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Tag: Hong Kong

EdUHK EdTech Innovations Claim 10 iCAN Awards

Posted on by eduhk

The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) won 10 awards at the 6th International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada (iCAN), with three gold medals, one silver, one bronze and five special prizes, in August 2021.

With a commitment to creating a positive impact on learning and teaching, EdUHK scholars exhibited extensive expertise in scientific research and implementation of technology. These awards acknowledge the University’s solid reputation for research output and innovative technologies.

The five award-winning innovations cover different application areas, including language learning, life education and early childhood development. They are:

  1. VocabGO – An Augmented Reality English Vocabulary Learning App
    Principal investigator: Dr Song Yanjie, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Information TechnologyAwards: Gold Medal, Organiser’s Choice Award

    A mobile app which uses augmented reality technology to help students learn English vocabulary. The app contains several learning modes and encourages users to practise and expand their English vocabulary through the gamified in-app activities.

  2. Audio-Tactile Chinese Characters: Bringing Multisensory & Novel Learning Experience to the Visually Impaired
    Principal investigator: Dr Hung Keung, Associate Professor, Department of Cultural and Creative ArtsAwards: Gold Medal, Best 10 Invention Designs Award

    A multi-sensory learning kit tailor-made for learners with visual impairment. It helps users understand the structural formation of Chinese characters and appreciate the beauty of traditional Chinese calligraphy through feeling, touching and hearing.

  3. Tree Assessment for Life Education (TALE) Project
    Principal investigator: Professor Jim Chi-yung, Department of Social Sciences, and Professor John Lee Chi-kin, Vice President (Academic) and ProvostAwards: Gold Medal, International Special Award

    A project which aims to raise public awareness of urban tree preservation and to cultivate users’ appreciation of life and other species. A mobile app is developed to facilitate learning of basic botanical knowledge and help users conduct tree assessments using the Visual Tree Assessment technique. The app also gathers georeferenced data which can be used for research and environmental education purposes.

  4. The Chinese Inventory of Children’s Socioemotional Competence (CICSEC)
    Principal investigator: Professor Kevin Chung Kien-hoa, Department of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Dr Ian Lam Chun-bun, Associate Professor at ECEAwards: Silver Medal, International Special Award

    An evidence-based assessment system which can quickly evaluate children’s level of socioemotional competence. It is the first culturally responsive assessment system developed in Asia, targeting Chinese children. The CICSEC is also a conceptual framework and reliable indicator which can be easily used by kindergarten teachers.

  5. Dramaflow – Ideas Generation Dice for Planning Process Drama Lessons
    Principal investigator: Dr Pansy Tam Po-chi, Assistant Professor at ECEAwards: Bronze Medal, Best 10 Woman Inventors Award

    A toolkit equipped with design strategies to assist teachers in developing compelling Process Drama (PD) lessons for the early childhood education curriculum. Since most PD class activities rely on picture book storytelling, this toolkit encourages teachers to break out from the confined narratives and look for innovative ways to retell a story. As a creativity booster, it helps teachers overcome creative blocks and stimulate active exploration and imagination of PD class activities to achieve teaching objectives.

EdUHK App Helps Change Eating Habits

Posted on by eduhk

The Hong Kong SAR Government’s 2018-19 Health Behaviour Survey showed that around 96% of residents aged 15 or over consumed less than five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Added to this, almost 10% of these people ate processed meat at least once a day, on average. The World Health Organisation states that an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to health, and its member states have agreed to halt the rise of diabetes and obesity in adults, teenagers, and of overweight children by 2025.

With this in mind, Dr Louisa Chung Ming-yan at the Department of Health and Physical Education of The Education University of Hong Kong and her team have developed the eDietary Platform, an app for users to record their diet and monitor what they eat and drink. “To change eating habits, we can’t merely deliver lectures on nutrition. We need a record of scientific facts,” explained Dr Chung.

Users input their dietary record onto the app. Any food not already on the list can be added by simply uploading a photo. The app then gives users a bespoke nutrition report, taking into account personal details such as age, gender, height and weight.

The project team was awarded funding by the Food and Health Bureau under the Health Care Promotion Scheme. Through the feedback received, researchers found that using the eDietary app made younger adults more capable of matching food products to categories. Participants therefore understand how to reduce the risk of health problems and vulnerability to diseases and are encouraged to develop their own eating plan in terms of food and portion size change. In testing, the complete switch to healthy eating took 12 weeks.

As a start, the app has already been downloaded over 4,500 times to date, and its effectiveness was trialled in a study on how the use of such technology enhances the eating behaviour of young adults. “We formulated and tested the theory on eating behaviours when people monitor their diets online,” said Dr Chung. People who have used the app have noted that it makes them realise the importance of enjoying healthy food. “It has encouraged me to develop the habit of recording my daily intake,” said one. They suggested that the app could be used by young adults and children, as it helps youngsters learn about food classification, nutrients and quantities.

Future of Performing Arts Education Webinar Series

Posted on by Communications Office

What does it mean to place students at the heart of teaching and learning? How can we personalise our classes so every student engages and makes progress? Why can a broader understanding of our students help us to be more effective as educators? And what does this mean in the context of performing arts institutes?

Presented by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, “The Future of Performing Arts Education” Webinar Series no. 7: Student-Centred Learning will be held on Dec 10, 2021 at 5pm (HKT). Join our guest speakers Dr Stephanie Burridge (Adjunct Lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts and Singapore Management University), Dr Ellen Stabell (Head of the Centre for Excellence in Music Performance Education at the Norwegian Academy of Music; Associate Professor of Music at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences), and Dr Sabine Hoidn (Head of the Student-Centered Learning Lab and Senior Lecturer in Management and Higher Education at the University of St. Gallen) for a dialogue on “Student-Centred Learning.

Details & Registration: https://bit.ly/30lpXmw (Conducted in English)
Video and podcast recordings of the first five sessions are available on the series’ website and the Academy’s YouTube channel, check them out: https://bit.ly/3vrsSpp / https://bit.ly/3plC91f

Lingnan University’s world-class research strengths

Posted on by Editorial Team

As a leading liberal arts university in Asia, Lingnan University offers a wide range of research postgraduate (RPg) programmes across the humanities, social sciences and business studies. Lingnan provides its students and researchers with generous support and they conduct research and projects with high social relevance and impact.

The research work conducted at Lingnan was classified as “World Leading” and “Internationally Excellent” in the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) conducted by the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong. The RAE uses international benchmarks to identify the relative strengths of the city’s public universities. Over 50% of Lingnan’s submitted research outputs were rated either world leading or internationally excellent. In the fields of Accountancy, Sociology and Anthropology, Social Work and Social Policy, and Philosophy, Lingnan was placed first or second, in terms of the percentage of “World Leading” research work. While, for reach and significance, 56 percent of the university’s research was assessed to have achieved “Considerable or Outstanding Impact”.

First-class faculty

In the latest QS World University Rankings 2022, Lingnan was ranked 33rd globally in “International Faculty”. Over 180 of the academic staff at Lingnan boast PhDs, and other advanced degrees, from some of the world’s most prestigious universities, including Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Oxford, Peking, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCL, UCLA, and Yale. Building on the diverse range of research interests of these faculty, the university has a strong commitment to developing successful interdisciplinary research, as well as forging international partnerships and collaborative ties. Lingnan also ensures that, alongside the contribution they make to academia, its research projects effectively inform teaching and knowledge transfer.

Programme of studies

Lingnan offers 25 MPhil and PhD programmes across the arts, business, social sciences and science, disciplines. The University takes a student-centred learning approach, which ensures close and supportive thesis supervision, while also encourages intellectual creativity.

Because of the University’s external partnerships, the options available to postgraduate students extend beyond Lingnan itself. These options include the Double PhD Degree Programme in Economics with the Mainland’s Wuhan University, and the PhD Programmes with Joint Supervision with Shenzhen University, which lies just across the border, for research areas related to International Relations and Development Studies.

Learning activities and support

To give students researchers more global exposure and the opportunity to exchange ideas with other academics, Lingnan organises and takes part in, international conferences on topics ranging from the development of higher education in a post pandemic world, to urban governance. The University also hosts seminars for the sharing of research findings and the exploration of new opportunities for collaboration.

Furthermore, other experiential learning activities, such as sponsored field trips and overseas research visits, are open to all RPg students, regardless of their programme and background. In the QS Asia University Rankings 2021, Lingnan was ranked top for “Inbound Exchange Students” and “Outbound Exchange Students”.

For application details, please go to https://ln.edu.hk/rpg/

Lingnan University is committed to achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Posted on by Editorial Team

In 2015 the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the focal point of a global campaign to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that every person in the world is in a position to enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

The spirit of the SDGs aligns perfectly with Lingnan University’s commitment to “Education for Service”. This commitment is embedded in the university’s research programmes, teaching and learning practices, knowledge transfer activities, social engagement projects, entrepreneurship initiatives, corporate governance, and administration.

While initiatives launched at Lingnan University have had success across the full range of SDGs, some particularly impactful projects are well worth highlighting.

To mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on less privileged households, including those in subdivided flats, the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI) team devised a Mobile UV-C system. This has provided a free and efficient UV disinfection service for 1,000 such homes, helping to prevent the spread of the virus in Hong Kong. Based on this technology, a smart Autonomous UV-C Disinfection Robot was also developed to provide fast and effective UV disinfection in large indoor establishments.

Two other inventions devised by the LEI team have recently received ‘Golds’ at the MUSE Design Awards in the Conceptual Design category. One is a control system that improves wheelchair safety for both users and carers. The other is a transparent air-filtration mask, the 12° Mask, that allows the hearing impaired to read lips while still providing ASTM Level 3 protection, the highest level.

In terms of the UN goals, these innovations fall within the criteria for achieving SDG 3, Health and Well-being; SDG 4, Quality Education; and SGD 9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

To help graduates in tackling the adverse effects of the pandemic, Lingnan established the 2020 Graduate Support Fund. The assistance provided by the fund ranges from training and tuition fee waivers to psychological counselling. More broadly, the increased range of  financial aid Lingnan University offers local and non-local students is in line with the aims of SDG 1, No Poverty; SDG 10, Reduced Inequality; and SDG 4, Quality Education.

Because it is often possible to achieve a greater impact working together with other institutions and bodies, Lingnan has formed several key external partnerships. One such collaboration is with the South China University of Technology, which has resulted in the establishment of the Joint Research Centre for Greater Bay Area Social Policy and Governance. This exciting project fulfils key criteria in SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals, and SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic growth.

In partnership with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and in line with SDG 3, Good Health and Well-being, and SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals, the three-year LU Jockey Club Gerontechnology and Smart Ageing Project has been established to support local communities, educators, students, service providers, and most importantly, the elderly and their carers.

More information on the contribution Lingnan University has made to achieving the full spectrum of SDGs can be found on the University’s SDG website.

EdUHK research promoting sustainable tourism development in Sichuan Nature Reserve and Hong Kong

Posted on by eduhk

The UNESCO-listed Wolong National Nature Reserve, a prime habitat for the endangered panda, was badly damaged by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. To rebuild the reserve into an ecologically sustainable area, Dr Lewis Cheung Ting-on, Associate Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), and his research team devised two unique accreditation systems for the ecotourism industry, one for tourism businesses and one for ecotour guides, as part of the regulations for the tourism development in the ecologically sensitive reserve.

The guidelines included holistic recommendations for ecotourism planning, activities, infrastructure and marketing. In 2016, the local administration in Wolong implemented the recommendations in full. This was the first regional ecotourism certification programme in a protected area in China and it has had a positive influence on the ecotourism development in other protected areas in the mainland and in Taiwan.

The aims of the project, involving researchers from EdUHK, The University of Hong Kong, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, were to (a) investigate the ecotourism resources of the reserve, (b) formulate ecotourism development guidelines for the reserve, (c) provide training and organise public forums for residents and government officials, and (d) design two ecotourism accreditation systems, one for tourism businesses and one for eco-tour guides.

The project has had a multi-faceted impact on the reserve, replacing the previously unhealthy approach to development with eco-friendly practices, thus improving ecotourism development in the reserve and other parts of China regarding local policy and professional practices, raising awareness of the value of ecotourism and the importance of maintaining a healthy environment;  boosting the local economy by identifying new sustainable tourism services and products, and providing increased income for small businesses and jobs for local residents;  reducing business costs through reduced energy use and water consumption and less waste, and enhancing ecological conservation in the area and preventing the degradation of the precious panda habitat.

Once the new policy was implemented, the number of tourists visiting the reserve surged from less than 1,000 a year before 2014 to over 350,000 annually by 2017.

Ecotourism development requires the understanding, input and support of the local community, so Dr Cheung’s team organised two public forums in the reserve to get residents’ views on the ecotourism development guidelines and to introduce the development plans and certification systems to businesses and guides.

They also organised a two-day training workshop on the guidelines and the accreditation systems for residents, business owners and government officials. These efforts resulted in greater awareness of the importance of saving water and electrical power, reducing the use of disposable items, and waste segregation.

A public forum on the same topic was organised at EdUHK, which helped raise the public’s understanding in Hong Kong of the reserve’s reconstruction and how the HKSAR Government’s donation was used. Dr Cheung’s work has also changed public perceptions through extensive media coverage, reaching audiences of millions in the mainland and Hong Kong.

HKBU’s discovery of new coral and nudibranch species reflects Hong Kong’s rich marine biodiversity

Posted on by HKBUCPRO

Biologists from Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) have discovered in Hong Kong waters a new species of hard coral and two new species of nudibranch, a type of marine mollusc, that have never been identified anywhere else in the world. The discoveries of new species from these commonly seen animal groups are a vivid reflection of Hong Kong’s rich marine biodiversity.

The new marine species were identified by research teams led by Professor Qiu Jianwen, Professor of HKBU’s Department of Biology. The descriptions of the new coral and nudibranch species were published in the academic journals Zootaxa and Zoological Studies, respectively.

The new coral species belongs to the genus Tubastraea, which is commonly known as sun coral due to its bright orange polyps (individuals making up the colony) and the circle of tentacles that surround its mouth. HKBU biologists discovered the new species while conducting underwater surveys at the Breaker Reef in the eastern waters of Hong Kong in the summer of 2020.

The team named the coral Tubastraea megacorallita, with “mega” and “corallite” meaning “big” and “skeletal cup”, respectively. The species name reflects the fact that it has the biggest and most structurally complex corallite among the eight recognised Tubastraea species around the world. This species forms small colonies of between three and 12 polyps, and they share a common calcareous skeleton.

Sun corals are different from most reef-building corals, as they do not host symbiotic algae that produce energy via photosynthesis. Instead, these corals gain energy and nutrients by capturing small animals called zooplankton from seawater using their tentacles. While reef-building corals in Hong Kong typically inhabit shallower waters up to a depth of 10 metres, sun corals live in deeper waters at a depth of between 10 and 30 metres.

“Although 98 species of hard coral have been recorded in Hong Kong, the last time a new coral species was discovered in Hong Kong waters was in 2000. It is in over around 20 years a new hard coral species discovered and named in Hong Kong,” said Professor Qiu.

Nudibranchs, commonly known as sea slugs, are gastropod molluscs that only have a shell during their larval stage. They are eye-catching animals, and they can often be spotted on coral reefs due to their vivid body colour patterns.

The HKBU team also discovered in Hong Kong waters two coral-eating species of nudibranch, both belonging to the genus Phestilla that has only nine recognised species prior to these discoveries. One of them, named Phestilla goniophaga, was collected from Sharp Island and Chek Chau. The word “goniophaga” derives from the name of the host coral, “Goniopora”, which is commonly known as flowerpot coral, and the Latin word “phaga”, which means “eat”.

Phestilla goniophaga is rather big, and its body is around three centimetres long. It can be distinguished from other species of the genus by the large number of long finger-like, brown and white striped projections called cerata, and the white rounded hump on its back. The hump resembles the host coral’s mouth, while the cerata resemble the coral’s tentacles. This mimicry makes it difficult for its potential predators, such as fish, to spot them. Its egg masses, however, are bright orange in colour and they can normally be found glued to the coral skeleton.

The other newly discovered nudibranch species is smaller in size, and its body is less than one centimetre long. It lays eggs and feeds on the tissue of the leaf coral Pavona decussata. It has a white body with brown stripes and exhibits excellent mimicry against the colour pattern of its coral host. It was named Phestilla fuscostriata, with the species epithet adopting the Latin words “fuscus” and “striatus”, which mean “brown” and “streaky”.

This new species was discovered while culturing the leaf coral samples collected from Sharp Island during a study of coral bleaching mechanisms. The HKBU team discovered the new nudibranch species and its crescent-shaped white egg masses after noticing the wounds on the coral surface caused by its feeding.

While the seas around Hong Kong are only 1,651 square kilometres in size, the territory has around six thousand marine species – one-quarter of all the marine species recorded in China.

The work conducted by Professor Qiu’s team highlights the rich biodiversity found in Hong Kong, and reflects the urgent need to train local young talent to implement the Hong Kong Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.

EdUHK’s innovative ways to test hearing

Posted on by eduhk

The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) audiology experts have found improved ways to test the hearing of the young and elderly through technological innovation.

Mandarin spoken word-Picture IDentification test in noise-Adaptive, or MAPID-A, is an award-winning computerised testing system that assesses young children’s speech recognition in noisy environments.

“It helps frontline professionals, including speech therapists, audiologists, special needs educators, educational and clinical psychologists, to assess the abilities of children with special educational needs in environments with different types and directions of noise,” said Dr Kevin Yuen Chi-pun, project leader and Director of The Education University of Hong Kong’s (EdUHK) Integrated Centre for Wellbeing.

By using MAPID-A, three-year-old children can be reliably tested in just four minutes on average. An assessment tool with such a short testing time for young children has not previously been available in the Chinese-speaking communities and is very scarce globally. The system can be used clinically in hearing clinics, hospitals and schools to investigate young children who have concerns in listening; especially in noisy environments.

MAPID-A can identify children at risk from subtle communication disorders and those who may have transient or permanent hearing impairments. For children who are found to have permanent hearing impairments and need to use hearing devices, the system can compare how they perform compared to their normal-hearing peers, and discover if their current hearing device is giving optimal benefits.

The innovation is based on the concept of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) between speech signals and interfering noise, such as engines, fans or multiple people speaking. “MAPID-A appears to be a promising clinical tool that, with its high sensitivity and test-retest reliability, helps clinicians quickly and more confidently evaluate young children’s speech recognition in noisy environments,” said Dafannas Tam Yiu-ting, clinical audiologist at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital.

Dr Yuen and his team assessed a girl with profound hearing impairment using different types of noise and from various directions. The girl’s mother said MAPID-A was unique among the many hearing tests her daughter had experienced. “It is extremely important for us to understand her hearing situation in everyday life with noises. The whole test is very user-friendly. It allows young children to interact through games,” the girl’s mother explained.

Dr Anna Kam Chi-shan, Associate Professor at the Department of Special Education and Counselling of EdUHK has developed an award-winning mobile app to help the elderly test their hearing at home, thus avoiding the cost and inconvenience of visiting a clinic.

“The clinic testing machines are bulky, complicated, and must be operated by a medical professional. Most importantly, the test has to be performed in a soundproof booth. By using noise-cancelling headphones, this new test can be done in most quiet places. Our app also simulates background noise to examine speech recognition in difficult environments, so as to detect auditory processing difficulties which often reveal the very early stages of dementia,” explained Dr Kam.

The app has proven to be of great help, “I can’t hear very well now that I’m older,” said one user.

“But it was costly and difficult for me to monitor my situation in the past. Now I can check any time I want.”

Lingnan University’s new MA Concentration in Environment and Sustainability

Posted on by Editorial Team

Last year, Lingnan University launched its MA in Cities and Governance. This programme aims to equip students with the types of practical skills and understandings required to tackle the huge challenges facing today’s mega-cities and regions.

As part of Lingnan’s commitment to developing the programme, and making it as comprehensive and relevant as possible, a new Concentration in Environment and Sustainability has now been added to the options available to students.

Goals of the new concentration

The concentration will provide students with a broad understanding of how environmental and social issues link to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Sustainability, in the form of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), is the subject of one of its new courses. “The course will teach students to advise companies how to involve ESG criteria in their strategies,” says Professor Paulina Wong, Programme Director of the concentration. Climate change is another focus. “We offer a short, intensive course about climate change. We want to give students enough knowledge to communicate the issues in a convincing way.”

Environmental concerns will be investigated at local and city levels, as well as national and global levels, and students will benefit from talks by experts active in the spheres of government, academia, and industry, or working with NGOs. They will also take part in international research and academic programme-related events to gain practical hands-on experience.

With topics approached from an international and regional perspective, and an emphasis on inter-disciplinary training, the concentration will give graduates an advantage when applying for careers in international affairs, city management, and public administration, in both developed and developing economic regions, such as the Greater Bay Area. The concentration is also a valuable grounding for higher-level degrees in related fields.

Lingnan University’s related research work

Prof Wong has recently published the results of two research projects examining the levels of air pollution generated by incense-burning at Hong Kong’s temples.

The studies, conducted by Lingnan’s Science Unit under Prof Wong’s leadership, recorded concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) generated by incense burning, both inside and outside temples, at, respectively, six times and four times the recommended levels. In addition, the team found that the more temples there are in one district, the higher the local mortality rate as a result of respiratory disease. To help minimise the health risks to worshippers and neighbouring residents, the study recommends measures such as the deployment of automatic mist sprayers to reduce smoke dispersion, and the use of incense made from non-toxic substances.

Despite its significant impact on ambient air pollution, Prof Wong said that the effects of incense burning in temples was not included in the measurements used in the air quality index.

“There has been little change in the number of temples over the last century, but their surrounding environment is ever changing; some temples are right next to residential buildings. This had a significant environmental impact, and our results suggest that incense burning may cause long-term air pollution contributing to respiratory diseases and should not be overlooked,” she said.

EdUHK research boosting equal access to quality education through blended learning

Posted on by eduhk

Research by Professor Lim Cher Ping, Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation at The Education University of Hong Kong, has significantly contributed to pedagogical and technological innovations in higher education institutions (HEIs), especially in the Asia-Pacific region. He has developed a framework for HEIs to drive and support blended learning to improve access to quality higher education.

The framework has been disseminated by UNESCO (Asia-Pacific) to ministries of education and HEIs in Asia-Pacific countries. It has been adopted and implemented by ministries and universities in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, South Korea, Mongolia and the mainland. The research has provided HEIs with a framework and self-assessment tool to analyse and revise their existing blended learning practices and policies to enhance student learning engagement and outcomes.

By adopting a sociocultural and historical perspective for mixed-method case studies across different education settings, Professor Lim’s research has generated three key principles: (1) in information and communication technologies (ICT) -enabled learning environments, teachers are the key to organising activities for learning; (2) at the institutional or system level, a holistic approach has to be adopted by education leaders to drive and support ICT-enabled practices with the aim of improving access to quality education; and (3) given the pivotal roles of teachers and institutions in ICT-enabled learning environments, the capacity of those institutions, education leaders and teachers has to be built on.

These key principles have generated more than 5,500 citations since 2001.

The above have laid the groundwork for Professor Lim’s applied research; first, the development of a framework for education institutions to adopt ICT for quality teaching and learning. The framework was later redeveloped to focus on the capacity building of HEIs to drive, sustain, and scale up their blended learning practices with eight strategic dimensions: vision and philosophy; curriculum; professional learning; learning support; infrastructure, facilities, resources and support; policy and institutional structure; partnerships; and research and evaluation.

A self-assessment tool for all eight dimensions was developed for the HEIs to conduct a needs and situation analysis of their existing state of blended learning. This allowed them to identify gaps and set targets for blended learning to better equip them to formulate and implement strategies for sustaining and scaling blended learning in their programmes and courses.

Professor Lim has won funding from UNESCO, international research organisations, education foundations and the University Grants Committee (UGC) of Hong Kong for his studies in blended and online learning. His framework was used in 2015 as an analytical lens to examine how nine universities in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and the mainland drove and supported blended learning based on the eight dimensions.

The experiences of these universities were compiled in a book, published and disseminated by UNESCO and served as a policy advocacy and planning tool for educational ministries, policy organisations, and universities. The late Dr Gwang-Jo Kim, Director of UNESCO (Asia-Pacific), described the book as a “valuable approach” to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 of equitable and inclusive quality education, and lifelong learning for all.

The framework was implemented by UNESCO International Centre for Higher Education Innovations (funded by Shenzhen Fund-In-Trust) at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) in Cambodia and Colombo University in Sri Lanka. This implementation and partnership have led to the establishment of the Centre of Excellence for Higher Education Teaching and Learning Innovations at RUPP with the support of EdUHK under the World Bank Higher Education Improvement Project.

Professor Lim’s assessment tool has further enabled partnerships between RUPP and the provincial universities of Syay Rieng and Battambang. The tool allowed senior managers to identify their HEI’s existing capacity and provide the evidences to formulate a strategic plan for closing the urban-rural education quality gap across the three universities.

The framework was also disseminated by Professor Han Xibin of the Institute of Education, Tsinghua University, to more than 500 mainland Chinese partner HEIs, where it has met a positive response and helped students overcome challenges such as low literacy levels and low self-learning skills to achieve a 100% pass rate in a course after using blended learning. Professor Lim Cheolil from Seoul National University has also adopted the framework for use by Korean universities.

Professor Lim’s grassroots approach towards professional learning as part of the framework has had significant impact in Hong Kong as well, through his co-leadership of the UGC-funded Blended & Online Learning & Teaching (BOLT) project. In collaboration with four other local universities, the project has demonstrated its potential to achieve a paradigm shift in higher education teacher professional learning and the enhancement of learning and teaching in Hong Kong. Specifically, evaluation of participants in BOLT project demonstrated raised awareness of effective use of blended learning, and also higher competence development across ranges of technological, content, and pedagogical knowledge domains.

Professor Lim’s research on boosting equal access to quality education through blended learning was rated 4-star (outstanding impacts in terms of their reach and significance) in the recent Research Assessment Exercise 2020. To learn more about the impact case study, please click here.