Job Functions
The Director provides leadership and vision to achieve excellence in language education at HKUST. With responsibility for a Center at the cutting edge, this role offers a great opportunity to shape the future of language education particularly in Human-AI interaction for language learning at scale. Reporting to the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Science, a strong applicant will:
Additionally, the CLE Director also holds the title of Associate Dean, working closely with the Associate Provost Teaching & Learning to ensure delivery of the mission of the University with regard to language education. The CLE Director may hold a concurrent appointment as Associate Professor/Professor as appropriate depending on the qualifications of the candidate.
Terms & Applications/Nominations
Terms of appointment and remuneration are highly competitive. Starting salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Fringe benefits including housing, annual leave, medical and dental benefits will be provided as applicable to contract type. Fixed term contract holders will receive gratuity payable upon completion of the contract.
Appointment to the position will be offered a three-year fixed-term contract, renewable subject to mutual agreement. If appropriate, research active applicants with a substantial publication record may be considered for a substantiation track appointment.
Applicants should have
Center for Language Education
The Center for Language Education (CLE) is an academic teaching unit within the School of Humanities and Social Science (SHSS). The primary mission of the CLE is to deliver the University’s UGC-funded language enhancement programs for English and Chinese to UG and PG students from all Schools in the University. The CLE has 66 full-time teaching staff (16 Senior Lecturers, 44 Lecturer I, and 6 Lecturer II), 9 teaching/project support staff and 16 non-academic support staff including its own full-time Instructional Designer.
The CLE has a dynamic and progressive outlook with a mindset of continuous adaptation to meet evolving needs. In 2024-26, it delivered a fully revamped English and Chinese curriculum: a new English curriculum with two pathways and a new Chinese curriculum with two streams: i) Chinese as a Foreign Language for non-Chinese background students and ii) Chinese for Specific Purposes for students with Chinese proficiency from HKDSE Level 3 through to native Mandarin speakers.
The CLE’s newly introduced curriculum also offers a rich set of elective choices including Communication courses and elective Broadening courses within the University’s Common Core. Additionally, the Center makes a strong contribution to a Master of Arts degree in International Language Education with separate concentrations in English and Chinese teaching. It runs a small but growing third-languages program, including Japanese, Spanish, French and Korean and an active program of experiential engagement activities to promote language and AI, and culture. The Center also has a strong scholarly orientation including securing teaching and learning grants. Together with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, it recently secured HKD 30 million in QEF funding to develop an AI-assisted VR English speaking programme for secondary schools.
The Center has a robust, internal management structure and enjoys strong support from the University senior management. This has made it a leader among language centers especially in pedagogical innovation — combining AI and other technologies with a humanistic commitment to the learner, grounded in the latest scholarship and research in language education. A particular strength is its Human-AI orchestration approach, positioning educators and students not as users of AI but as active orchestrators of it, keeping human judgment and connection at its centre.
HKUST
Founded in 1991, HKUST is a publicly funded international university dedicated to undergraduate and postgraduate education and research in science, engineering, business & management, and humanities & social science. We seek to nurture students with entrepreneurial spirit, innovative thinking, and global outlook and strive to work together to make a strong societal impact.
The University is ranked as one of the most international universities in Asia comprising four Schools and an Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies and multiple research institutes/central research facilities; and the Hong Kong government has recently endorsed our competitive bid to develop a new Medical School. While actively growing, at present there are around 970 faculty members, and an enrollment of about 11,000 undergraduate and 8,700 postgraduate students. English is the language used in all teaching, research, and administration.
HKUST is celebrating its 35th Anniversary this year with a strong presence in global higher education. It has received many international recognitions including citations and rankings; for example, HKUST ranks 6th in the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, 3rd in the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2024, and 19th globally (1st in Hong Kong) in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2025 A total of 11 subjects offered by HKUST are ranked among the world’s top 50 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 Moreover, it has consistently been ranked within the world’s top 30 in the Global Employability University Ranking, reflecting the strong competitiveness of its graduates.
At the heart of the University’s pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, and societal impact lies uncompromising efforts to recruit and retain the best talents globally and locally. We seek to diversify HKUST’s critical mass of world-class academics, researchers, staff and students in order to drive cutting-edge education and research initiatives and deliver academic and administrative excellence. The University promotes a diverse learning environment that enhances student development of their creativity, innovative thinking and global outlook, especially in today’s rapidly changing society, and technological and AI development. Proactive faculty recruitment is undertaken from around the world in all disciplines of the University. HKUST upholds the values of diversity and an inclusive and collaborative community.
Additional information about the University and the Center for Language Education is available on the websites https://hkust.edu.hk/and https://cle.hkust.edu.hk/ respectively.
Applications should be submitted to the School of Humanities and Social Science via Interfolio with (i) a cover letter and (ii) a full CV.
Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.
HKUST is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to our core values of inclusiveness, diversity, and respect.
The English Schools Foundation (ESF) is the largest provider of English-medium international education in Hong Kong. Our 22 schools are on a combined mission - to help every student to be the best that they can be.
Every day, our world-class teaching staff deliver an outstanding education to our students - based on a simple principle: every child is unique.
We have 18,000 students from more than 60 different nationalities walking through the gates of our 22 schools every single day.
ESF is proud of the high academic and wider achievements of our students. This year, an incredible 43 ESF students achieved the perfect score of 45 points in the IB Diploma examinations. More than 95% of our students go on to leading universities worldwide.
We are equally as proud of the many sporting, artistic and leadership achievements of our students. Our schools are bursting with energy, our staff are world leading and our students and their families are, quite simply, amazing.
