Internationalisation at home: Swedish teaching at CUHK
With the pandemic stabilising in Hong Kong, more face-to-face exchange activities have resumed at CUHK. The Teaching Sabbatical Programme of the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT) which engages Swedish scholars to teach and conduct research at CUHK was suspended last year but was resumed this term with two Swedish academics visiting CUHK to allow our students to experience Swedish teaching without traveling abroad. They are Prof. Erik Olsson from Uppsala University and Prof. Mikael Carlsson from Stockholm University.
Prof. Erik Olsson has a rewarding teaching experience at CUHK.
Hosted by the Department of Psychology, Prof. Olsson taught cardiac psychology, a course that he had specially designed for CUHK and taught for the first time. Apart from teaching, he had discussions on research with other colleagues and gave a guest lecture. The teaching arrangement has allowed him to gain valuable insights into the pedagogies and didactics of teaching at CUHK, while providing space for developing his own teaching. ‘I am especially thankful for the welcoming atmosphere at the Department of Psychology and all the support and help I received from my colleagues here. The high ambitions of the students are really encouraging.’
Prof. Mikael Carlsson on a field trip to shed light on environmental biology.
Prof. Carlsson, hosted by the School of Life Sciences, co-taught a course ‘Invertebrate Form and Function’ with Prof. Ka Hou Chu, and participated in lab sessions and field studies. Prof. Chu and Prof. Jerome Hui, Prof. Carlsson’s hosts at CUHK, are grateful for the benefits brought by the STINT programme. ‘Prof. Carlsson is the second STINT fellow that the School has hosted over the past few years. The teaching programme provides valuable opportunities for our undergraduates to interact with foreign teachers and get exposed to different teaching styles. We appreciate the visit of Prof. Carlsson, particularly at this time during the pandemic when our students have limited opportunities to go on exchange.’
The STINT programme is organised annually. Departments which are interested in hosting Swedish fellows under the programme should contact Ms. Olivia Kwok of the Office of Academic Links.