Our Team
Associate Professor
cecilia.chan@cetl.hku.hk
(852) 3917 8534
I hold a PhD in Engineering from Trinity College, a postgraduate diploma and a MA in Higher Education. I have been an active participant in conducting engineering education, generic skills, as well as teaching and learning related workshops. To motivate participation, my workshops are always fun and highly interactive.
I believe in ‘Work Hard Play Hard’ attitude. I enjoy networking and organizing team building activities with my colleagues off work. At work, I am able to come up with lots of creative ideas and I love sharing them with my team members.
Life goals: Still searching
My proudest achievement so far: Lost 30 pounds of weight and becoming inspirational for others to follow!! ☺
Indulgences: My research; my workshops/seminars (I get a bit high presenting); discussion with my husband, my team and other smart people; investing in properties; romance
Inspirational quote: “Work Hard Play Hard and Stay Young!”
My favourite food: Food with love and meaning
| Year | Award |
| 2016 | 36th Round Post-doctoral Fellow Scheme (Research Area: Generic Skills in Education) |
| 2016 | HKU Outstanding Young Researcher Award |
| 2011 | King’s/HKU Fellowship Awards |
| 2006 | DIT Engineering Staff Excellence Achievement Award for the contribution in Student Recruitment and Achievement |
| 2005 | DIT Engineering Staff Excellence Achievement Award for the contribution in Student Motivation and Retention |
| 1998 | SMART AWARD (Surface Mount and Related Technology Award) National Microelectronics Research Centre (NMRC) and SMART group |
| 1996-2000 | PhD Research Scholarship, Forbairt, Irish Enterprise Board |
| 1996-1998 | Postgraduate Scholarship Awards Trinity College Dublin |
| 1996 | Best Student of the Year Award, Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMech E) |
| 1996 | Jeffcott Prize Award, Trinity College Dublin |
| 1995 | Stanford Smith Prize Award and Book Prize, Trinity College Dublin |
| 1994 | Book Prize, Trinity College Dublin |
Staff
(852) 3917 1276
wt1227@hku.hk
Life goal: Enjoy what I am doing. Be myself and stay weird!
My proudest achievement so far: Travelling solo in United States, try to live like a local and fully immerse in their culture.
Indulgences: Eating CHEESE CAKE, Singing Karaoke, doing sports, watching animation, playing video games.
Inspirations: Interacting with different types of people can always triggers intellectual exchange that inspires me. It could be personal experience, life motto, thought, idea or dream. I always find it fascinating to see how people interpret things at different levels and from different perspectives.
Your favorite movie and why: Inside Out. It is more than just a cartoon movie as it brings message and teaches life lesson. It projects how our brain feels if they have feelings. There are five basic emotions portrayed in the movie which are joy, sadness, anger, fear and disgust. The animation depicted how the emotions affect us to encode, store, retrieve, and forget our memory. Thus, how these emotional memories actually influence our personality and characteristic. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend checking out Inside Out. I did quite a lot of reflection after watching this movie.
Despite the long history of residential education at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), educational values of residential experience are still unclear. Residential education has the potential to provide distinguish and unique learning experiences for students to develop generic skills and virtues outside classroom. However, it has long remained as a kind of “black box” waiting for us to explore whether undergraduates can develop holistically through their first-year residential experience. By adopting The Student Involvement Theory proposed by Astin, this study aims to find the mediating mechanism which can explain how residential educational programs, and settings can possibly result in students’ achievement and personal development. This study will use both qualitative and quantitative research methods to investigate what and how generic skills are developed by living in residential halls/colleges for one academic year.
(852) 3917 8106
joycefung@hku.hk
Life goals: Stay happy and be true to myself
My proudest achievement so far: Featured in The Guardian for my project on menstrual taboo and period shaming. Please support my Facebook page MenstruAction!
Indulgences: Musicals and plays, good food and nice cafes
Inspirations: Don’t be afraid of being different!
Favourite food: Chocolate, egg waffle, Siu mei and Bak Kut Teh!
(852) 3917 6068
emkyliu@hku.hk
Life goals: Be positive and stay happy! I believe that every cloud has a silver lining.
My proudest achievement so far: Among hundreds of other IB Visual Arts students’ brilliant pieces nationwide in Australia, two of my artworks were selected to be a part of an exhibition that stopped around the country in most major cities for a month.
Indulgences: I love having horror movie marathon, intellectual conversation, and great food.
Inspirations: “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” by Marcus Aurelius
Favourite food: Dark chocolate! I can’t imagine my life without dark chocolate.
(852) 3917 4539
lillianluk@cetl.hku.hk
I enjoys travelling and learning both Japanese and Korean. I like dogs and I have a Labrador retriever who grew up with me since I was 12 years old.
Life goal: To have lots of fun and enjoy life, while making a little contribution to the society through my work.
My proudest achievement so far: To be one of the speakers at The 7th International Workshop on Innovative Engineering Education (IEE 2016) held in Jeju, South Korea.
Indulgences: Korean Pop Music & Concerts, Japanese Character Goods (e.g. Sailor moon, Totoro), Movies & Television Dramas, Travelling
Inspirations: 
Favourite food: Nasi Lemak & Laksa, Sushi, Spicy Soft Tofu Stew (sundubu-jjigae), because they makes me feel nostalgic, bringing back good memories of my stay in different countries.
(852) 3917 6196
alan829@hku.hk
Life goal: My life goal, generally, is to live a happy life (and so are the others), and specifically, is to try my best to bring something great here. I am also a vegan and interested in universal values like justice and mercy.
My proudest achievement so far: I have made a video conference platform for education and business purposes and sold the licenses to clients like HKSAR government and some tertiary institutions.
Indulgences: In leisure I like playing board games with friends. We have a lot of fun and sometimes I can understand others and even myself more.
Inspirations: I like reading and travelling to the different parts of the world. I love to see new things because this makes me feel so alive and I will always have new inspirations when I perceive from new perspectives.
Your favourite movie: My favorite movie is “Prometheus”. It talks about finding our creators in space by invitation but it turns out that they are indeed very cruel… Actually, there is so much for us to explore in this world.
(852) 3917 8994
wongyhh@hku.hk
Life goals: To write a journal about my experiences abroad
My proudest achievement so far: Having seen the Northern Lights at Rovaniemi, Finland
Indulgences: Korean Pop Music, Anime, Reading and Travelling
Inspirational quote: Love yourself, love myself.
My favourite food: Bubble Tea, Egg Tart
(852) 3917 6071
rayyuen6@hku.hk
Life goals: Exploring different school of thoughts.
My proudest achievement so far: Studying and working at HKU.
Indulgences: Political debate. House Music. Chill.
Inspirational quote: Be yourself. Be proud of who you are.
My favourite food: Meat.
(852) 3917 5193
emily.fong@hku.hk
I have a strong interest in researching language learning and identity and cross-cultural communication. As well as other generic skills, I consider intercultural understanding and awareness an emerging generic skill that is increasingly important for students to develop.
I have previously taught Linguistics and Translation Studies courses at the Australian National University and worked in the Australian Government Department of Education and Training for almost five years. In addition to my research role at CETL, I also teach translation course at the University of Hong Kong.
Life goal: I can be a workaholic so my goal is to be able to achieve work-life balance.
Proudest achievement so far: Giving up a permanent position in the government to follow my heart and passion. Some people thought it was a silly move but life is too short to be wasted!
Indulgence: I like spending an afternoon in a café, reading, writing and procrastinating… I think I probably got half of my PhD dissertation written in a café…
Since my husband and I bought our house in Australia, I have become very interested in interior design and addicted to buying home décor. I also enjoy travelling and hanging out with family and friends.
Favourite inspirational quote: ‘Words of wisdom’ gifted by a good mentor when I decided to leave my position in the government:
“In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don’t try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.
When you are content to be simply yourself
and don’t compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.”
Favourite food: Having lived in a city with not much Chinese cuisine for the last 10 years, I always miss anything ‘Hong-Kong style’. ‘Smelly tofu’ (with sweet and chilli sauce) is my favourite!
(852) 3917 6195
kathkw@connect.hku.hk
Life goals: To become a teacher in higher education, and to write a novel
Proudest achievement so far: Producing a documentary with a small team about ‘Bananas’ – third-culture kids who are Chinese but grew up in a Western country (myself included)
Indulgences: Manga/anime, videogames, bubble tea
Inspirations: I am driven by my two main goals in life, by my desire for more knowledge, and my mom!
Favourite book and why? The entirety of the Harry Potter series. I grew up reading the books and became completely invested in the wizarding world and its characters – the story taught me a few lessons on being a person and I love that the fan community is still vibrant and thriving, even years after the main series ended. (#RavenclawPride!)
(852) 3917 5272
ytluk89@hku.hk
Life goals: Live Simply, Dare to Dream, Be Grateful, Give Love and Laugh Lots
My proudest achievement so far: To have successfully completed my master’s degree in Korea
Indulgences: Fine Arts and Korean Pop Music
Inspirational quote: “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
My favourite food: Singapore Yong Tau Foo, Laksa, Hong Kong Fish Ball Noodles, Dim Sum, Korean Baked Chicken, Spicy Seafood Tofu Soup, Japanese Sushi and Udon Noodles
(852) 3917 0114
maiq@hku.hk
I hold a PhD and a Bachelor of Social Science in policy studies and administration from City University of Hong Kong. My doctoral research was about socio-technical integration of climate change mitigation solutions in Chinese cities. After my PhD, I spent some years in the UK as a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Geography in Durham University, researching on the governance of urban sustainability transitions in European cities. I am particularly interested in social innovations, i.e. urban living laboratories, community cooperatives, and social enterprises, in driving sustainability changes. Although Teaching Research is a new topic in my research pathway, I am sure there can be a crossover between experiential learning and social innovations for sustainability studies.
Life goals: Be happy and bring happiness to my family and friends
My proudest achievement so far: Being invited as a speaker on low carbon cities in Berlin, or perhaps it was back in time when I was bold enough to travel alone to Israel and Palestine areas – it was deeply inspirational!
Indulgences: Traveling to places where I have never been, or chilling out in Jacuzzi spa
Inspirations: Role models in my life – my mentors, academic supervisors, my parents and a lot of my friends
Favorite movie: I love thriller movies – Source Code, The Ghost Writer, and Inception
(852) 3917 1182
lydiawhn@hku.hk
Life goal: To fully maximize my potential in my areas of interest, to be self-sufficient, and most importantly, be happy.
My proudest achievement so far: There are too many trivial but proud achievements that I had! Just to name a few they must be getting out of a locked room, hiking for 12 hours within a day, settling accommodation for the night after cancellation of that night’s original booking, and catching up a flight despite train being stuck in the snow.
Indulgences: Food, social activities and adventures.
Inspirations: My inspirations are mainly from interactions with people. To me people are living books and it always amazes me how much you can learn from interacting and listening to others’ stories on overcoming life’s hardships. For the most important thing life and people have taught me is that ‘the most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, know loss and have found their way out of the depths.’
Favourite Movie: My favorite movie is “Miss Sloane”. This movie is about a lobbyist who normally willing to make any compromises to achieve her clients’ aims, suddenly decide to lobby for the justice she believes in, even if that implies offending her clients and incurring monetary, career and personal sacrifices. This movie is a marvelous display of how intelligence and insights interwoven to make flawless tactics. It also introduces audience to the intriguing nature of lobbyist and the American politics.
(852) 3917 5213
jncy@hku.hk
Life goal: I like the remark of Forrest Gump’s mum that life is “like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get”. My general life goal has been to make good use of my time, energy, capabilities and potential.
My proudest achievement so far: The selfless support of my wife, and the cheerful smile and loving hugs of my kid.
Indulgences: Music, chess games, windsurfing …
My sources of inspirations: Speaking with people from various walks of life, great movies …
My favourite book: “Thinking, Fast and Slow” (by Daniel Kahneman). The book encapsulates a great deal of wisdom.