’s motto of “To learn and to apply, for the benefit of mankind.”

Video sharing for the project in Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5EwQ1eSbTQ&feature=youtu.be

Media interview on the project “Touching is touching”:
Sing Tao Daily: 【教育要聞】理大義製三維模型 心光視障生看校園 (2018-09-26)
(星島日報報道)學生是最熟悉學校全貌的人，但對失明學生而言，這個最熟悉的場所卻不知從何描述起。理工大學智慧城市與空間大數據分析實驗室，花耗逾三個月，特意為心光盲人院暨學校的學生，測量並製作出一個一比二百的校舍三維模型。心光教師認為模型助視障學生更認識自己學校，「我希望每個學生畢業後，別人問起『你的母校是甚麼模樣』時，都能夠自豪地描述出來。」

https://goo.gl/4raKyk