The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is committed to harnessing advanced technologies in teaching and learning, cultivating the next generation of talent for a rapidly evolving future. At the EDUtech Asia 2025 Awards, Dr Julia CHEN, Director of the Educational Development Centre, Associate Professor (by courtesy) of the Department of English and Communications, was named a finalist in the “Outstanding Educator Category (Higher Education)”. She was also shortlisted for the “Best AI Innovation Strategy Award (Higher Education)” for a collaborative project with Dr Pauli Lai, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at PolyU.
Selected from nearly 400 global entries, Dr CHEN’s visionary leadership and commitment to educational innovation have set her apart. Her forward-thinking initiatives include integrating GenAI into teaching and learning, transforming course-based assessment, and pioneering the use of learning analytics in reviewing language education.
The awarded project aims to harness hybrid (human and artificial) intelligence to enhance students’ English productive skills. The team developed two AI-powered platforms, AIReAS and NinjOrAItor, which deliver personalised feedback on writing and oral presentations, supporting university students learning English as an additional language.
Dr CHEN plays a pivotal role in teaching and is dedicated to supporting learners with diverse professional backgrounds. She leads several institutional and inter-institutional projects related to English Across the Curriculum and a project that involves all the eight UGC-funded universities on GenAI in learning and teaching. She developed and taught Thesis Writing for Research Students, a subject designed for PhD and MPhil candidates across disciplines; and currently teaches curriculum development and management on the Faculty of Humanities’s professional doctorate programme.
One of her recent research projects explores the potential of modern technology in language learning, including a collaboration with Stanford University to develop an online learning platform with automatic error correction.
Dr CHEN currently serves as Chair of the Hong Kong Teaching Excellence Alliance (HKTEA), a prestigious network established by the University Grants Committee (UGC) in 2019 to elevate the impact of the UGC Teaching Award and champion high-quality teaching across the sector.
Dr CHEN has received various honours for her educational contributions, including the 2022 UGC Teaching Award (Collaborative Teams Category) and the 2022 QS Reimagine’s Breakthrough Technology Innovation in Education Award Silver Prize; and being shortlisted for the “THE Awards Asia 2023 - Teaching and Learning Strategy of the Year”. She was also bestowed the lifetime designation of Distinguished Fellow of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum in 2021.
