Press Release

HKBU Transdisciplinary Innovation Team honoured with prestigious UGC Teaching Award

Monday, 29 September 2025

 

The Transdisciplinary Innovation Team of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has received the 2025 University Grants Committee (UGC) Teaching Award in the collaborative teams category, in recognition of the team’s visionary educational approach to equip students with diverse cultural perspectives, knowledge and skills to tackle various global problems.

The award-winning team is led by Professor William Cheung, Associate Vice President (Transdisciplinary Education) and Professor of the Department of Computer Science. Team members include Dr Glos Ho, Director and Principal Lecturer of the Division of Transdisciplinary Undergraduate Programmes and the directors of HKBU’s four undergraduate transdisciplinary programmes launched in 2022/23 academic year: Professor Kingsley Ng, Associate Professor of the Academy of Visual Arts and Programme Director of the Bachelor of Arts and Science (Hons) in Arts and Technology; Professor Wendy Huang, Professor of the Academy of Wellness and Human Development and Programme Director of the Bachelor of Social Sciences (Hons) / Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Innovation in Health and Social Well-Being; and Professor Nick Zhang, Assistant Professor of the Department of Journalism and Programme Director of the Bachelor of Arts, Science and Technology (Hons) in Individualised Major.

The Transdisciplinary Innovation Team is praised for having meticulously defined the concept and key features of transdisciplinarity. Guided by this concept, the team brings together faculty members from different disciplines, community leaders from various sectors, and collaborators from different cultures globally to work with students. Learning and assessment are contextualised in real-life settings with a focus on the Sustainable Development Goals advocated by the United Nations.

Professor Alex Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU, said that the award recognises HKBU’s ongoing commitment to nurturing future-shaping students through transdisciplinary education. The award also acknowledges the team’s strong spirit of collaboration, innovation, and dedication to formulating and implementing a ground-breaking curriculum-based model for undergraduate transdisciplinary education.

“HKBU’s transdisciplinary approach took shape in 2022/23 academic year when we launched three transdisciplinary and one individualised undergraduate programmes. Our goal is to nurture future-shaping students who can integrate knowledge from multiple fields, collaborate across sectors, accommodate different cultural perspectives, and develop innovative solutions to complex global issues. The team has gathered evidence to demonstrate that transdisciplinary education is an effective and exciting educational approach for students, which can realistically be adopted and adapted by others.”

The team received the accolades from Mr Tim Lui, Chairman of UGC, at an award presentation ceremony held today (29 September) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The transdisciplinary and individualised undergraduate programmes emphasise student-centred actions, decisions, and partnerships. In the courses, students consistently participate in team-based projects that blend their interests and expertise, fostering an understanding of how contributions from each area are necessary to address the problem. They learn how to integrate the lessons from the courses into the proposed solutions and to test and refine the solutions in real-life situations.

Over the first three years since the four programmes were introduced, evidence shows clear progress in students’ ability to connect ideas and apply them in new contexts, preparing them for the multifaceted challenges after graduation.

HKBU’s transdisciplinary education is further strengthened in 2025/26 academic year by the introduction of a new transdisciplinary programme, Bachelor of Arts and Science (Hons) in Digital Futures and Humanities, along with seven Transdisciplinary Second Majors and two Second Majors, and a revamped general education curriculum. These reforms further institutionalise and customise the transdisciplinarity in HKBU’s undergraduate education, providing multiple study pathways for students to choose. As of 2025/26 academic year, 603 students are enrolled in transdisciplinary programmes with more than 100 faculty members involved as well as growing support from industry and community partners together with overseas universities.

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The Transdisciplinary Innovation Team, consisting of Professor William Cheung, Associate Vice President (Transdisciplinary Education) and Professor of the Department of Computer Science (centre); Dr Glos Ho, Director and Principal Lecturer of the Division of Transdisciplinary Undergraduate Programmes and the directors of HKBU’s four undergraduate transdisciplinary programmes launched in 2022/23 academic year (2nd left); Professor Nick Zhang, Assistant Professor of the Department of Journalism and Programme Director of the Bachelor of Arts, Science and Technology (Hons) in Individualised Major (1st left); Professor Wendy Huang, Professor of the Academy of Wellness and Human Development and Programme Director of the Bachelor of Social Sciences (Hons) / Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Innovation in Health and Social Well-Being (2nd right); and Professor Kingsley Ng, Associate Professor of the Academy of Visual Arts and Programme Director of the Bachelor of Arts and Science (Hons) in Arts and Technology (1st right), receives the 2025 UGC Teaching Award in the collaborative teams category.
Mr Paul Poon, Deputy Chairman of the Council and the Court of HKBU (2nd right); Professor Alex Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU (1st left); Dr Albert Chau, Vice-President (Teaching and Learning) of HKBU (2nd left); and Mr Philip Tsai Wing-chung, Chair of the 2025 UGC Teaching Award Selection Panel and member of UGC (1st right), pose with the HKBU award-winning team at the award presentation ceremony.