To enhance the university staff’s awareness of teaching quality assurance and continuously improve the teaching quality of the university, CityU Office for Quality Assurance of Teaching and Learning invited Prof. Hugh Brock, Associate-Provost Academic Innovation of the University of British Columbia, to visit our university and deliver a lecture on "Changing Times, Changing Universities" on April 25th.

Prof. Brock first explained the trend of social changes and the practical challenges faced by universities teaching due to the rapid development of science and technology innovation. He pointed out that universities need to adapt to changing trends and reform on teaching and learning. Traditional classroom-based teaching should be improved from the forms of diversification, cross-learning practices, student-led content and timeliness assessment, and more emphasis on students' experience learning, teamwork and practical ability. Prof. Brock shared the examples of curriculum reforms in world-famous universities such as University of California, Berkeley, MIT, Stanford University, Oxford University, and University of Melbourne, which shows that the reform strategies of university teaching and learning should focus on the cultivation of students' learning abilities. Compared with the mastery of specific knowledge, the mastery of comprehensive skills will more foster students’ adaptability to changes in social development and the demand of talents.

Prof. Brock also introduced the reforming experience of the University of British Columbia and shared that university teaching reform should have the correct strategic guidance and assurance system, create the ability to promote reforms, and pay attention to the continuous improvement of the university teaching quality. Prof. Brock interacted with the attendees after the lecture, where the atmosphere was very lively. The participating teachers all expressed that the lecture had a profound and innovative implications on their own classroom teaching.

Prof. Hugh Brock obtained his B.Sc. at the University of British Columbia (UBC), his doctorate at University of Oxford, and did postdoctoral work at the University of Paris, and the University of Washington. For the past 6 years he has been the Associate-Provost Academic Innovation, with responsibilities for teaching and learning strategy, continuing education, program approval, change management, policy development, and quality assurance. Founded in 1915, the University of British Columbia is a world-renowned international comprehensive university and ranked the 51st in the 2018 QS World University.