Hong Kong universities taking the chance to innovate and upskill as Covid-19 drives online and mixed-mode learning
- Nicole Tavares, programme director of the Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages won the 2020 HKU Teaching Innovation Award
- One of EduHK’s flagship programmes is the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence and Educational Technology, whose programme director is Dr Yanjie Song
It doesn’t matter how much the world changes through technological developments or global pandemics – society will always need teachers. But to remain effective, education institutions must constantly evolve and adapt to the ever-evolving world – regardless of the subject matter being taught.
This is especially true when it comes to professional education programmes, which are responsible for instilling this mindset in future educators. During the Covid-19 pandemic, higher education institutions have had the challenge of not only delivering to students the world-class education they are accustomed to, but also constantly updating and modernising their curricula.
But like great organisations always do, Hong Kong’s universities have taken what seems to be an obstacle or challenge – in this case the current pandemic – and turned it into an opportunity.
Nicole Tavares, programme director of the Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages [MA(TESOL)] programme at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), is a leader in the Covid-19 education space, having published a leading research study entitled The Technology Cart and the Pedagogy Horse in Online Teaching in the English Teaching & Learning journal alongside her colleague Amy Tsui in February.