UGC honours academics' outstanding teaching performance
The University Grants Committee (UGC) held a presentation ceremony for the 2017 UGC Teaching Award today (September 7) to honour academics of the UGC-funded universities for their outstanding teaching performance and achievements, as well as their leadership and scholarly contributions to teaching and learning within and across universities.
The recipients of the 2017 UGC Teaching Award, in alphabetical order, are:
General Faculty Members/Teams
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Professor Emily Chan, Professor of the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The City University of Hong Kong team led by Professor Gary Feng (Associate Provost (Academic Planning and Undergraduate Education)), with Professor Cheng Shuk-han (Chair Professor of Molecular Medicine), Dr Ron Kwok (Associate Professor of Information Systems), Dr Linda Lai (Associate Professor of the School of Creative Media) and Dr Eva Lui (Special Assistant and Manager (Boards and Committees)) as team members
Early Career Faculty Members
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Professor Suzanne So, Assistant Professor of the Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The citations of the awardees are in Annex 1.
The Chairman of the UGC, Mr Carlson Tong, congratulated the awardees and nominees on their accomplishments, and thanked the UGC-funded universities and Members of the Selection Panel to the UGC Teaching Award for their support. Mr Tong said, "The annual UGC Teaching Award offers a great platform for promoting and honouring our outstanding academics' efforts and achievements in teaching." He commended all the nominees for being passionate teachers who are dedicated to teaching excellence and maximising the learning outcomes of students.
The three recipients of the 2017 UGC Teaching Award were selected from among 21 outstanding nominees through a rigorous process undertaken by a Selection Panel convened by Professor Adrian Dixon. The selection criteria and the composition of the Selection Panel for the 2017 UGC Teaching Award are in Annex 2.
When announcing the results of this year's award, Professor Dixon said, "The Selection Panel reviewed 21 nomination submissions from universities and were deeply impressed by the nominees' commitment to students and their passion for teaching."
The presentation ceremony was well attended by UGC Members, Council Chairmen and Heads of the UGC-funded universities and their senior management, as well as those nominated for the award and some 30 outstanding academics.
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Annex 1
2017 UGC Teaching Award Citations
Professor Emily Chan, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professor Emily Chan is an expert in disaster and medical humanitarian aid, and an international academic leader in global experiential learning. She has an excellent classroom teaching track record. Professor Chan has developed various innovative global field teaching programmes which require multidisciplinary collaborations, transnational partnerships and transborder technology-enhanced teaching methods to nurture students. Her research leadership in climate change and health, disaster preparedness and response, as well as global health complements her teaching with research-based materials. Professor Chan plans to utilise the award grant to develop a new field action demonstrative training site on the Ancient Silk Road, with a view to enhancing students' learning experience.
Team led by Professor Gary Feng, City University of Hong Kong
The team, led by Professor Gary Feng, with Professor Cheng Shuk-han, Dr Ron Kwok, Dr Linda Lai and Dr Eva Lui as team members, has pioneered and championed the implementation of the Discovery-enriched Curriculum (DEC) at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) through strategic planning, innovative and supportive initiatives, frontline work with students and careful monitoring. The team has displayed a bold commitment to this new approach, and worked tirelessly to empower both colleagues and students alike. The team will use the award grant to further enhance the understanding of the DEC among CityU staff and students, and also to share the challenges, experiences and successes with other tertiary institutions through organising a symposium and a conference plus publishing a book.
Professor Suzanne So, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professor Suzanne So is enthusiastic about translating basic research into practical applications. She emphasises the importance of putting students in the centre of learning. She designs and reviews her teaching based on students' feedback, and inspires students to have breakthroughs in areas they feel passionate about. To deepen students' procedural knowledge and enhance their interpersonal skills, Professor So has successfully incorporated the Self-Practice/Self-Reflection pedagogy in clinical psychology training. Professor So plans to use the award grant to create a set of micro-modules and introduce activity-based reflective learning to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of learning using flipped classroom and experiential learning approaches.
Annex 2
Selection Criteria of the 2017 UGC Teaching Award
Selection Criteria
All nominees for the Award were assessed based on the following three criteria -
(a) Adoption of learner-centred approaches, ability to engage/inspire/impact on students and demonstration of superior classroom acumen, which may include a good understanding of pedagogy, understanding how students learn and adopting suitable teaching and assessment approaches that can achieve better student learning outcomes; being able to interact with students and engage them in learning with enthusiasm; inspiring and supporting students, with respect for their diverse learning needs, to build confidence and capability (including critical thinking, analytical skills, values, etc.); and outstanding classroom (as well as outside-classroom) teaching.
(b) Course/programme/curriculum design that can reflect a command of the field, which may include demonstrating up-to-date knowledge of the field of study in the design of the curriculum and student learning resources (e.g., textbooks, e-learning resources) and adopting complementary research-informed teaching practices; and developing appropriate student learning outcomes and adopting innovative approaches to teaching and assessment which can facilitate students' achievement of the learning outcomes.
(c) Past/present achievement(s) and leadership in teaching and potential scholarly contribution to and impact on the development of effective teaching practice within the nominee(s)' own university and/or in other institutions, which may include demonstrating educational research and innovations in the field of study; and demonstrating leadership in the promotion of teaching excellence within the university and/or in other institutions. In the case of team nominations, the impact of the collaborative work of the team on the development of effective teaching practice will also be considered.
The three criteria carry no specified weighting. The Selection Panel considered each nomination on its own merit with reference to the criteria.
Composition of the Selection Panel
Professor Adrian Dixon (Chairperson)
Member of the University Grants Committee and the Quality Assurance Council
Emeritus Professor of Radiology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Professor Jan Thomas
Member of the Quality Assurance Council
Vice-Chancellor, Massey University, New Zealand
Mr Kwok Wing-keung
Member of the University Grants Committee
Principal, Carmel Holy Word Secondary School
Dr Shirley Ngai
Awardee of the 2016 UGC Teaching Award
Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Professor Paul Blackmore
International Expert of the Selection Panel
Professor of Higher Education, International Centre for University Policy Research, King's College London, United Kingdom