Events

The inaugural Join-the-Conversation event celebrated the close collaboration among HKU, HKUST, HKBU and SJTU and provided colleagues with a platform to exchange thoughts and practices in relation to internationalisation of teaching and learning. The event was held on 6 February 2018 (Tuesday) at HKU with five speakers, three discussants, three facilitators and about fifty participants across different institutions and beyond.

The event started with Prof. Grahame Bilbow’s warm welcome to the first Join-the-Conversation event led by the Community of Practice – Internationalisation of Teaching and Learning (CoP – ITL hereafter) Project. Prof. Bilbow went on to introduce the development of internationalisation of teaching and learning at HKU, followed by Prof. Chih Chen Chang and Dr. Eva Wong’s sharing of the relevant development at HKUST and HKBU, respectively. Dr. Tracy Zou, CoP – ITL Project Leader, moved on to talk about the aims, approaches, focal areas of the project and some preliminary results from the online survey.

The five speakers’ presentations echoed well with the width of CoP – ITL and exhibited the dynamics of internationalisation-related practices. The topics of discussion included:

• Dr. Chun Kit Chui: Wastewater treatment in Myanmar
• Prof. May-yi Shaw: Leading classroom towards diversity
• Mr. Patrick Desloge: Nurturing global leaders through students’ teaching experience in Myanmar
• Dr. Lucia Fung: Leveraging diversity to improve classroom learning?
• Prof. Gray Kochhar-Lindgren: On becoming-other internationalisation at “home”

Dr. Chui presented his experiential learning project for Engineering and Science Students at HKU and Dagon University (Myanmar). The project involved two stages: (1) pre-trip preparation and (2) on-site operation. Students of both sides had to conduct knowledge exchange workshops for their peers with mixed disciplinary, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Such experiential learning was salient in the way that engineering students had a taste of the real engineering design cycle which has been highly appreciated by the industry.

Prof. Shaw explicated her experience in how to lead a classroom towards diversity along with course examples. Classroom diversity could start locally, then expand globally and finally create a personal touch by means of turning knowledge into relevance as well as asking application questions. It was worth highlighting that Prof. Shaw set specific rules of group formation in her teaching. Each group included students of different backgrounds, gender, disciplines, and year. Such rule of group formation was consistent throughout every class, every discussion and every assignment.

Mr. Patrick Desloge shared with us the Nurturing Global Leaders programmes that he is leading. HKU students went across regions to engage with marginalised youth in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Mainland China. It is noted that throughout the eight-week teaching in class, students not only helped the locals talk in English, but also bonded with each other. One student’s remark was quoted: “… feeling so familiar and safe in a foreign place makes me feel weird. It’s like part of me was left behind six months ago and now I’m going back to claim it.”

Dr. Lucia Fung talked us through some of her approaches to leveraging diversity in classroom learning. For group projects, local students were mixed up with internationals. Students were invited to share cross-cultural knowledge for their assessments and discussion, to challenge existing theories and develop new research topics as well as to go on exchanges. To enhance students’ readiness for classroom diversity, it was accentuated to have a systematic manner among teachers and integrate classroom learning and co-curricular activities. It is hoped that internationalisation will be made a second nature in learning and at university.

Prof. Gray Kochhar-Lindgren elaborated “Why internationalise?” and “What is the ‘at home’?” and presented how Common Core@HKU supported the emerging dynamics of student learning. At the programmatic level, the Core divided knowledge into four Areas of Inquiry (AoIs). They are Scientific and Technological Literacy, Global Issues, Humanities and Arts as well as China. There were two other recent programmatic initiatives such as Transdisciplinary Research Exchange and GLADE (Global Liberal Arts Design Experiments) which allowed students to explore culturally, geographically and interdisciplinary.

Some issues pertinent to internationalisation of teaching and learning were raised and discussed with speakers, discussants and facilitators, for example:

1. What could we do to change the majority of students’ mindset to a more internationalised one?
Prof. Kochhar-Lindgren opined that the university has required undergraduates to enroll in common core courses. This guaranteed exposure could be seen as the starting point. Dr. Wong suggested that it might be good to consider internationalised exposure as a plus experience in order not to turn students off quickly.

2. What were the differences between service learning, co-curricular learning and experiential learning?
Prof. Bilbow commented that experiential learning was an overarching term and included service learning. There were many other forms of experiential learning (anything about learning by doing), such as practicums and internships. Service learning was sometimes in the curricular course. Sometimes, it was not. Service learning could be a type of co-curricular learning as well. Further to Prof. Bilbow’s comments, Dr. Chui highlighted that from the perspective of the engineering industry, people in the field valued the experience that students had instead of the service students have provided. As such, it would be important to talk to people in the field and saw what they expected from students.

This inaugural Join-the-Conversation event ended with remarks by Dr. Tracy Zou that CoP – ITL adviser Prof. Betty Leask is visiting HKU on 23 March 2018 and that those who are interested in piloting their internatinalisation of teaching and learning projects should join us and learn more about the funding opportunities and seek consultation from our adviser.