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The University Grants Committee (UGC) held its presentation ceremony of the inaugural UGC Teaching Award cum dinner on 8 September 2011. Over 100 guests, including Council Chairmen and Heads of the UGC-funded institutions, senior management responsible for teaching quality, as well as front-line teaching staff, attended the event to celebrate the achievements of the two award recipients: Professor Richard A Glofcheski of the Department of Law, the University of Hong Kong, and Prof Poon Wai-yin of the Department of Statistics, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I am very pleased and honoured to have taken part in the Award’s selection process. The eight UGC-funded institutions nominated a total of sixteen academics for the Award. In reviewing the nominations, I was greatly impressed by the nominees’ enthusiasm for and devotion to teaching. They not only take an active role in contributing selflessly to the learning and development of students, but also endeavour to enhance and improve their teaching quality. These sixteen nominees are without doubt gems in the UGC sector. Their achievements in teaching have been well recognised by their respective institutions, and every one of them has received one or more teaching award(s). One of the Members of the Award’s Selection Panel, Prof Brian Coppola (who himself was a national winner of the 2009 US Professors of the Year Award) was thrilled to see the level of innovation and imagination displayed by the nominees. He believed the nominees’ accomplishments as teachers are comparable with their peers anywhere in the world. The Selection Panel assessed the sixteen nominations based on four criteria, namely the adoption of learner-centred approaches, curriculum design, scholarly activities in learning and teaching and scholarly contribution to the development of effective teaching practice. After the paper-based assessment, the Panel met with six shortlisted academics individually to understand further their teaching philosophies and their plans of utilising the Award’s grant of $500,000 to undertake learning and teaching initiatives. Role Models of Lifelong Learning with Innovation After the interview, the Selection Panel went through thorough discussion and unanimously agreed to name Prof Glofcheski and Prof Poon as the recipients of the inaugural UGC Teaching Award. The Panel was most impressed by the common qualities that they shared. First, the two academics are themselves role models for lifelong learning. They reflect continuously on their own teaching for improvement. To further facilitate student learning, they are keen to refer to the relevant literature in order to master the theoretical basis of teaching and learning. They actively participate in the activities of the teaching centres in their institutions, and are ready to share with their peers their experience and expertise in teaching, thereby contributing to the establishment of learning communities. Prof Glofcheski and Prof Poon also display leadership in many different aspects. Apart from playing key roles in the implementation of the new academic structure, they have put forth innovative ideas in their proposed projects to be supported by the Award’s grant, the implementation of which will contribute to the long-term development of the UGC sector. In this regard, Prof Glofcheski’s project will explore the importance of assessment in the learning process, whereas Prof Poon will focus on enhancing the academic development in teaching of her peers and on promoting educational research. The first UGC Teaching Award reminds us of the presence of a large pool of committed and capable teachers in the UGC-funded sector, who work relentlessly for the education of our younger generations. As teaching is the core mission of all UGC-funded institutions, these academics deserve our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation. We hope that more accomplished teachers will be recognised through the UGC Teaching Award in the future. Professor Edmond Ko
The Hon Mrs Laura M. Cha, Chairman of the UGC, takes a group photo with the two recipients of the UGC Teaching Award 2011, Prof Richard A Glofcheski (left) and Prof Poon Wai-yin (right) at the presentation ceremony on 8 September. |
