This sharing session presents key findings and pedagogical insights gained from a Teaching Exchange Fellowship at the University of Auckland (UoA) School of Pharmacy. The seminar will explore how UoA’s established frameworks can inform curriculum enhancements for the BPharm and MAP programmes at HKU, specifically in the areas of curriculum mapping, digital health integration, and primary care training.

Participants will be introduced to the “Exit test mapping template” used at UoA, a model designed to ensure comprehensive competency coverage across learning domains, alongside a critical discussion on the benefits and potential retention risks of modular-based teaching approaches. The session will also highlight emerging collaborations in digital health, including the use of big data in respiratory care and the joint development of an AI-driven chatbot to simulate clinical scenarios for students. Finally, the seminar will outline how New Zealand’s focus on interprofessional education and advanced primary care roles is being adapted to create new teaching modules focused on chronic disease management and preventive care at HKU.

In late November 2025, Professor Catherine Bovill from the University of Edinburgh visited HKU. She is currently the external examiner for the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PCAP). During her visit, she discussed the PCAP programme with past and current participants and we compared professional development offered at our two universities.

This sharing session will focus on the advantages and challenges around programmes such as the PCAP. It will explore ways in which HKU can support its teaching staff on a more continuous basis than is currently the case.

Grants for overseas reciprocal visits through ‘Teaching Exchange Fellowship Scheme’

To encourage HKU staff to introduce new ideas and innovative teaching methods by engaging with teachers from overseas universities, HKU has established the “Teaching Exchange Fellowship Scheme”. Under this scheme, HKU will provide funding up to $50,000 for reciprocal staff visits and a teaching relief grant of up to $60,000 may also be awarded to successful applicant’s department.

A seminar will be organized, open to all teaching staff, to offer a comprehensive overview of this funding scheme. The seminar aims to provide information on key objective, funding amounts, eligibility and application process. Additionally, it will offer valuable advice on preparing a successful application and guide participants on planning exchange visits to enhance the scholarship of teaching at HKU, which is the aim of the scheme. The seminar will also showcase examples, on how this funding opportunity can be used by HKU teaching staff to share experience and to collaborate on teaching and curriculum development initiatives with overseas reputable universities through reciprocal visits.

We highly recommend that staff who are considering applying for the scheme to attend the seminar. It will be beneficial for staff who attended the last seminar but didn’t have sufficient time to establish overseas connections, as well as those who are planning ahead for next application cycle (having a Wednesday, February 25, 2026 closing date), would also find the seminar useful. If you are unsure whether the scheme align with your teaching innovations, or if you simply want to learn more about it, you are welcome to attend. For further information, please refer to the Circular on this scheme available at https://tl.hku.hk/staff/tefs/.

In this seminar, Mrs. Jennifer Deayton will share how the USC Annenberg School of Journalism and Communication uses professional journalism’s apprentice model to teach converged media skills. Jennifer will describe how the program’s “Newsroom as Classroom” offers experiential, cross-platform learning while fostering a strong sense of community and collaboration among students. As her department prepares to launch the School of Future Media, she will also look at ways to modify and apply Annenberg practices to this new learning environment.

Drawing on a Teaching Exchange Fellowship at Furman University (South Carolina, USA), this session considers how a liberal arts institution has integrated transferable skills and technology training into its humanities curriculum. Through interviews, course observations, and academic and co-curricular programs and workshops—including the Pathways Program, the Furman Humanities Center, the Visual Strategy minor, and the university’s suite of interdisciplinary, skills-based minors—the exchange offered an inside look at how Furman prepares students for post-graduate success. Key observations include a university-wide emphasis on experiential learning, faculty-supported undergraduate research, and structured career development integrated within a four-year educational model. Additional insights from Furman Fellows Program, Humanities Center, and technology-rich environments such as the Media Lab illustrate how the university operationalizes an “entrepreneurial mindset” within the arts and humanities.

This session will focus on how these models—emphasizing hands-on learning, AI-integrated pedagogy, digital humanities research, and multi-disciplinary skill building—can enrich HKU’s curriculum, particularly within arts and humanities courses.