Two exemplary faculty members at DS honoured for outstanding teaching performance

Congratulations to Professor Xiangyu ZHAO (Associate Professor) and Professor Lu YU (Assistant Professor) of the Department of Data Science, who have been recognized for their exceptional teaching performance (top 5% of teachers) from the Office of the Provost and Deputy President. This prestigious award honours academics who achieve high scores in the Course-end Learning Outcome Questionnaire (LOQ) Evaluation Exercise for Semester B, 2024/25, with at least a 35% response rate.

Professor Xiangyu ZHAO received high scores for his teaching in the courses SDSC4016 Fundamentals of Machine Learning II and SDSC6001 Statistical Machine Learning II. Professor Lu YU earned high scores for her teaching in the course SDSC6015 Stochastic Optimization for Machine Learning.

Professor ZHAO remarked, "I’m honored to receive this recognition. In my teaching, I aim to spark curiosity, connect theory with real-world applications, and create a supportive environment where students feel empowered to explore boldly. Whether through live demos, hands-on projects, or open discussions, I strive to make machine learning both rigorous and inspiring. Ultimately, my goal is not just to teach content, but to cultivate the mindset and confidence students need to thrive as data scientists in a rapidly evolving world."

Professor YU added, "I’m truly grateful for this recognition. For me, teaching is about igniting curiosity and helping students discover the joy of learning. I strive to build an inclusive classroom where everyone feels valued and empowered to share ideas, learn from challenges, and grow. Any recognition I receive truly belongs to my students, whose dedication, curiosity, and resilience inspire me every day. I feel fortunate to be part of their learning journey."

Congratulations to Professor ZHAO and Professor YU for their exemplary teaching and commitment to nurturing the next generation of data scientists!