09 IN FOCUS earning comprises two competing elements: outside guidance and self-exploration (AI learns with or without supervision, which is not a coincidence). Conventional engineering education puts more emphasis on the first aspect, while so-called innovative teaching methods such as flipped classrooms, where learners first study materials themselves and use time in class to practice or discuss the subject, seek a better balance by giving students more freedom to explore. In my opinion, the top priority of engineering education should be the provision of a platform for students to understand the changing world, and themselves, to unlock their potential and build up their core strengths. The key to building such a platform is not only to teach discipline knowledge and skills (guidance) through lectures but more importantly to give students a chance to experience failure and success, and to reflect on both in order to identify and build up their individual strengths. Educators may think themselves highly important, but ultimately students learn from their experience, not teaching (AI also learns from data, again not a coincidence). As a teacher, I thus regard myself as a designer whose product facilitates learning. “Educators may think themselves highly important, but ultimately students learn from their experience” At HKUST, especially in the School of Engineering, we have been proactively developing a diversified student learning experience, including blended learning strategies such as the aforementioned flipped classrooms, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and project-based learning, among others. Another example is the new Division of Integrative Systems and Design, an endeavor to advance learning through active teaching pedagogies and transdisciplinary learning. Although it is difficult to quantify the e ectiveness of any learning method, I believe we are on the right track to create a more diverse learning experience, providing opportunities for students to learn how to learn under di erent circumstances. The COVID- pandemic has a ected everyone’s life, including teaching and learning practices in universities. We all understand that converting every type of learning activity to online teaching is impossible and a more serious issue for engineering schools, where many project and lab-based courses need to be carried out. Fortunately, with enterprising e orts on both the teaching and learning sides, our School has been able to move on while maintaining its established quality. Looking forward, engineering education will face more challenges, which may not be bad news because that is exactly what our students will face in their careers: a fast-changing world. In recognizing this need for on-going evolution of learning, hopefully the training at HKUST will provide our students with the ability to deal with change, to learn new things, and to preserve mental balance in novel situations. Assisting students to know themselves Prof. SONG Shenghui is Associate Professor of Engineering Education in the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering. He is a past winner of HKUST’s University-wide Michael G. Gale Medal for Distinguished Teaching, School of Engineering Distinguished Teaching Award, and a recipient of the student-organized Best Ten Lecturers of HKUST multiple times. He is also an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Education. century engineers st L Faculty Column By Prof. Song Shenghui
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