Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)

Message from Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)

Dear colleagues and students

I am very pleased to announce the recipients of the University’s Teaching Excellence Awards 2025. The selection panel was deeply impressed with all the applicants’ unwavering commitment to teaching and the significant, positive impact they have had on student learning. The awardees provided exceptional stories of how their teaching experiences addressed unmet needs in innovative ways or how their teaching expressed outstanding examples of “best practice”. The selection panel was especially pleased with the high number and quality of applicants for the Early Career Teaching Award and celebrates the winners this year with full expectation that those not selected in this round have bright prospects of being future award recipients. 

Outstanding Teaching Award (individual award)

• Dr. David R. Birks, Department of Politics and Public Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences
• Dr. Hoi Hoi Cheung, Department of Data and Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
• Mr. Beau L. Lefler, Faculty of Business and Economics

Early Career Teaching Award

• Dr. Vivian H.Y. Chu, Centre for Civil Society and Governance, Faculty of Social Sciences
• Dr. Ginger W.K. Ko, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
• Dr. Kin Sum Leung, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science
• Dr. Michael B.C. Rivera, Faculty of Social Sciences
• Professor Tianren Yang, Department of Urban Planning and Design, Faculty of Architecture

Teaching Innovation Award (individual award)

• Professor Weiming Zhu, Faculty of Business and Economics

Teaching Innovation Award (team award)

• Professor Dawei Wang (team leader) and Professor Haipeng Shen, Faculty of Business and Economics, for “Beat The Bot – An In-Class Teaching Simulation”

I would like to thank our external assessor, Professor Robert K. Kamei (Duke-NUS Medical School), for providing expert advice during the final selection process. I would also like to thank the other panel members, Dr. Jannie Roed, Professor David Bishop, and Miss Kan Yu Wong (student representative), for their assistance in this important exercise.

Please join me in congratulating the awardees!

Professor Jay Siegel
Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)
Chair, Selection Panel for Teaching Excellence Awards 2025

Message from Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)

Dear colleagues and students, 

To maintain your access to the latest large language models (LLMs), ITS will release new OpenAI models on the HKU ChatGPT web app https://chatgpt.hku.hk on 3 June 2025. These models are GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1-mini, GPT-4.1-nano, and a new reasoning model, o4-mini. At the same time, ChatGPT-3.5, GPT-4, and GPT-4o models will be retired.

Additionally, following a two-month preview period, student usage of DeepSeek-R1 will start to require token deductions from the monthly balance allocated by the University.

Should you have any questions, please contact ITS at ithelp@hku.hk.

Best wishes, Ian

Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)

Message from Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)

Dear colleagues and students,

To enhance your AI experience within a protected environment, ITS will release DeepSeek-R1 and DeepSeek-V3 on the HKU ChatGPT web app https://chatgpt.hku.hk/ on 17 March 2025. We are happy to be the first university in Hong Kong to launch Deepseek-V3.

Please note the following:

• We respect your privacy and will only use your personal information in accordance with our privacy policy.
• To comply with our Data Governance and Security requirements, as with the existing ChatGPT supported by Azure OpenAI models, your prompts (inputs), completions (outputs), embeddings, and training data processed by DeepSeek models will NOT be available to other users or used to improve any Microsoft or third-party AI models.
• Deepseek-R1 is a precise assistant skilled at logical reasoning, structured problem-solving, and clearly explaining complex concepts step-by-step, effectively supporting deeper understanding and detailed analysis during study sessions.
• DeepSeek-R1 is currently free of charge in preview mode on Azure, until further notice, with no quota deduction from students’ monthly balance. DeepSeek-R1 is a reasoning model and may take a longer time to respond.
• Deepseek-V3 is an engaging helper excelling at providing clear explanations, and quickly generating fluent answers to general questions, enhancing study efficiency, productivity, and the overall learning experience.

Should you have any questions, please contact ITS at ithelp@hku.hk.

Best wishes, Ian

Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)

Message from Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)

Dear colleagues and students

I am very pleased to announce the recipients of the University’s Teaching Excellence Awards 2024. The Selection Panel was deeply impressed with the awardees’ dedication to teaching, their tireless and creative efforts to make learning enjoyable and challenging, and the impact they have made on student learning.

University Distinguished Teaching Award

• Dr. Chun Kit Chui, Faculty of Engineering

Outstanding Teaching Award

• Dr. Chao Ding, Faculty of Business and Economics
• Dr. Ka Ho Law, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science
• Dr. Kin Yi Leung, Faculty of Education
• Professor Eunice M.F. Seng, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture
• Professor Thomas H.K. Tsang, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture
• Dr. Dana Vackova, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine

Early Career Teaching Award

• Professor Wesley L. Attewell, Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences
• Ms. Stephanie Biedermann, Faculty of Law
• Dr. Chun Sing Lam, School of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
• Professor Phoebe P.Y. Lam, Faculty of Dentistry
• Dr. Ann K.Y. Leung, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
• Professor Monica L. Steinberg, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Arts
• Professor Philip H. Li, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
• Professor Zhengyan Li, Department of Politics and Public Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences

I would like to thank our external assessor, Professor Moira Fischbacher-Smith (Vice-Principal (Learning and Teaching) of the University of Glasgow), for providing us with expert advice during the final selection process. I would also like to thank the other panel members: Professor Pauline Chiu, Dr. Jannie Roed, and Miss Chloe Cheung (student representative) for their assistance in this important exercise.

Please join me in congratulating the awardees!

Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)
Chair, Selection Panel for Teaching Excellence Awards 2024

Message from Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)

 Dear colleagues and students

 I’m delighted to share with you the exciting news that the Holistic Competency and Virtues Education (HAVE) Team led by Professor Cecilia Chan (Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre / Faculty of Education) has won the prestigious 2024 UGC Teaching Award (Collaborative Teams Category). The HAVE Team also comprises Professor Samson Tse (Dean of Student Affairs), Professor Albert Ko (Lingnan University), Professor Ben Chan (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) and Dr. Theresa Kwong (Hong Kong Baptist University).

 Since 2016, the HAVE Team has spearheaded numerous initiatives seeking to integrate competencies such as critical thinking and adaptability into university curricula, transcending traditional educational boundaries to equip students for global challenges and opportunities. Notable examples include an AI-driven Career Future-Readiness Platform, which aims to align students’ career aspirations with essential competencies, and a Community of Practice, which facilitates knowledge sharing and innovative pedagogies across institutions. The Team has also developed a Holistic Competency Development Framework for experiential learning that has reached thousands of students across multiple institutions. Additionally, it has established the International Holistic Competency Foundation to accredit courses with holistic competencies. All these efforts stand as a testament to the Team’s dedication to fostering innovation and students’ holistic development in an interconnected world.

Please join me in extending our warm congratulations to Cecilia and the HAVE Team!

Best wishes, Ian

Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor
(Teaching and Learning)

Link: HKU Press Release