Learning and teaching modes have become increasingly open and innovative with regard to time, space, curriculum, organization, pedagogical methods and infrastructure. Educators must keep abreast of and adapt to the latest developments in order to cope with new demands and seize emerging opportunities. Five UIC Year-4 students successfully presented their papers online at the 2022 International Conference on Open and Innovative Education (ICOIE 2022), which was held in Hong Kong from July 13 to 15. Among them, Jiayi Mai won the Best Student Paper Award of the conference.

The conference organizer announces the winner of the Best Student Paper Award: Jiayi Mai

The ICOIE 2022 provided a platform to exchange ideas, challenges and strategies related to open and innovative teaching and learning, and received over 110 paper submissions by authors from 22 countries. More than 70 scholars, teachers and students from Hong Kong, Chinese mainland and overseas presented their research findings at the conference. The five UIC student presenters were Jiayi Mai (Maggie), Yi Yang (Austin), Jingyuan Huang (Alina), Xuanying Chen (Katrina) and Yuning Zheng (Rey), who were graduating students from the English Language and Literature Studies (ELLS) programme. The research papers they presented were their final year projects on studying the innovative practices in English language teaching and learning. The paper titles and abstracts of their presentations can be found in the conference programme book, which is downloadable here (https://www.hkmu.edu.hk/URC/icoie2022_programme_book.pdf ).

The students all found it very rewarding to attend ICOIE 2022. Below were their reflections about the conference.

Jiayi Mai (Maggie):

I was very excited and surprised to receive the award. "Being an academic" used to sound so remote and daunting. The initial stage of research is indeed difficult, but once you overcome it, you gain a sense of accomplishment that you have never felt before. My supervisor, Dr. Freek Olaf de Groot, is a genuinely learned person. I am fortunate to have been guided by his patience and care in narrowing down the research field to "willingness to communicate" and in applying a quantitative and qualitative approach to the study. I am also grateful to Dr. Edith Yan for her encouragement and support before the paper submission, and for her selfless assistance in proofreading and formatting my paper.

Jiayi Mai presenting her research paper

Jingyuan Huang (Alina):

It was a great honor for me to present my research about second language acquisition and English education equity in ICOIE 2022. My research focuses on investigating the attitudes of native-orientated primary school teachers and parents about bilingual kindergartens and its influential factors. Through presenting my findings, I hope to raise the public awareness about the uneven distribution of English education resources and to promote the development of early childhood bilingual education in China. I would like to give my sincere thanks Dr. Juyoung Lee, Dr. Edith Yan and Dr. Jackie Yoeh for their invaluable guidance. Thank our Division for providing financial support for this conference presentation. Thanks to my parents, friends and all the participants for their selfless help and encouragement.

Jingyuan Huang presenting her research paper

Yi Yang (Austin):

This was my first time to attend an international academic conference, so inevitably I felt a little nervous and anxious. I spent a lot of time preparing for my ten-minute presentation. During the conference, I got more inspiration from other participants about their research methods. In addition, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Edith Yan, whose patient and illuminating guidance has improved my article and presentation.

Yi Yang presenting her research paper

Xuanying Chen (Katrina):

This was a valuable experience. After this presentation, I have better ideas on how to tailor the presentation to the theme of the meeting. Also, I want to express my special thanks to Dr. Jackie Yeoh (my project supervisor) and Dr. Edith Yan.

Xuanying Chen presenting her research paper

Yuning Zheng (Rey):

I was honored to attend the ICOIE and express my views on the motivation of learning English as a second language (L2). In the meeting, I elaborated on the different L2 learning motivation mechanisms of students with different English proficiency levels, and showed that teachers should formulate teaching strategies according to the motivation mechanisms of students. It was also my pleasure to hear different academic viewpoints and learn from professors and fellows.

Yuning Zheng presenting her research paper

Reporter: Maggie Mai (ELLS, Y4)

Editor: Edith Yan