Prof. Koon Yee-Wan
Prof. Koon Yee‑wan earned the prestigious 2021 UGC Teaching Award for her transformative teaching in Art History.
What makes her a star teacher? She brings art objects into the classroom—engaging students and immersing them in the world of art. Learning directly from objects keeps students engaged and interested. Interacting with top curators promotes exploration, understanding and critical thinking.
Prof. Christophe Coupé
Prof. Christophe Coupé received the prestigious HKU Outstanding Teaching Award in 2021 for his student-focused and cross-disciplinary teaching, especially in computational linguistics and AI.
What makes him a star teacher? His ambitious interdisciplinarity and hands-on approach create out-of-the-ordinary learning experiences—from mock trials questioning the ethics of ape language studies to AI-assisted creative writing. Grounded in activity theory and the flipped classroom model, he empowers students as capable subjects, blending STEM and the humanities to prepare them for an AI-driven future.
Prof. SONG Geng
Prof. SONG Geng earned the prestigious 2024-25 HKU Outstanding Research Student Supervision Award.
What makes him a star teacher? He values personalized mentorship that prioritizes student well-being, timely feedback, and the development of independent, critical thinkers. His supervision fosters open dialogue, collaboration, and support through both academic and personal challenges. Career mentoring starts on day one, encouraging publications, conference participation, and long-term professional growth. This approach has led to strong research outputs and students winning prestigious awards.
Dr. David Villena
Dr. David Villena was honored with the Faculty Teaching Excellence Award in 2025 for reimagining philosophical education and the ethics of information in an AI-mediated world.
What makes him a star teacher? He asks the questions that matter. In Dr. Villena’s classroom, Socrates meets Silicon Valley. Students don’t memorize theories: they challenge algorithmic interlocutors, construct VR moral laboratories, push the boundaries of AI-assisted programming, and experiment with deepfakes to understand truth in the digital age. His teaching philosophy rests on three pillars: dialogue (questioning over telling), discovery (learning through cases like machine bias and data consent), and design (creating sound arguments through immersive media). The result? Students who can think critically about technology’s most pressing issues while developing the creative and analytical skills that define an Arts education.
Dr. CHUNG Ming-Wai Christy
Dr. CHUNG Ming-Wai Christy received the HKU Faculty Teaching Excellence Award in 2023-24 for her remarkable contributions to the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in The Chinese Language Enhancement Programme and pioneering role in Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant projects.
What makes her a star teacher? She is known for being an advocate for blended learning, her student-centric approach in curriculum development, the innovative use of AI and educational technology in pedagogy, and cross-disciplinary insights into Chinese language learning. She is passionate in collaborating with industry partners, cross-faculty subject specialists and students in delivering communication rich courses with an emphasis on oral, written, visual and digital literacies.
