Award for Teaching Excellence 2025-26

Dr Christelle Not is a passionate, dedicated educator in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at HKU, committed to helping students grow as learners and individuals. At the heart of her teaching lies a deep conviction that meaningful learning happens when students are active participants in their own education rather than passive recipients of information, and her mission is to motivate and engage every student who walks into her classroom.

In her classrooms, traditional lectures give way to a wide variety of interactive experiences. Students model ocean bathymetry with Play-Doh, conduct density experiments with watercolours to understand ocean circulation, and learn about sustainable fisheries through role-play games. These hands-on activities are not simply entertaining additions; they are carefully designed to deepen conceptual understanding and sustain engagement. Her students consistently describe feeling more awake, more motivated, and more comfortable taking intellectual risks—not because attendance is required, but because the learning experience itself is genuinely engaging.

Central to Dr Not’s approach is her commitment to connecting academic learning to real life. Through what she calls a “From Classroom to Community” philosophy, her students collaborate with NGOs, local businesses, and schools on authentic projects, taking on professional roles that make their learning immediately relevant beyond the university. Whether investigating the environmental footprint of a local enterprise or producing science communication for public audiences, students come to see that knowledge is not confined to the lecture hall; it is a tool for engaging with society.

Dr Not’s dedication to teaching extends well beyond her own courses. As Convener of the Common Core Science and Technology Area of Inquiry and Coordinator of the Environmental Science major, she works to strengthen teaching quality across programmes. She mentors colleagues, leads workshops on collaborative learning, and has built an alumni network connecting current students with professionals in the field, a testament to her belief that great teaching, like great learning, is a lifelong pursuit.