At the end of 2021, the School of Engineering Teaching Excellence Awards were celebrated — students and peers nominated school staff who had inspired and supported students learning over the year.
The response from students was stronger than in previous years and more than half of the school’s academic staff and many of our facilitators were nominated.
Nominees were asked to prepare short submissions that were judged by a panel of peers. Associate Professor Dianne Hesterman, the School’s Portfolio Lead (Education), said the nomination statements and submissions had been uplifting to read and highlighted the passion and commitment of staff towards teaching and the student experience.
At the awards ceremony in EZONE, eight academic staff and four facilitators received awards, citations, or commendations. Professor Tim Sercombe, Dean and Head of School, presented the certificates.
A list of the recipients and selected student nomination statements are provided below. Congratulations to all nominees and award recipients!
Image: School of Engineering Teaching Excellence Awards recipients. From left: Prof Anas Ghadouani, A/Prof Ali Karrech, Dr Elena Juan-Pardo, Dr Lu Jin, Prof Tim Sercombe, Dr Liah Coggins, Dr Einar Fridjonsson, Dr Nazanin Nourifard, Andreas Pfeifle, Ayoub Dehghani. Absent: Dr Hongyi Jiang, Dr Brendan Graham, Sarah-Ann Fry, and Dr Ali Kharrazi.
Teaching Excellence Award
“Ali is a fantastic facilitator to learning … He is approachable, explains difficult concepts in a manner that allows students to grasp the fundamentals … and introduced real world [...] situations.”
Award: Associate Professor Ali Karrech
Commendation (Team): Professor Anas Ghadouani, Dr Liah Coggins, Andreas Pfeifle
“They made us genuinely interested in learning. They teach to inspire. The unorthodox way of teaching has made us want to learn and enjoy learning at the same time. And no, they don't just read from slides, THERE WEREN'T EVEN SLIDES! They just go and teach and inspire!“
Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
“He breaks down concepts in a simple, understandable method … He strives to put students first, giving countless personalised feedback and support … although the units are hard, his students are well supported in all aspects.”
Citation: Dr Lu Jin
Commendation: Dr Elena Juan-Pardo
“Elena is engaging during her lectures, giving many opportunities for students to interact with the content instead of passively listening. She will go out of her way to help you as much as she can … making learning the world of engineering materials a joyful experience.”
Commendation (Early Career): Dr Hongyi Jiang
“Dr Jiang always explains things clearly with great notes and diagrams and then asks for any questions after having explained something. He is extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and a reliable provider of information and knowledge.”
Commendation (Team): Dr Brendan Graham and Dr Einar Fridjonsson
“… [an] ability to explain complicated concepts and relate them to real world issues that the students can relate to … This allows the students to understand why this theory/concept is important and … to master the concept in theory and practice.”
Facilitator Excellence Award
“Sarah-Ann was an incredible facilitator, who helped our class to step out of our own bubbles and realise what the life of an engineer is like, as well teaching us the skills of what would be needed in the workforce.”
Award: Sarah-Ann Fry
Commendation: Ayoub Dehghani
“Ayoub explained each problem in depth often going beyond simply answering the question and instead deepening the understanding of the concepts. He was always helpful when asking for assistance and utilised both visual and numerical explanations to clearly explain his points.”
Commendation: Nazanin Nourifard
“Nazanin is well organised in her information session and very knowledgeable. Her class is one of the best I have ever had – easy to follow her logic, clear explanation and very responsible to students.”
Commendation: Ali Kharrazi
“Ali … ensures all students enjoy the classes to the best of his ability. On many occasions he has made efforts beyond that expected of him … to ensure students are tracking well, and always taking the time to explain things one on one for those who need it.”