Awards Season Comes Early for These Five FLASS Overachievers

Congratulations to five FLASS faculty members whose excellent work has won them President’s Awards for Outstanding Performance in Teaching, Research, Knowledge Transfer, and Administrative Services 2025/26. The University hosted the President’s Awards presentation ceremony on 17 June, during which EdUHK President Professor John Lee Chi-Kin presented awards to individual and team winners for their exceptional performance.

At the ceremony, Professor Lee said, “As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of EdUHK’s retitling, it is particularly meaningful to honour our outstanding staff members. Your tireless dedication to teaching, research and knowledge transfer has been instrumental in transforming EdUHK from an education-focused institution into a diverse and vibrant university. Looking ahead, let us continue to work together under the vision of ‘Education Futures’ to write an even more brilliant chapter for the University’s next decade.”

This year’s Outstanding Performance in Teaching (Individual Award) went to two FLASS faculty members. Dr Carman Leung Ka-man, Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Physical Education (HPE), won the General Faculty Member Category, while Dr Manpreet Singh, Lecturer I in the Department of Mathematics and Information Technology (MIT), was awarded under the Early Career Faculty Member Category.

Since joining HPE in 2020, Dr Leung has taught volleyball, theory and practice in sport coaching, sport management, and physical activity and health promotion. The Outstanding Performance in Teaching award recognises her research-informed, learner-centred teaching that integrates motivational coaching, experiential learning and community engagement. Her leadership in programme development and interdisciplinary course design has trained thousands of coaches and created sustainable impact in sports education.

Dr Singh joined MIT in 2022 with more than a decade of teaching experience in secondary school. He is recognised for his SHaPER framework (STEM Education through Hands-on Activities based on the Pedagogy of Experiential Learning using Emerging Technologies with Real-time Teacher Scaffolding), which revitalises STEM education in the GenAI era by building creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication. His approach has measurably improved student engagement and achievement.

Among all winners of the Outstanding Performance in Research (Individual Award), two are from FLASS: Professor Chou Kee-lee, Chair Professor of Social Policy in the Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies (SSPS), won the Distinguished Research Achievement Award, and Dr Cheng Jinping, Assistant Professor of the Department of Science and Environmental Studies (SES), won the Outstanding Early Career Research Award.

Professor Chou is recognised for his pioneering research addressing loneliness among older adults and alleviating stress for dementia caregivers. He has completed three major projects and is leading five ongoing studies, with over 40 articles published in leading journals such as The Lancet Healthy Longevity and JAMA Network Open. His work has achieved significant academic and societal impact, including wide media coverage and international collaborations. Dr Cheng is commended for her work in environmental health and sustainable development, having secured major grants and earned international recognition for her inventions.

Dr Sun Daner, Associate Head and Associate Professor of MIT and Associate Co-Director of the Global Institute for Emerging Technologies, is among the recipients of the Outstanding Performance in Knowledge Transfer (Individual Award). She led the development of ScaffoldiaMyMaths, an AI-powered platform that provides cognitive tools for learners requiring support in mathematics, with the aim of building AI literacy and creative thinking. The platform has been implemented in multiple schools, directly benefiting hundreds of under-resourced students across the Greater Bay Area.

Established in 2011/12, the President’s Awards recognise and encourage excellence across teaching, research, knowledge transfer and administrative services, reinforcing the University’s commitment to a performance driven culture. This year, besides nine individual staff members winning awards in teaching, research and knowledge transfer for their exceptional performance, two teams won the President’s Awards for Outstanding Performance in Administrative Services, with eight additional Certificates of Merit conferred. At the 17 June ceremony, Professor John Lee Chi-Kin presented awards and Certificates of Merit to all individual and team winners.

We are proud to recognise the achievements of our scholars in the 2025/26 President’s Awards for Outstanding Performance. FLASS is committed to providing opportunities to support the professional growth of our teaching, research and administrative staff, and we hope our staff members will continue to excel and contribute to the development of the faculty and the University.

For details of the awards, please refer to the dedicated website for President’s Awards for Outstanding Performance.