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 8252
lylkevin@hku.hk
Life goals: Still looking for it
Proudest achievement so far: Biked the Hong Kong Island at midnight with 20 friends.
Indulgences: Basketball, music, computer games, design and technology
Inspirations: I love seeing new things and meeting people to be inspired anytime, anywhere. My favorite quote is “It’s not what we say or what we think that defines us, but what we do.”
Favourite movie: My favorite movie is called “Interstellar”. The storyline is that the world is about to end. The only way to rescue mankind is by flying through the “worm hole” for an interstellar travel, which has never been done before. It is my favorite because in terms of cinematic effect it is very detailed and pretty well integrated into the theoretical plot. More importantly it delivers a message that love is immeasurable and beyond any dimension of the universe.
(852) 3917 6070
lilia@hku.hk
Life goals: To continue to do meaningful research that contributes to society or the scientific community.
Proudest achievement so far: Having gotten out of my comfort zone and went abroad on my own to pursue my education and career.
Indulgences: Food (particularly sweets), comedy/zombie movies, and window shopping.
Inspirations: People who are patient and determined, who keep relentlessly working towards their goals.
Favourite movie/book: A Clockwork Orange. Both the book (1962) and the movie (1971) are ahead of their times. The story by Anthony Burgess examines issues of morality, politics, and free will using powerful imagery, and Stanley Kubrick’s film depicts it with mesmerising colours and art direction.
(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 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 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.
(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 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 1182
wyyn@hku.hk
Life goals: Always learning and be hard-working. As Han Yu, a poet from the Tang dynasty said, “Diligence is the path to the mountain of knowledge, hard-working is the boat to the endless sea of learning.”
Proudest achievement so far: Living alone in Glasgow and survived under the pressure of assignments and injury.
Indulgences: Chinese culture, history, and literature, sports especially martial arts (Tai Chi, Taekwondo, Chinese weapons).
Inspirations quote: The Master said, ‘When there is a preponderance of native substance over acquired refinement, the result will be churlishness. When there is a preponderance of acquired refinement over native substance, the result will be pedantry. Only a well-balanced admixture of these two will result in gentlemanliness.’ (Confucius, vi.18)
Favourite books and why? I love Chinese culture very much, and therefore all books about Chinese culture, literature, history and philosophy are my favourite. I enjoy reading and studying Chinese classics and hundred schools of thought.
Favourite food: Zhajiangmian/noodles in soybean paste (in any cuisine), milk tea (Hong Kong, Malaysian style!), tofu, toast w/condensed milk and peanut butter, minced pork rice, fish.