The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) last Friday presented its first Common Core Course Excellence Award to courses which demonstrate the University's efforts to enhance balanced and holistic education in view of the four-year undergraduate reform.
HKUST's Common Core Program, with more than 260 courses, encompasses humanities, social analysis, science and technology, quantitative reasoning, arts, English communication, Chinese communication, and healthy lifestyle. It comprises 36 credits out of a total of 120 to 126 credits of the four-year degree program.
HKUST President Prof Tony F Chan stated at the presentation ceremony, "At HKUST, we are proud to present the inaugural Common Core Course Excellence Award to recognize outstanding courses which exemplify the University's efforts to enhance the breadth and depth of undergraduate education. We are glad to recognize the contributions of our faculty, instructors and staff to the development and delivery of our Common Core Program. The University has seized the golden opportunity presented by the four-year undergraduate reform to foster a holistic education to nurture global leaders for the 21st century."
Prof King-lau Chow, Academic Director (Undergraduate Core Education) echoed, "As an integral part of the undergraduate curriculum, Common Core helps enhance students' overall education experience on top of their major disciplines of study. We constantly review our offerings to ensure that current and future courses fulfill HKUST's mission to provide intellectual stimulations to our students, enhance their passion for learning and widen their perspectives."
Prof Michael Wong, Chairman of the University's Committee on Undergraduate Core Education said, "HKUST launched the Award to recognize outstanding Common Core courses. We look forward to greater inspirations and innovations in our courses to further motivate students to become active, life-long learners who are passionate in learning and who can apply their knowledge and skills in life."
The award selection is based on three key criteria: exemplar of a good Common Core course; design of the course syllabus and assessment plan; and course delivery, pedagogy and teaching innovation.
The inaugural Excellence Award went to 'Music, Drama and Theatre' taught by Prof Oliver Lo from the Division of Humanities. Now in its eighth year, the humanities course involves having students create their own musicals through team work, from developing storylines to delivering the final performance on stage. Students are encouraged to take on proactive roles in the learning process in the pursuit of creativity and quality, thus gaining valuable learning experience.
The two Honorable Mentions were given to 'Developing the Leader in You' by Prof Karen Lee and Ms Agnes Lai from the Department of Management, and 'Physics in Movies' taught by Prof Che-ting Chan, Department of Physics. The former focuses on students' self-reflection and raises their self-awareness to discover 'why they are doing what they are doing' in order to better manage their career, achieve personal growth and holistic development and engage others in similar pursuits. The latter uses popular movies, classroom demonstrations and student projects to demonstrate the relevance of physics in everyday life and the connections between physical principles and their real-world applications and phenomena.
For media enquiries, please feel free to contact:
Kit Yip
Tel: 2358 6313
Email: kityip@ust.hk
