CityUHK pioneers innovative student-centric learning to drive intercultural collaboration
City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), ranked as the “Most International University” by Times Higher Education for three consecutive years, is committed to fostering an open, inclusive campus that bridges East and West. Beyond its diverse environment, the University actively promotes innovative and interactive learning experiences. With the support of CityUHK’s Talent and Education Development Office (TED), a group of students recently organised an event titled “Different Cultures, ONE Classroom”, combining multicultural sharing with team-based learning to embody the spirit of innovative learning.
The event was organised by Year 3 Business Administration students Yau Yuen-kei and Huang Kaile. They brought together local students and peers from various regions, including the Chinese Mainland, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan, for a lively discussion on light-hearted everyday topics, such as food, language, and transportation. When submitting their initial proposal, the two student organisers expressed their desire to adopt a collaborative learning model as the core of the activity. Through guided discussions, interactive sessions, and on-the-spot group presentations, participants were encouraged to draw from their personal experiences to explore how culture influences thinking, communication styles, and daily habits.
Yuen-kei noted that traditional group projects in class often result in students dividing tasks into individual units and combining their work only in the final stage, leading to limited in-depth discussion. She believes that a team-based learning approach can effectively foster genuine collaboration and spark the exchange of idea. They hope to promote this mode of learning to more students at the University through this event.
Khodijah, a Year 4 student in Psychology, and Jocelyn Andrea Madolen, a Year 4 student in Biomedical Sciences, both from Indonesia, made many new friends during the activity and gained deeper insights into the cultures of other regions through the exchanges. They said their exchange experiences in the Netherlands and Canada respectively further exposed them to different cultures and learning approaches. During their exchange, they observed that overseas institutions place strong emphasis on student-centred teaching, including team- and problem-based learning. They found this event to be very similar to the learning models they encountered abroad, describing it as both interesting and valuable. They expressed the hope that more activities of this kind will be organised to benefit CityUHK students.
CityUHK established the Institute for Future Learning last year to address the rapid transformation and development of higher education by promoting interdisciplinary teaching models and digital learning technologies. To advance innovative teaching and team-based learning, the University has also set up multiple purpose-built classrooms equipped with advanced facilities, including interactive whiteboards and high-resolution projectors with wireless connectivity. These classrooms also feature flexible, movable furniture that facilitates activities and collaborative exercises.
