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Celebrating excellence: HKBU Transdisciplinary Innovation Team honoured with prestigious UGC Teaching Award
30 Sep 2025
In a remarkable testament to the power of collaboration, innovation and dedication, HKBU’s Transdisciplinary Innovation Team has been honoured with 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 team received the accolades from Mr Tim Lui, Chairman of UGC, at the award presentation ceremony on 29 September at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
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.
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. It 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.
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.
The transdisciplinary and individualised undergraduate programmes represent the breadth of the University. Over the first three years since the four transdisciplinary 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 the 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 the 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.
