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Dr. Hayden K.H.So, Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has become the first academic from outside the United States to receive the prestigious C. Holmes MacDonald Outstanding Teaching Award by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN). The award recognises his novelty teaching methods and dedication to engage students in the world of modern engineering.

IEEE-HKN is the esteemed honour society of the professional body of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Based in New York, IEEE is one of the world’s largest technical professional organisations with over 400,000 members across over 160 countries.

Established in 1972, the IEEE-HKN C. Holmes MacDonald Outstanding Teaching Award commends the central role college professors play in training and motivating future electrical, computer and allied field student engineers who have demonstrated special dedication and creativity in their teaching responsibilities within the first six years of their academic professorial career.  One academic is chosen for the award each year.  

Dr. So spearheaded the project-led course design at the Faculty, enriching students’ learning with hands-on experiences, and even motivating some to launch their own start-ups. Among the revered names is ClearBot, a company that developed an AI-powered autonomous water trash collection robotic system which has proven to be far more efficient and cheaper than the conventional methods in clearing marine waste. Since its conception in 2019 by a group of HKU engineering students guided by Dr. So, ClearBot has been the recipient of various awards and accolades.

For the past decade, Dr. So has implemented his project-led learning experience through what he calls a “reverse order” of learning. It focuses on involving students in practical projects from the onset of the module and guiding them back to the underlying theories. This pragmatic approach has built on students’ motivation to learn and is well-suited for the modern-day world of engineering, he said.  

“The traditional bottom-up approach of learning basic knowledge in the classroom before venturing out to do experiments is out of touch with the latest developments in the field,” Dr. So said. “Quick changes and advanced development have taken place and it is important for students to stay on top of the latest developments in their engineering disciplines.”

“For some students who are interested in digging deeper into the underlying basic knowledge, they may choose to further their study in areas such as AI, computer vision, or computer architecture via advanced courses or postgraduate programmes.  For others, they may pivot such project building experience to other endeavours such as turning them into startup companies tackling real-world challenges,” said Dr. So, who is also the co-director of the Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Engineering programme and the co-director as well as a founding member of the Joint Lab on Future Cities at HKU.

As the principal investigator of the HKU Computer Architecture and System Research Lab, Dr. So acknowledged that his approach would not have been possible in previous decades and may not work in all engineering disciplines.  “The unprecedented advancements in high-performance single board computers and rapid hardware prototyping facilities such as 3D printers have made building projects as complex as an AI-powered autonomous car not only possible but also at a very reasonable cost and without the students knowing many of the underlying intricate details,” he added.

Dr. So was the recipient of the Test-of-Time Award by the International Conference on Hardware/Software Codesign and System Synthesis in 2021, and the Croucher Innovation Award in 2013 for his research in power-efficient high-performance heterogeneous computing systems.  HKU presented him with the University Outstanding Teaching Award (Team) in 2012 and the Faculty Best Teacher Award in 2011. For undergraduates and postgraduates alike, he has applied the same “reverse order” approach in guiding students to ensure that they are on the right track in their journey of self-learning.

Dr. So believes the approach will be the direction for engineering education in the future. In some colleges overseas, there have already been attempts to structure their undergraduate curriculum entirely around project-making. “Of course, every school is different and may not be going to this extreme of turning the entire curriculum into project making.  However, I am confident that project-making will play an increasingly important role in future engineering education one way or another, just as our Faculty has been actively incorporating experiential learning into our curriculum,” he said.

Details of the IEEE-HKN C.Holmes MacDonald Outstanding Award:
https://hkn.ieee.org/get-involved/awards/c-holmes-macdonald-outstanding-teaching-award/
https://engage.ieee.org/November-EAB-Virtual-Awards-Live.html

About HKU Faculty of Engineering
Established in 1912, the Faculty of Engineering is one of the founding Faculties of The University of Hong Kong. Since its foundation, the Faculty has kept pace with developments in the engineering world and is always at the forefront of engineering research, evolving into one of the largest Faculties at the University with five departments providing undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees in a wide range of important fields of modern engineering, technology and computer science.

The Faculty aims at providing an all-round education for students, equipping graduates not only with knowledge of cutting-edge technology, but also excellent communication and social skills, an innovation mindset, a lifelong learning attitude, professional integrity and international exposure. For more information, visit https://engg.hku.hk.

Media enquiries:
Ms Celia Lee, Faculty of Engineering, HKU (Tel: 3917 8519; Email: leecelia@hku.hk) or
Mr Heng Cheng, Faculty of Engineering, HKU (Tel: 3917 1924; Email: hengc@hku.hk)