Teaching excellence recognised

The certificates were presented by Professor Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, at a ceremony in Rhodes House on Monday 23 November.

Launched in 2006, the Oxford University Teaching Awards recognise different ways of engaging students and helping them learn, from creating new courses and delivering exceptional lectures and demonstrations to the innovative use of technology to bring courses and subjects to life.

In all, 71 members of staff from across the University were recognised for their contributions with awards, while thirteen of the awards were grants for the development of new courses or teaching resources.

The Teaching Awards scheme, which is coordinated by the Oxford Learning Institute, recognises excellence in college and University teaching, with the winners selected by their divisions. In addition to academic staff, the award winners include a number of administrative and support staff, including library and museums staff, who were recognised for their contributions to the success of University courses. Certificates were also presented to winners in IT Services' OxTALENT scheme for innovation in the use of IT in teaching.

A separate scheme, run by the Oxford University Student Union, rewarded 11 members of academic staff for innovation and excellence in teaching. The winners were nominated by students and announced over the summer.

Among those receiving awards were Dr Paul Lodge, Dr Ben Bradford, Professor Owen Lewis, Dr Rachel Exley, Dr Kinan Muhammed and Dr Louwai Muhammed, and a team from the Ashmolean Museum including Dr Giovanna Vitelli, Dr Senta German, Dr Jim Harris and Dr Mallica Kumbera-Landrus.

Dr Paul Lodge of the Faculty of Philosophy was recognised for his role in developing graduate seminars designed in part to promote gender equality within the Faculty of Philosophy and introduce students to the writings of philosophers barely studied previously in the UK.

Dr Ben Bradford of the Faculty of Law’s Centre for Criminology received a project award for 'Dealing with research in difficult places,' a series of workshops and group sessions to provide staff and students with the tools to confront issues raised by difficult or dangerous research projects.

Professor Owen Lewis of the Department of Zoology was recognised for his work designing, establishing and teaching a new tropical biology field course which involves intensive work in Borneo with local researchers.

Dr Rachel Exley of the William Dunn School of Pathology was given an Early Career Excellent Teacher Award, recognising her dedicated and innovative teaching, particularly in taking over a successful overhaul and modernization of the Bacteriology practical classes.

Dr Kinan Muhammed and Dr Louwai Muhammed of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience won an OxTALENT award for outreach and public engagement. Their online learning platform called Syria Scholar supports medical students in Syria whose access to learning has been seriously impaired by conflict.

Dr Giovanna Vitelli, Dr Senta German, Dr Jim Harris and Dr Mallica Kumbera-Landrus of the Ashmolean Museum were given an award for their roles in developing the University Engagement Programme (UEP) at the Ashmolean, which has dramatically changed the way in which students and staff can access and learn from the Ashmolean's collections. Funded by the Mellon Foundation since 2012, the UEP has been responsible for teaching over 3,000 students across the academic divisions.