SENG Teaching Excellence Appreciation Award 2021-22
Four faculty members were honored in the School of Engineering (SENG) Teaching Excellence Appreciation Award 2021-22. The award recognizes faculty members who demonstrate continuous excellence in undergraduate teaching, foster students’ interest in the subject, promote students’ learning, develop innovative and effective teaching methodologies, and more. Among the awardees, one is selected for the Distinguished Teaching Award.
Prof. Desmond TSOI, Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), received the Distinguished Teaching Award. A second-time winner of this top award, Prof. Tsoi has consistently obtained the highest teaching evaluation scores in the CSE Department. He developed COMP 2211 Exploring Artificial Intelligence, a new required course for the pioneering “Engineering + AI” undergraduate program. He was the supervisor of a number of award-winning final year projects, including projects that received Silver Award in HKUST President’s Cup 2022 and Special Mention in HKUST President’s Cup 2021. Keen on leveraging technology in his teaching, Prof. Tsoi led the development of ZINC, an online automated computer program assessment platform, which is used by courses in the department.
Prof. Winnie LEUNG, Integrative Systems and Design (ISD), Prof. Larry LI, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), and Prof. Dimitris PAPADOPOULOS, Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), received Teaching Awards.
Prof. Winnie Leung made great contributions to the development of new courses. These include ISDN 2001 Second Year Design Project I, ISDN 2002 Second Year Design Project II, ISDN 2500 Introduction to Systems Design Engineering, and ISDN 3350 Global Product Development. She developed students’ interest in robotics by supervising the HKUST HKUST RoboMaster team for seven years. She played a major role in promoting students’ learning by serving as the Chair of the Undergraduate Internship and Exchange Committee and a member of the ISD Division’s Undergraduate Committee.
Prof. Larry Li has consistently earned high teaching evaluation scores and positive comments from students. Dedicated to promoting pedagogical innovation, he and his team developed an augmented reality (AR) app to enhance students’ understanding of aerodynamics and an interactive online gaming platform to improve their knowledge of aircraft performance and design. Both projects were awarded teaching development grants from the Center for Education Innovation at HKUST. His pedagogical efforts were recognized with a Merit Award at the 2021 Symposium on Redesigning the Student Learning Experience in Higher Education. In addition, he has been heavily involved in experiential learning activities through supervising the HKUST Aero Team and setting up the student branch of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) at HKUST.
Prof. Dimitris Papadopoulos has consistently achieved high teaching evaluation scores in required undergraduate courses with large enrolment. He pioneered innovative teaching methods to engage students, including the use of online tools for anonymous question posting by students. Some of the final year projects that he supervised went on to win awards, including the Special Mention of HKUST President’s Cup 2022 and Outstanding Award from ASM Technology in Hong Kong.
