Recognising Teaching Excellence: Four CLE Colleagues Share Their Journey to AEE Fellowship
Nine CLE faculty members have been recognised as Fellows of HKUST's Academy of Education Excellence (AEE), awarded by the Center for Education Innovation (CEI) to colleagues to recognize teaching which is effective, to support continuing professional development and to open up opportunities for exchange of practices across disciplines. On 9 September 2026, Eunice Tang, Mark Melican, Melissa Megan and Sheila Liang shared their experience with CLE colleagues, in a session designed to engage the next cohort of CLE applicants.
The session opened with an overview of the six criteria of the AEE Fellowship Scheme and its different types of fellowship. Melissa shared how Senior Fellowship calls for evidence of impact beyond the Center and often beyond the University, which her work on student well-being and intercultural engagement demonstrated. Drawing on teaching and service contributions dating back to 2010, she encouraged colleagues to recognise the depth of their own practice: "You may already have more evidence than you think."
Eunice Tang then presented a structured approach to building a portfolio, offering a practical roadmap including how she mapped her work to the given categories, and when a reflective narrative, rather than a list, captures the thinking and impact behind her teaching.
Turning to the practical challenge of managing years of teaching evidence, Mark Melican shared how AI can help support applicants organise years of teaching evidence and connect it to the criteria. "AI can help you link your work with the criteria much more quickly and efficiently," he noted, while stressing that review and reflection remains central. This approach reflects CLE's wider work on thoughtful, human-led uses of AI in education.
Beyond the portfolio itself, the Fellowship also brings a sense of community. For Sheila, this has meant lunches, events and conversations with Fellows across departments that open up new perspectives on teaching.
As the session made clear, AEE Fellowship is about more than individual recognition. It also connects educators across HKUST who are committed to exchanging effective practice and raising the quality of teaching and learning. CLE is proud of its Fellows and of a culture of continuous growth, and looks forward to welcoming more Fellows in the years ahead.
