Passion for teaching alive for 30 years
By : Professor Daniel Ho Wing-cheong, Department of Mathematics
My teaching objective is to help students combine what they have learned by integrating knowledge from different disciplines. I also encourage them to step out of their comfort zone, go into the community, and try to integrate and apply their knowledge to solve real-life problems.
The Grand Challenges Scholars Programme, organised by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in the US, provides cross-disciplinary learning opportunities for students. I spent more than a year preparing for CityU to join the Programme, which we managed to do in 2016, making CityU the first university in the Greater China Region to do so.
The Programme put forward pressing issues facing the world in the 21st century, such as sustainability, medicine, network security and quality of life. Through activities like field studies and research, the Programme encourages students to incorporate knowledge from various disciplines to find ways to tackle these problems and enhance public awareness of these important issues. The Programme became very successful because of the students’ active participation, and CityU was invited by the NAE to promote the benefits of cross-disciplinary learning by sharing our experience with other academic institutions in the Greater China Region.
“I believe teaching requires dedication and integration to achieve breakthroughs.”I also encourage students to conduct field studies in less developed regions, like Myanmar, through activities organised by Engineers Without Borders. Under the guidance of professional engineers, they can take part in community service and apply their engineering knowledge to solving problems like water and power shortages and environmental degradation. Through these activities, they learn to think out of the box and make use of the knowledge they have acquired from different disciplines to find solutions to real-life problems.
To enhance the integration of mathematics with other disciplines, I have arranged for students to work as interns in banks and insurance companies through collaboration with corporations. These placement arrangements were launched well before data mining became a prevailing trend. As students can make use of their strength in data mining, we have more graduates joining the financial sector and some of them have become management executives. In addition to expanding the employment opportunities for students, I am delighted to see mathematics become more directly related to our lives so that more people realise the potential of mathematics students.
One thing I always insist on doing is finding time to meet students no matter how busy I am. I discuss with them their research direction and work with them to solve any problems they have in learning or research. My passion for learning together with my students has not changed a bit over the years.
Professor Ho (front row, 1st left) provides guidance on cross-disciplinary activity.I once came across an outstanding student from the mainland and suggested that she should not focus only on studying her major programme. I advised her to meet different people and take part in community service. There are many outstanding students like her at CityU. I like to encourage them to overcome hurdles and obstacles, and they have the ability to rise to the challenge and succeed in accomplishing their higher-level goals.
I learned later that this mainland student started to think about making changes at my advice. As a teacher, I felt delighted. Although I may not always totally agree with young people’s ideas, I am willing to try to understand them, look at things from their perspective, and share my stories and experience with them.
New students, whether from the local community, the mainland or overseas, may have a lot of uncertainty when facing a new environment and cultural differences. As teachers, we should try to understand their feelings with empathy and build trust with them to advise them and help them find their own path. This is particularly important for new students. Therefore, I insist on contacting students through our mentorship programme every year. Even during the coronavirus pandemic period, I keep in touch with my students through online platforms.
I believe teaching requires dedication and integration to achieve breakthroughs. Having worked as a teacher for 30 years, I have never thought about leaving this job. The students’ continuous improvement and CityU’s constant advancement in teaching and research are the driving forces that push me to maintain my passion for teaching.
Professor Ho (back row, 5th right) and students at the Engineers Without Borders seminar.