Recently, the Guangdong Institute of Higher Education announced the winners of Excellence Awards for the 3rd National Teaching Innovation Contest for College Teachers (Guangdong province). The team led by Prof. SONG Hongbin of the School of Humanities and Social Science, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, won the Excellence Award in the Basic Course Track, Intermediate and Below, making it the first HSS team to win an award in the teaching innovation contest. 

About the contest

Guided by the Department of Education of Guangdong province, the 3rd National Teaching Innovation Contest for College Teachers (Guangdong province) was co-organized by the Guangdong Institute of Higher Education and Sun Yat-sen University. The contest aims to support the moral education and the construction of new engineering, medicine, agricultural, and liberal arts in higher education institutions. It also aims to promote the integration and innovation of information technology and teaching, guide teachers to focus on teaching and educating students, and create a benchmark for college teaching reform.

he competition is divided into six tracks, including new engineering, new medicine, new agriculture, new liberal arts, basic courses, and ideological and political courses. Based on the professional positions of the participating teachers, each track is further divided into three categories. Nearly 400 teachers (teams) from about 70 universities across the province participate in the provincial contest.

About the course

"In Dialogue with Nature" is a general education foundation course at our university. It aims at helping students understand how human beings explore and grasp the laws of the physical world, the world of life, and human thinking through reading classic English original works in the history of science. It enables students to master scientific research methods, learn the spirit of scientists, and stimulate and guide students to think from multiple perspectives. Through analyzing and discussing the problems faced by human beings in the process of exploring nature and themselves, as well as the rapid development of science and technology and their impact on the natural environment and society, the course aims to cultivate students' spirit of exploration, critical thinking, and social responsibility.

Acceptance speech

It is an honor to represent the School in the 3rd National Teaching Innovation Contest for College Teachers (Guangdong province) and receive an Excellence Award. This achievement belongs to the entire "In Dialogue with Nature" teaching team. I would like to thank the colleagues from the School of Humanities and Social Science, the Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR), and the General Education Division for their full support and assistance. Before the contest, we were fortunate to have valuable experience sharing from several teachers in the GEA teaching group who had participated in previous competitions. During the recording stage, we also received strong support from our students and colleagues of the Communications and Public Relations Office (CPRO). This contest was also a report on the teaching achievements of our "In Dialogue with Nature" teaching team over the past decade. During the preparation process, our team members have gained more insights into teaching and it has helped us to continuously improve our teaching. We look forward to more teams joining this contest. 

About the teaching team

SONG Hongbin

Assistant Professor (Teaching)

Education Background

PhD (Kochi University of Technology) 
ME (Harbin Engineering University)
BE (Harbin Engineering University)

Research Fields

Quantum Communication, Quantum Sensing, Quantum Control, Optical Fiber Communication and Sensing

ZUO Xuran

Assistant Professor (Teaching)

Education Background

PhD (The University of Hong Kong) 
MSc (University of Paris 6, France) 
BSc (University of Lille 1, France)

Research Fields

South China Geology, Geodynamic Modeling, Low-temperature Thermochronology

LI Mo

Assistant Professor (Teaching)

Education Background

PhD (University of New South Wales)
MSc (University of Oxford)
BSc (University of Nottingham)

Research Fields

Environmental Resource Policy and Management, Sustainable Development Models, Urban Studies, Ecological Economics

ZHANG Honghui

Lecturer

Education Background

PhD (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
BE (Huazhong University of Science and Technology) 

Research Fields

Optical Communication System, Optical Signal Processing, Nonlinear Fiber Optics