ESF CoCo 2025

The past weekend saw KGV host the 2025 ESF Computing Conference, also known as ESF CoCo. Planned over six months by students from a number of ESF schools, the event was a major success. With over 250 students from all over ESF in attendance, KGV was filled with bright, creative, and curious minds brought together by a passion for computer science.

KGV’s former principal, Mr. Mark Blackshaw, attended the event and gave an intriguing, thought-provoking keynote speech discussing AI and its place in schools. He talked about how ESF has embraced AI and adapted with the times, with students encouraged to use it as a learning resource, as well as multiple schools now utilising paid-for AI resources.

On Saturday, groups of students competed in a hackathon, a timed coding competition where participants came up with innovative solutions to complex problems. Over 80 students took part in the contest, of which there were two stages. Besides the traditional hackathon, there was also a bonus ‘startup hackathon’. In the traditional one, participants solved coding problems which got more complex and harder as the hackathon got on. Meanwhile, the start up hackathon had students pitch an idea alongside a prototype or product to solve an issue they were given, and the final product was judged by external judges.

CoCo’s workshops were held on Sunday, where various guests from a wide variety of computer science backgrounds hosted workshops and lectures for the attendees. The workshops included beginner friendly introductions to Python, HTML, and CSS, among other programming languages, while others included in-depth looks at the ethics of AI, Buffer Overflow, and other advanced concepts. These were done by student volunteers from ESF schools, tech companies such as Microsoft and BeingAI, as well as speakers from universities such as HKU and the University of Birmingham.

Despite being postponed for over a month due to the string of typhoons that hit Hong Kong in mid-to-late September, the team pulled through to deliver a fantastic event. However, during the event, the XP system designed for participants to scan QR codes, answer questions and gain points faced some issues, with a few glitches after being hacked. Although I’m sure this was frustrating to the organizers, however, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that it at least seems to be in line with the rebellious spirit of young coders.

After this year’s wonderful, enjoyable, and enlightening CoCo, we can all surely look forward to what next year has in store for the ESF Computing Conference.