For the academic year of 2023/2024, Macau University of Science and Technology conferred the annual Teaching Excellence Award to one teacher in recognition of his outstanding teaching performance. This year’s winner is Assistant Professor Zhang, Kelvin Yihang from the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management. The annual Teaching Excellence Award is made to honor and award teachers for their excellent teaching performance, ever-improving teaching standards, and significant contribution to enhancing the quality of learning and teaching in the University; it also provides incentive and encouragement for newly joined faculty members.
Winner of the 2023/2024 Teaching Excellence Award: Assistant Professor Zhang, Kelvin Yihang
Assistant Professor Zhang, Kelvin Yihang has been teaching at M.U.S.T. since September of 2021. The subjects he teaches include Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality Business, Tourism Psychology, Tourism Destination Management, Professional English, Introduction to Psychology and other undergraduate courses. Meanwhile, he is committed to academic research and is interested in the research areas of higher education, hospitality higher education and educational psychology. Through a relaxed and cheerful teaching style, he aims to create an interactive and participatory teaching atmosphere, which would effectively improve students’ learning initiative and classroom experience, allowing students to ponder, comprehend and acquire knowledge through a pleasant and enjoyable learning process. In addition, he integrates his personal working and life experiences into his teaching, hoping to guide students to apply knowledge they have learned in planning for a successful future and achieving personal goals, while cultivating students’ self-understanding and cognitive development, with the ultimate aim of facilitating students’ personal growth throughout their intellectual journey in higher education.
The assessment process for the Teaching Excellence Award is rigorous. The Teaching Excellence Award Committee first conducts a preliminary review of all the nominated teachers and produces a shortlist of teachers to go forward. The committee members then complete a comprehensive review of the candidates in terms of their teaching performance, teaching attitude, and teaching portfolios, plus a general assessment in the form of class observations, interviews, and a review of students’ evaluation feedback. Finally, the committee meets and deliberates, and decides by voting.
Since the Teaching Excellence Award was established in 2008, altogether 49 teachers have been awarded over the years. Their names are inscribed on the Honors Board for permanent display. This speaks of the great importance attached to the quality of teachers and teaching by the University, as well as its commitment to offering the best quality education for the students.
