Founding Head of the Office of Service-Learning (subsequently renamed SLLO) at PolyU from 2011 to 2020 and currently the Consultant at SLLO
Dr. Stephen Chan received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rochester in the USA in 1987. He then worked on computer-aided design for Neo-Visuals in Toronto, and afterwards for the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa. He also represented Canada at the International Standards Organization (ISO) on the standardization of manufacturing product data.
From 2011 to 2020, Dr. Chan was the founding Head of the Office of Service-Learning at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which coordinates the development and offering of 70 service-learning subjects and numerous projects across the university for 4,500+ students each year.
Dr. Chan has set up and led many projects in Hong Kong, as well as 20+ projects in mainland China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Rwanda and Kyrgyzstan since 2006.
Dr. Chan was given the HKPolyU President’s Award in Services in 2008 and 2016 as well as the Hong Kong University Grants Committee Teaching Award in 2016, together with Dr. Grace Ngai.
Dr. Chan has been invited to share SL experience in many local, national, and international academic activities and has been published in a number of book chapters and papers in international journals on service-learning.
Dr Grace Ngai
Head of the Service-Learning and Leadership Office (SLLO) Associate Professor in the Department of Computing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)
Dr. Grace Ngai received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University in 2001.
Since March 2020, Dr. Ngai has been seconded to a dual role as the Head of the Service-Learning and Leadership Office. She is a firm believer that, when done properly, service learning is one of the most effective ways to teach students higher-level thinking, critical thinking, and social responsibility.
Dr. Ngai has worked on a variety of initiatives, including teaching STEM to children in rural Cambodian villages, creating computer laboratories and community centers out of repurposed shipping containers in China (Hubei and Gansu), Myanmar, and installing solar panels in Rwanda’s highlands.
Dr. Ngai has received several accolades at HKPolyU, including the HKPolyU President’s Award in Services in 2007-2008 and the Hong Kong University Grants Committee Teaching Award in 2016, etc.
Kevin Kecskes, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Public Administration Mark O. Hatfield School of Government College of Urban and Public Affairs Portland State University
Dr. Kevin Kecskes graduated with an MA in Teaching, Curriculum, and Learning Environments from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1994 and a Ph.D. in Government from Portland State University’s Mark O’ Hatfield School of Government in 2008.
From 1997-2002, Dr. Kecskes was the Program Director of the Western Region Campus Compact Consortium at Western Washington University. He is the advisor in community-engaged teaching and research with tertiary institutions, public and nonprofit community partners over the past 25 years.
Dr. Kecskes is Associate Professor of Public Administration in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University. His primary teaching areas are global leadership and ethics in the Masters of Public Administration (MPA) program. Besides, he is an active faculty fellow at PSU’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions.
For over a decade, Dr. Kecskes provided university-wide leadership at PSU as Associate Vice Provost for Engagement and Director for Community-University Partnerships. In this role, he founded and led PSU’s “International Institute on Partnerships.”
Dr. Kecskes has published numerous articles and book chapters in Engaging Departments: Moving Faculty Culture from Private to Public, Individual to Collective Focus for the Common Good (2006), etc., after consulting with over 100 universities in the U.S. and internationally.
Tran Thi Thu Ha, Ph.D
Dr Tran Thi Thu Ha was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012
University of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue University
Assoc. Prof. Tran Thi Thu Ha is one of the five Hue University academics/lecturers who achieved Associate Professor status before 40 in 2012.
Assoc. Prof. Tran Thi Thu Ha has over 24 years of research and teaching expertise, as well as many years of mentoring students to effectively research and serve the community. She has also made substantial contributions to local agriculture in the central provinces, receiving multiple Science and Technology Awards.
Assoc. Prof. Tran Thi Thu Ha’s research is based on practical demands related to crop production. Her work is highly appreciated by local farmers.
MSc. Nguyen Van Nhieu Em
Lecturer | School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Can Tho University (CTU)
MSc. Nguyen Van Nhieu Em has extensive experience working and teaching in the fields of training, sustainable development, community value creation, agriculture, and rural and urban development, contributing to local economic growth.
MSc. Nguyen Van Nhieu Em has initiated and implemented various projects, including cooperative-linking and capacity-building along the value chain; community issue resolution through the use of SL/CEL in teaching topics; and community problem solving through the use of SL/CEL in teaching subjects (Practical Sociology; Community Development, Livelihoods, Urban Sociology, etc.). His research focuses on issues impacting impoverished households in the Mekong Delta, as well as providing assistance to disadvantaged people and groups.
MSc. Vu Van Hieu
Lecturer | Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ton Duc Thang University
MSc Vu Van Hieu has 10 years of expertise in migrant worker training, capacity building, and community development initiatives. He is in charge of making professional relationships and performing community service on an individual, group, and community level.
MSc Vu Van Hieu won an award for the Vietnam Anti-Corruption Initiative Program 2014 (VACI 2014) under the theme “Transparency, Integrity, and Accountability”. He is the project manager of “Supporting migrant workers and their children to access education and health services in Ho Chi Minh City,” funded by the Justice Initiatives Facilitation Fund (JIFF).
MSc. Dinh Thi Huong Giang
Lecturer at Faculty of Event Management and Communication Technology at School of Hospitality and Tourism – Hue University (HAT-HU)
Master of Developmental Communication, University of the Philippines Los Banos
Areas of expertise:
Participatory Development Communication
Tourism Destination Image
Community Engaged Learning
MSc. Dinh Thi Huong Giang has more than 12 years of teaching experience at the School of Hospitality and Tourism- Hue University (HAT-HU), as well as 1 year working for a community-based natural resource development project with ethnic minorities in Thua Thien Hue province’s mountainous areas.
MSc. Huong Giang has been one of the three pioneering teachers at HAT-HU to implement the community learning technique into the public university curriculum since 2016. She is now working with a number of local community groups to foster university-community collaborations.
MSc. Nguyen Tran Lan Chi
Deputy Head of Office of International Relations and Communication
Lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, Danang Architecture University (DAU)
MSc. Nguyen Tran Lan Chi has more than 5 years of experience in CEL integration into language skill courses for language-major students and other CEL activities at Danang University of Architecture (DAU).
Aside from lecturing, MSc. Lan Chi is also interested in CEL research. She believes that incorporating CEL into the curriculum can enhance learners’ careers by preparing them with the information, abilities, and attitudes needed to adapt to their working environment after graduation.
MSc. Nguyen Duc Vinh
Director | Center for Research, Training and Consultancy for Local development – STG
Mr. Nguyen Duc Vinh graduated with a Master’s degree in Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics from the Cologne University of Applied Sciences (Federal Republic of Germany).
Mr. Duc Vinh is now a senior consultant and expert in the field of training and advising on local economic development and business strategy development for small and medium enterprises and cooperatives.
Mr. Duc Vinh has been a leading expert in asset-based community development (ABCD) research, consulting, and training since 2008.
Mr. Duc Vinh is currently the Director of the Center for Research, Training and Consultancy for Local Development – STG, as well as the Secretary General of the Plastic and Health Action Partnership of Vietnam.
MSc. Pham Truong Son
Director | Tinh Than Foundation
Vice Director/Director of NPO Services at LIN Center for Community Development
President of the Southern Nonprofit Organization
Mr. Son was trained as a community leader with coordination skills, collaboration and people organization, human rights and community development activities by the South East Asia Popular Communication Program from 2000 to 2004. Following that, he took part in community organizing and mobilization training in some Southeast Asian nations.
In 2004, he returned to Vietnam and joined the STI/HIV/AIDS Community Clinic Network.
In 2015, he served as the director of two foundation programs: the Nuclear Change Program and the Young Leadership Circle.
Mr. Son is now the creator of the Southern Non-Profit Network, which focuses on social service and community development in the Ho Chi Minh City area and throughout Southern Vietnam.
Vietnam Campus Engage 