PolyU places a strong focus on technology in education and is committed to driving initiatives on teaching and learning innovations by developing interactive pedagogies. A cross-departmental team led by Dr Rodney Chu, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Applied Social Sciences has won a Silver Award in the Asia Region at the QS Reimagine Awards 2023 with the project “Immersive Learning on the Run: Student-Staff Partnership for Technology-Facilitated Ubiquitous Learning”.

With the provision of an immersive virtual environment and digital production studio, and the embedding of a student-staff partnership approach, students and teachers are empowered to co-design teaching and learning content and method that is tailored to students’ needs and interests. For instance, they have co-created videos spanning topics relating to intangible cultural heritage, urban landmarks, suburbs and markets, and then showcased them on HiVE at the University’s Industrial Centre, the first large-scale X-Reality hybrid classroom in Hong Kong. This approach allows students to assess sustainable development goals and enhances their learning experience.

Regarded as the “Oscars of Education”, the QS Reimagine Awards celebrate pioneering work in pedagogy from top universities globally. This year’s competition attracted over 1,200 entries. PolyU stood out as the sole winner from Hong Kong, claiming a Silver Award in the Regional Award for Asia across all categories.

Commenting on the recognition, Dr Chu expressed gratitude to PolyU for its support of innovative teaching. He believes the partnership approach and immersive technologies united students, staff and communities. It enhanced students’ understanding of local sustainable development while cultivating critical, lifelong learners.