A new staff development series, {ENGAGE \ CONNECT} Lectures on Peer Review of Teaching and Faculty Mentoring, will be held on May 17-19, 2011 at City University of Hong Kong (CityU).

Five world-renowned academics and specialists in the field from Australia and the UK, invited for the first time in Hong Kong by the Office of Education Development and General Education (EDGE), will share their expertise on and discuss about 1) the successful implementation of a compulsory Peer Review of Teaching mechanism, which will be introduced at CityU; 2) policies, resources, and processes for recognising and rewarding excellent teaching; and 3) practical ways of developing undergraduate students’ research literacy and research-based learning in the undergraduate curriculum.

Professor Gregory Raupp, Vice-President of Research and Technology and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, and Professor Arthur Ellis, Provost of CityU, will give the opening remarks at 2pm on May 17 and May 18 respectively.

In the 2010 Report of a Quality Audit of City University of Hong Kong issued by the Quality Assurance Council (QAC) of the UGC, CityU had the honour of being commended for the very real commitment that it is making to the enhancement of teaching and learning and its willingness to be self-critical and adaptive in its quest for continuous improvement. As the implementation of a compulsory peer review of teaching mechanism in Hong Kong universities and the promotion of undergraduate research are of paramount significance to improve learning and teaching, all academics from Hong Kong institutions of higher education are invited to engage with the speakers and share their views or concerns, either online at www.ncm2.xyz/edge/engage/question/ or face-to-face during the five lectures.

“Peer review of Teaching in universities involves academic colleagues giving and receiving feedback on their teaching practices and its effectiveness in promoting student learning. Presently, much of the evaluation of university teaching is based on student feedback, yet peer review has the potential to provide valuable insight drawn from an alternative and equally valid perspective.”

- Peer Review of Teaching in Australian Higher Education, 2008.

At EDGE, we strongly believe that research, learning and teaching should be closely linked and strong synergies should be built for the benefit of students and colleagues.

For more details, please visit: www.ncm2.xyz/edge/engage/

Media enquiries: Ms Terrie Cheung, EDGE, at 3442-6991or 9414-4499.