An alum of the School of Chinese Medicine, Dr. Chua Ka Kit, Tony began his career by joining the Teaching and Research Division in 2015. Differentiated by a great passion, he believes in cultivating critical thinking skills amongst students, and empowering them to discover their unique attributes. He has remained an avid learner who is willing to share his personal experiences with students even outside the classroom about career developments.

With an overarching aim at delivering an all-rounded learning experience, Dr. Chua is guided by his three-pronged teaching philosophies, namely “differentiate and teaching”, “holistic concept”, and “dynamic equilibrium”.

Dr. Chua teaches a wide range of courses for students with diversified backgrounds, and flexibly adjusts his pedagogy accordingly. For Chinese medicine major students, he focuses on the depth of knowledge, with thorough discussions on specific topics or diseases. While other students are geared towards the width of knowledge, as illustrated by everyday medicine concepts.

In believing that quality education is achieved when course contents and real-life clinical experiences are connected, Dr. Chua brings new perspectives and social experiences to the classroom regularly by inviting his extensive network of alumni and industry professionals to give guest lectures.

To ensure that his classes are up-to-date and relevant, Dr. Chua regularly reviews his own materials, even for courses that he has taught repeatedly. He also stresses the linkage between concepts to provide a comprehensive understanding for students.

His students appreciate his great enthusiasm in lecturing, his way of extending the knowledge beyond textbooks and presenting it in an interesting manner, as well as being responsive to students learning. As testimonies to his teaching acumen, Dr. Chua has achieved an average score of 4.40 on the course feedback questionnaire (CFQ) over 29 courses he taught during his first three years at the University.

With a genuine care for his students’ career developments, Dr. Chua regularly shares his personal experiences in overcoming difficulties in his studies and his profession. When approached by a team of graduates working on a start-up mobile app project for Chinese medicine diet therapy, he was very willing to act as an advisor for the project, contributing his insights on Chinese medicine, law, and business management to give a fruitful entrepreneurial journey for the graduates.

Dr. Chua is exemplary in continuing education to broaden his perspectives. He has completed a bachelor’s degree in law (LLB) and master’s degrees in clinical neuroscience (MCNS), education (MEd), and business administration (MBA). He is now still studying for a master’s degree in public health (MPH). He has also been serving as an officer of the Auxiliary Medical Service since 2005 and an advisor of the Hong Kong Parkinson’s Disease Association since 2016, which allows him to serve the community and organise teaching activities for students.

With his versatile teaching skills and profound commitment to the promotion of student learning, Dr. Chua has been exceptional at this early stage of his career, and therefore deserves selection for the President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Early Career Teaching.