CityUHK Teaching Excellence Award recipients shape the future of learning with innovative technologies
City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has announced the recipients of the Teaching Excellence Award (TEA) for the 2025/26 academic year. Three teachers and one teaching team have been honoured this year for their outstanding achievements. Excelling in the fields of chemistry, architecture and civil engineering, entrepreneurship education and veterinary medicine, the awardees have demonstrated remarkable innovation by integrating approaches such as generative artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), interdisciplinary collaboration, and team-based learning, thereby creating more forward-looking and inspiring learning experiences for students.
Professor Lee Chun-sing, Provost and Deputy President of CityUHK, praised the award recipients for their commitment to innovating teaching methods and their courage in exploring technology-enhanced teaching and learning. He noted that their efforts have strengthened students’ learning motivation and contributed significantly to nurturing a new generation of professionals equipped to meet the future needs of society.
The awardees for this year are:
- Professor Santiago Alonso Sousa, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences
- Professor Maria Babak, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry
- Dr Calvin Keung Chung-wai, Teaching Fellow in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
- The team led by Professor Ron Kwok Chi-wai, Associate Professor in the Department of Information Systems, members include Mr Albert Chung Yan-kit, Instructor in the Department of Information Systems, and Ms Cindy Man Yin-kam, Senior Information Technology Engineer in the Computing Service Centre
AI empowers the development of students’ critical thinking skills
Professor Alonso Sousa actively integrates emerging technologies into veterinary education. By fostering students’ digital literacy, he strengthens their clinical reasoning, critical thinking, and professional ethics, helping prepare veterinarians in Hong Kong and beyond who are responsible to both their profession and society.
Professor Alonso Sousa believes that AI should support, rather than replace, student thinking. He has pioneered the integration of AI into curriculum assessment by introducing structured open-book examinations in which students are allowed to use generative AI under clearly defined guidelines. As students must critically evaluate the accuracy and appropriateness of AI-generated content when answering questions, this approach successfully shifts the focus of assessment away from memorisation and toward critical thinking and clinical reasoning.
Providing students with realistic virtual reality training through innovative technologies
Professor Babak’s “Science Versus Crime” course integrates technology and team-based learning, enabling students to investigate simulated crime scenes, collect forensic evidence, and conduct analyses in groups. The course also incorporates VR to overcome spatial and time constraints, offering a realistic crime-scene environment where students can interact with objects and practise using forensic tools. This immersive simulation enhances their crime-scene investigation skills through hands-on experiential learning.
Professor Babak always encourages students to ask questions and engage actively in class. She makes effective use of interactive teaching platforms and team-based learning to foster engagement, instead of relying on traditional hand-raising methods. This approach has successfully created a relaxed and friendly learning atmosphere, and has significantly improved students’ academic performance and classroom participation.
Interdisciplinary collaboration to create an interactive teaching environment
In addition to his role as a Teaching Fellow at CityUHK, Dr Keung is a Registered Professional Surveyor and a CIC-certified Building Information Modelling (BIM) Manager. He has leveraged his industry expertise to develop a tech-driven BIM curriculum framework for the University, addressing the rising demand for surveyors equipped with BIM expertise. Furthermore, he has designed and introduced undergraduate courses focused on BIM, nurturing future construction talents in the digital era.
Dr Keung effectively deploys emerging technology, widely incorporating AI and digital learning into daily classroom activities. He also promotes interdisciplinary collaboration practices, notably by coordinating BIM implementation in the “Integrated Building Project Development (IBDP)” course. He also leads the establishment of the Built-Informatics and Smart City Cluster (BISCC), which features a cloud-based BIM server, extended reality (XR) applications, an interactive smart table, and a generative AI-powered ChatBIM system, creating a dynamic and engaging learning environment for students.
Keeping pace with the times: using technology to address entrepreneurial challenges
Professor Kwok’s team is actively promoting an AI-powered team-based entrepreneurial learning model to address the challenges students encounter in the entrepreneurial learning process, such as team building, acquiring technical knowledge, and developing proposal skills, integrating technology into real-world business practice and enabling students to prepare for obstacles at an earlier stage. The three key intervention measures introduced by the team are the AI-enabled core management role classification application, a CityUHK-developed AI chatbot for patent search and analysis, and a self-directed AI-companion for pitch-practice training, which aim to improve students’ learning outcomes and strengthen their entrepreneurial capabilities.
Since implementing this teaching model in 2020, the team has successfully established a collaborative entrepreneurial learning ecosystem. Some students have not only received seed funding from HK Tech 300, CityUHK’s flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme, but have also excelled in external start-up competitions.
Established in 1993, the TEA recognises outstanding teachers and encourages teaching innovation. Each winner receives a prize of HK$15,000 and a teaching development fund of HK$150,000.