Message from Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre

Dear Colleagues and Students,

Further to the information from the Graduate School, all full-time research postgraduate students (RPgs) at HKU are required to take the course “Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (CTLHE)” in order to perform any official assigned teaching and assessment duties during their postgraduate studies. The certificate course, provided by the Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre (TALIC), aims to initiate RPgs into the principles of learning, teaching, assessment and feedback in a university context and to model ways how teaching can be improved.

As presented to the Teaching and Learning Quality Committee recently, changes to the CTLHE will be implemented starting from the academic year of 2025-26. We would like to draw your attention to the major changes listed below:

1. The number of hours for the course has been reduced from 24 to 14 hours of face-to-face instruction; full attendance is still required.

2. Around 24 classes (arranged into six cohorts) will be offered each academic year. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Online course registration generally opens 4 or 5 weeks before each cohort begins. Students will receive a bulk email from TALIC before the course registration begins. They are also advised to stay tuned to the updates available at https://talic.hku.hk/professional-development/certificate/.

3. Students should register individually and provide support documents (e.g., official teaching assignment email specifying the course code, teaching role and semester involved) to complete the registration process. Applications with insufficient proof/documentation will be rejected.

4. Course participants are required to complete two micro-teaching practices and a new written reflection to receive a certificate. The written reflection requires students to reflect on (i) a real teaching session they conduct in their department (signed off by the teacher responsible for the session) or (ii) marking/grading scripts (signed off by the teacher responsible for the grading). Subsequently, only students who teach or grade students’ work will be able to complete the course. The new course information will be available at our programme website soon.

5. Students should submit the written reflection within 12 months of the first class. Any special requests (e.g., extensions for the written reflection submission deadline) should be discussed on a case-by-case basis. Please note that each student will only be granted a maximum of one six-month extension.

Should there be inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Canice Mok at tsmok@hku.hk. 

Thank you for your attention!

Best Regards,
The CTLHE Team