PolyU educators honoured with prestigious UGC Teaching Award

Educators from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) received the 2025 University Grants Committee (UGC) Teaching Award (the Award) in two categories. Prof. Shirley NGAI, Associate Head and Associate Professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, was awarded in the General Faculty Members category for her visionary leadership in physiotherapy education, while Prof. Jeffrey LEUNG, Assistant Professor of the School of Optometry, was selected as the awardee for the Early Career Faculty Members category in recognition of his contributions to interdisciplinary collaboration and curriculum transformation. The awards were presented by Mr Tim LUI, Chairman of UGC, at a presentation ceremony held today.

Prof. CAO Jiannong, PolyU Vice President (Education), congratulated the award-winning scholars and remarked, “PolyU is committed to pursuing excellence in education and research, while fostering teaching innovation to enhance the quality of learning and teaching. Prof. Ngai and Prof. Leung have introduced pioneering teaching methods and novel educational technologies, making significant contributions to nurturing the next generation of allied healthcare professionals. I believe their spirit of innovation, passion for teaching and unwavering efforts will inspire the PolyU community to further excel in the field of education.”

Introducing medical simulation into physiotherapy education

Throughout her 13-year teaching journey, Prof. Shirley Ngai has espoused a student-centred pedagogy and had a transformative impact on physiotherapy education with her extraordinary leadership. An awardee for the Early Career Faculty Members category in 2016, Prof. Ngai is the first individual to receive this prestigious accolade twice.

With the aim of revolutionising competency-based clinical training, Prof. Ngai has introduced medical simulation into physiotherapy education in Hong Kong. This approach utilises simulated patients to enhance students’ clinical skills and confidence, equipping them to face real-world clinical environments. Her numerous innovative teaching initiatives, including mobile learning apps and self-directed e-books, as well as the adoption of advanced technologies such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, also strengthen students’ self-directed learning and professional competency. The online learning modules and a globally recognised online course she has developed have been adopted by more than 3,800 learners from over 130 regions worldwide.

Prof. Ngai has actively promoted academic and curriculum reform to elevate international standards in rehabilitation education. She spearheaded the creation of Blended Clinical Education, a comprehensive framework incorporating virtual patient cases, grading rubrics and quality assurance systems. This initiative breaks through the traditional practice of recognising only hands-on clinical training and has drawn attention from the global academic community.

Expressing her great honour at receiving the Award for a second time, Prof. Ngai said, “My dynamic teaching journey has shaped my teaching philosophy: exceeding traditional boundaries, tackling challenges and relentlessly innovating to elevate outcomes for every student. I have noticed that many students feel stressed when applying university knowledge during clinical placement; I therefore took the initiative to reform the clinical curriculum to hone skills that are essential for clinical practice. The Award is a tremendous encouragement. I will continue championing my various novel solutions to educators worldwide, striving to make even greater contributions to the academic community.”

Pioneering interdisciplinary collaboration and AI assessment system to promote innovative optometry education

Drawing on his extensive clinical and research experience, Prof. Jeffrey Leung has been dedicated to nurturing creative, compassionate and adaptable professionals who are prepared to address the ever-evolving demands of quality healthcare since he joined the School of Optometry in 2020.

Grounded in experiential and transformative learning, Prof. Leung has actively engaged students through immersive, real-world projects. He challenged students to design new vision training tools tailored to patients’ needs, transforming them from passive learners to active innovators while fostering their critical and creative thinking. He has also led interdisciplinary collaborations with education students to improve paediatric eye care for children with special educational needs, with a view to enhancing optometry students’ empathy and sense of social responsibility.

Prof. Leung is proactive in integrating cutting-edge technologies into teaching. He has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted clinical skills assessment system that offers instant, objective feedback on students’ clinical performance, providing students with personalised guidance while elevating diagnostic training.

Prof. Leung remarked, “As healthcare providers, I firmly believe that we must focus on more than eyes, also caring for the individuals we serve. My teaching philosophy is built on this—to guide students in shifting their perspective from ‘seeing an eye’ to ‘seeing a person’. In line with this, I encourage students to become creators and design novel solutions for authentic clinical challenges. I also connect them with peers from different professional backgrounds for building a real-world foundation for the interdisciplinary collaboration that modern healthcare demands. I am very grateful to the University for supporting my efforts to explore different ways to teach. This award will motivate me to take my teaching vision forward.”

The UGC Teaching Award was introduced to honour academics of the UGC-funded universities for their outstanding teaching performance and achievements, as well as leadership in and scholarly contributions to teaching and learning within and outside their campuses. It comprises three categories of awardee: General Faculty Members, Early Career Faculty Members and Collaborative Teams.

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