Gallant Ho Experiential Learning Fund 2023/24 (Second Round)
Dear colleagues,
The Gallant Ho Experiential Learning Centre is inviting applications for the Gallant Ho Experiential Learning Fund 2023/24 (Second Round). The funding supports Faculties to introduce, expand or enhance experiential learning in their undergraduate curricula. The projects may or may not be credit-bearing and may or may not constitute part of the formal undergraduate curriculum.
Message from Curriculum Development and Quality Assurance Section of the Registry
Teaching Exchange Fellowship Scheme
Applications are now invited for the Teaching Exchange Fellowship (TEF) Scheme. The Scheme aims to enhance the scholarship of teaching and learning at the University, including experiential learning, through enabling academic staff members to share experience and to collaborate on teaching and curriculum development initiatives at reputable universities where excellent pedagogical practices or curriculum innovation are being implemented, and to facilitate reciprocal visits to the University by academic staff of these institutions.
All full-time teaching staff with a minimum of two years of service at the University are eligible to apply. Applicants are expected to take a leadership role in curriculum enhancement and pedagogical innovations at the departmental/Faculty level.
Interested colleagues are encouraged to attend the Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre (TALIC) seminar on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, at 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, in RRS 321, 3/F, Run Run Shaw Building, Main Campus, HKU. Applications and the supporting documents should be submitted to Ms. Cynthia Wong, Curriculum Development and Quality Assurance Section of the Registry on or before Thursday, February 1, 2024.
Message from Curriculum Development and Quality Assurance Section of the Registry
Teaching Development Grant (TDG) 2023
This is to remind colleagues that the next round of TDG application will close on October 13, 2023, and the cut-off date for the third round of application is December 27, 2023. Please refer to the invitation circular (document 42/223, URL below) for details:
All applications should be submitted online via the TDG system, which is accessible through <https://tdg.hku.hk> or HKU Portal (navigation: HKU Portal > Manager Self Service > Teaching Development Grant (TDG) > TDG System).
General enquiries on TDG may be directed to Ms. Cynthia Wong (cynwong@hku.hk) of Curriculum Development and Quality Assurance Section of the Registry.
Message from Professor Ian Holliday, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)
Dear colleagues,
Teaching Matters
As you are aware, assessment is an important vehicle for supporting and guiding student learning. The University has an overarching assessment policy which sets out the philosophy and principles that guide and regulate assessment practices. The key principle is that students should be assessed in an appropriate, fair, rigorous and transparent manner. Solid and timely feedback, not restricted to scores or grades, should be provided. In particular, the QAC Audit Panel has advised us to enhance students’ understanding of the grade descriptors used in undergraduate and taught postgraduate courses, and to provide better feedback.
You are therefore requested at the start of each semester to talk students through the grade descriptors used in their courses, so that they understand the level of performance expected of them. You are also asked to give timely feedback on assignments and written examinations, so as to enable students to learn from what they have done well and what they have done badly.
The Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre (TALIC) will continue to work on enhancing assessment practices and providing good feedback to students. If you have any thoughts or need any help, you are most welcome to contact the TALIC staff liaison for your Faculty/Office:
TALIC Staff Liaison
Faculty / Office
Professor Cecilia Chan
Architecture, Arts, Business & Economics, Common Core, Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Medicine, and Science
Welcome to HKU’s new Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre (TALIC). We at the centre are ready to support your teaching and learning needs. TALIC began operations on the 1st of July, 2023, serving as an amalgamation of three existing units: the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL), focused on pedagogical support; the Technology-Enriched Learning Initiative (TeLi), which provides technological support; and the Teaching and Learning Evaluation and Measurement Unit (T&LEMU), with a focus on evaluation. TALIC reports to the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Teaching and Learning.
Starting from July 2023, TALIC will act as the prime unit in the University that promotes best practices in pedagogy, assessment, e-learning, and feedback. It will also play a key role in supporting the implementation of University policies in relation to teaching and learning. It will continue the active engagement with Faculties that the team has undertaken for many years, and will also promote the scholarship of teaching and learning. The unification of the three units will streamline operations, as the areas of support often need to collaborate interchangeably with teachers to provide optimal solutions in teaching and learning.
TALIC’s mandate is divided into four pillars: Professional Programmes, Edtech & Learning Design, Data & Analytics, and Enhancement & Research. Each pillar has its own specific goals, but the overarching aim is to support teachers in fostering an engaging and stimulating learning environment and experience for students. This may be achieved through offering programmes like the PCAP or Certificate, exploring tech solutions like SPOCs and other teaching apps, conducting surveys and analytics for actionable insights, or researching and responding to emerging technologies and trends such as GenAI. Our team, which includes e-learning technologists, academics, and educational developers, will often work together with the teachers to provide a solution.
The world is changing and has been catalysed by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of GenAI. In education, we are proactively working alongside our colleagues to refine and reassess our pedagogical methods for the future. The landscape of university education is evolving at a breakneck pace, prompting us to deeply reassess the familiar, the overlooked, and even the traditional aspects that we may have been resistant to change. Have we, for instance, fully leveraged tools like our Learning Management System? With the integration of GenAI, do our assessment methodologies continue to serve their purpose effectively? Moreover, we need to ensure that our teaching strategies truly equip our students to be productive members of society, but how can we verify this? Have we been successful in aiding our students to hone the generic skills outlined in our educational aims? These questions deserve thorough examination as we navigate this exciting era of rapid change in education.
As Director, I will lead our team across the four pillars to support our teachers. HKU’s research is among the best in Asia and in the world. I aim to lead the centre to similarly high levels of recognition in teaching and learning, showcasing our teachers’ work with the support of Faculties and Senior Management. My knowledge, experience, and research in the teaching and learning landscape at HKU, across Asia, and globally, gathered from years of engagement and research at different levels, provide a solid foundation for my leadership role.
I look forward to working and collaborating with you all.
Prof. Cecilia K Y Chan
Director, HKU Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre
Message from Curriculum Development and Quality Assurance Section of the Registry
Teaching Excellence Award Scheme 2023
Applications are now invited for awards under the 2023 Teaching Excellence Award Scheme (TEAS).
The TEAS aims to recognise, reward and promote excellence in teaching at the University. Under the Scheme, there are four categories of awards, viz. University Distinguished Teaching Award, Outstanding Teaching Award (OTA), Early Career Teaching Award (ECTA) and Teaching Innovation Award (TIA). Besides individual awards, both OTA and TIA comprise team awards to recognise and encourage collaborative effort and achievement in enhancing teaching and learning. Faculties shouldencourage their teachers with outstanding contributions to teaching and learning to apply for these awards.
For further details, please refer to the circular from the Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) at:
CETL has developed a dedicated website (https://www.tea.cetl.hku.hk) to provide useful resources for applicants. Applicants are also encouraged to contact their CETL Faculty liaison academics for advice on the preparation of the submission.
All applications should be submitted online, with endorsement, on or before November 30, 2023.
Message from Professor Ian Holliday, Vice-President & Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching & Learning)
Dear colleagues
We are all aware of the significance of ChatGPT and keen to engage and experiment with it. From April 17 to June 30, 2023, the University will enable HKU staff to access ChatGPT via Azure OpenAI Services on a trial basis. Azure OpenAI Services offers a series of large language models, including GPT-35, Codex, and Embedding. It opens up new opportunities for integration with natural language processing, computer vision, and speech recognition in Azure Cognitive Services.
During the trial period, usage for HKU staff will be free of charge, though daily limits will apply. Based on the usage pattern in this period, a charging system will be developed for full rollout in the future. Once HKU’s Generative AI Task Force has established a policy and guidelines for student usage, we will also make the platform available to students.
To start using Azure OpenAI Services, please log in at https://chatgpt.hku.hk/. We look forward to receiving your feedback, which can be sent to ithelp@hku.hk.
Best wishes, Ian
Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)
The University of Hong Kong
Are you feeling overwhelmed with the challenges of university life? You are not alone. We’ve got your back!Join your peers for an exciting event designed to help you better navigate university life and unleash your potential. Get ready to level up your happiness and build your resilience muscle in the face of challenges!
The Teaching and Learning Evaluation and Measurement Unit, in collaboration with the Common Core and CEDARS, will present the campus campaign Thriving @ HKU: Open Doors to Happinesson March 17 (Friday) in the Main Library.
With interactive student-led workshops and fun activities such as games and art creation using AI, you’ll leave feeling empowered and gain new perspectives that help you tackle obstacles that come your way. There’re also plenty of opportunities for you to play while learning and make friends while tasting the science of happiness.
Join one or as many sessions as you can! They are separate, but intrinsically linked sessions. Details are as below:
Date: March 17, 2023 (Friday)
Time: 11:15 am – 3:00 pm
Venue: Multi-purpose Area (MPA), 2/F Main Library, The University of Hong Kong
Opening: 11:15 am – 11:25 am
Video Premiere: Light of Thriving
Session 1:11:30 am – 12:20 pm
I got a B! Building resilience through challenging negative thoughts
Join a carefully designed game, take a break from your busy academic life and learn about common patterns of thoughts that trap us in anxiety!
Session 2: 12:30 pm – 1:20 pm
Hard to make friends? Taking relationships to the next level by learning how to respond
Will you be there for the one you care when things go right? Role play various responding styles when a friend shares good news with you.
Session 3: 1:30 pm – 2:20 pm
Missing a daily dose of happiness? Counting blessings by creating artwork using AI
Have fun and create art pieces with AI and co-create a gallery filled with the little good things in everyday life!
Savouring:2:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Savour together: Celebrating International Day of Happiness
Happiness is a process rather than a destination. Chat, mingle, and reflect on your happiness journey!
Message from Professor Ian Holliday, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)
Dear colleagues and students
Just a quick message to acknowledge the many hundreds of attendees at CETL’s March 1 and March 8 workshops on ChatGPT and generative AI. We really appreciate the campus-wide engagement with this step change in T&L. Special thanks to Professor Susan Bridges, Dr Cecilia Chan and Mr Donn Gonda, all from CETL, for guiding us through the key issues.
Our short-term policy will remain in place until the end of this academic year in August. That imposes no restrictions on the use teachers make of ChatGPT and generative AI in their classrooms. It requires students to secure written permission from their teachers if they wish to use such tools for HKU coursework.
We’re committed to developing and publicizing a long-term policy by the start of the new academic year in September. Midway through the process, we will organize lunchtime discussion forums on each of the five Wednesdays in May: 3, 10, 17, 24, 31. Each will address a different aspect of the challenges facing us. Each will be held in RRS321 at 1-2pm. We will announce further details nearer the time.
Meanwhile, our task force will start work in the next couple of weeks. If you’d like to contribute to policy development in this critical sphere, please drop me a line by the end of next week (Friday 17 March): ian.holliday@hku.hk.
Message from Curriculum Development and Quality Assurance Section of the Registry
Applications are now invited for funding under the Teaching Development Grant (TDG). TDG is intended to support projects and activities that will have an impact on the strategic development and promotion of Teaching and Learning (T&L). To ensure alignment of TDG proposals with T&L strategies at Faculty level, Faculties are required to provide matching fund equivalent to one-sixth of the total project cost for a successful TDG proposal submitted by their Faculty members. For priority areas and other details, please refer to Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)’s invitation circular dated February 20, 2023 (document 42/223, URL below):
All applications should be submitted online via the TDG system, which is accessible through < https://tdg.hku.hk > or HKU Portal (navigation: HKU Portal > Manager Self Service > Teaching Development Grant (TDG) > TDG System).
The deadline for the next round of application is Monday, March 27, 2023.
General enquiries may be directed to Ms. Cynthia Wong (email: cynwong@hku.hk; tel: 2241 5535) of Curriculum Development and Quality Assurance Section of the Registry. Questions on technical matters of the TDG system may be sent to Mr. Cyrus Chan of the Technology-Enriched Learning Initiative (TELI) (email: tdg@teli.hku.hk; tel: 3917 1110).
