Nurturing Student Innovation and Leadership through Student-Initiated Interest Groups

Match Ko; Fu Zhang; Chun Kit Chui

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Cooperative and Experiential Education Division (CEED) Technical Session 3
Tagged Division: Cooperative and Experiential Education Division (CEED)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47808

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Paper Authors

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Match Ko University of Hong Kong orcid.org/0000-0002-1219-213X

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Dr. Match Wai Lun Ko is a Senior Lecturer and MSc(Eng) in Mechanical Engineering Programme Director in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the University of Hong Kong. He is also fractionally appointed in Innovation Academy, Faculty of Engineering of HKU. Dr. Ko obtained his B.Eng and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Before joining HKU, he was an Assistant Professor in Nazarbayev University, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Visiting Scholar in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Visiting Professor and Scholar in the University of Warwick. Dr. Ko’s research focused on the engineering education, biomechanics, biomedical image processing, biomechanical properties characterization, finite element modeling, design and fabrication of related medical device to assist the clinicians to preform disease diagnosis and decision making regarding screening of disease and treatment management.

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Fu Zhang University of Hong Kong

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Fu Zhang received a B.E. degree in automation from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei, China, in 2011 and a Ph.D. degree in controls from the University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA, in 2015. He joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Hong Kong (HKU), Hong Kong, as an Assistant Professor in 2018. His current research interests include robotics and controls, with a focus on UAV design, navigation, control, and LiDAR-based SLAM.

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Chun Kit Chui University of Hong Kong

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Dr. Chun Kit Chui serves as the Director of the Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Innovation Wing aims to unleash students' creativity by entrusting them to spearhead ambitious innovation and technology projects that will shape the future. The iconic facility is located at the heart of the campus, offering 2400m2 of space with state-of-the-art resources and a supportive environment to enhance hands-on and experiential learning for undergraduate students.

He also holds the position of Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at HKU. His research interests include database and data mining, as well as pedagogical research in computing education. Dr. Chui has received several education awards, including the University Outstanding Teaching Award (Individual Award) at the University of Hong Kong for the 2015-16 academic year and the Faculty Outstanding Teaching Award (Individual Award) in the Faculty of Engineering for the 2012-13 academic year. Additionally, he has been honored with the Teaching Excellence Award in the Department of Computer Science for the academic years 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2015-16. Furthermore, he was a shortlisted candidate for the UGC Teaching Award (Early Career Faculty Member).

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Abstract

To prepare students with strong technical skills and leadership abilities, the engineering faculty at the University of Hong Kong has established the Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing (a.k.a. HKU Inno Wing) and a program that supports student-initiated interest groups (SIGs) focused on technology and project-based learning. The SIG program engages students in hands-on projects, enhances their practical and project management skills, and gains valuable experiential learning experience. It also adapts the Students as Partners (SaP) method to cultivate students' sense of ownership and responsibility in their SIGs. Academic advisors and participating students collaborate in various decision-making processes, including planning, funding acquisition, recruitment, training, prototyping and deployment. This practice paper offers an in-depth exploration of the SIG program hosted within the HKU Inno Wing, delving into governance aspects such as the management structure, funding model, resource allocation, and development support. It showcases two exemplary SIGs as case studies: one centered on bio-inspired robotics and the other on electric vehicle (EV) technologies. The bio-inspired robotics SIG achieved two Guinness World Records for “The Fastest 50m Swim by a Robotic Fish”, while the EV technologies SIG designed and fabricated a fully functional electric vehicle from scratch, earning international recognition for their innovative efforts in overcoming financial and engineering challenges. Through case study interviews, we evaluate the SIG's impact on students' learning and development, revealing its effectiveness in cultivating profound technical skills and core leadership competencies. The paper concludes with an examination of identified challenges and opportunities, providing insights for similar initiatives in tertiary education.

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Ko, M., & Zhang, F., & Chui, C. K. (2024, June), Nurturing Student Innovation and Leadership through Student-Initiated Interest Groups Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47808