Student Led Teaching Awards

Last night was the 2019 Annual Student Led Teaching Awards (SLTA's), the opportunity for Students, Staff and our Union to come together to celebrate the continued partnership between people here at Brunel University.

To start the night, Anvitha Parachuri introduced the awards for Lecturer of the Year for the College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences. This was awarded to Steve Cohen. Students, in their submissions for the SLTA's, said that Steve's lectures are really helpful, clear, fun and interesting. 

"Steve goes above and beyond for us when he is both in and outside of University. This was particularly demonstrated last week when we were about to have an exam on his module and he was hosting a revision session for us the day before."

Next, we moved onto the Lecturer of the Year for the College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences which was presented by Peri Sherif. This was awarded to Dr Rui Cardoso. Students noted that Dr Rui's lectures are very easy to follow and he is adored by the students in his class.

For the final college, the Lecturer of the Year for the College of Health & Life Sciences was presented by Maria Valada. This was awards to Dr. Michael Thomas. The submissions for Dr. Michael show a glowing relationship between him and his students. Students noted that he always listens to the thoughts and opinions within his classroom and one student noted that Michael "motivates me to do better".

We would then move onto the Outstanding Feedback award. This award goings to a member of Academic Staff, or Postgraduate Student who teaches and offers exceptional feedback through innovative pathways.

This was awarded to Niamh Mellerick by Ranjeet Rathore. Students said that Niamh "will go out of her way to make sure you understand how to improve". 

Next, we move onto the category for Student Rep of the Year. Student Reps are elected students who gather and communicate feedback to the University and work in partnership with staff to create innovative new teaching.

The Student who was nominated and awarded the Student Rep of the Year for the College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences was Jason Francis Xavier who has supported all the students in his course Computer Systems Engineering and across the entire department - He has regularly campaigned for software access, worked with lecturers to develop sessions and built relationships with students.

The Student nominated for the College of Health and Life Sciences, Student Rep of the Year was awarded to Jeffrey Oyinlola. Students said in their submissions that Jeffrey has always been fair and balanced in his approach to issues, taking great measures to ensure that actions are taken in the best interest of the majority. He's also communicated his wins back to students by setting up Social Media accounts for his work and being an inspiration for new Student Reps in the college.

This year we have added a new award in this category for Student Reps within the London Brunel International College (LBIC) which was awarded to Hena Haidor. Hena has been a representative since starting with the college and has attended every forum and committee in order to help other students like herself settle and adjust to the UK and Brunel.

Finally, this award not only goes to the winner of the Student Rep of the Year for the College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences but also to the Representative who has won across the entire University. After much discussion, this was awarded to Donna-Marie Holder. The following quote sums up Donna-Marie, Education Departmental Rep, as one of our key Student Reps leaders.

“I'm an international student and I want to nominate Donna Marie. Three years ago, When I first came to this class, I feel so nervous because I'm the only one from China. My English is not very well, Donna helped me a lot at that time, both in life and study."

Coming into the last set of awards of the night, the College Tutor/Supervisor of the Year for the College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences was awarded to Dr. Monomita Nandy who has a wealth of experience and a rich research background with two PHDs. Students noted that Dr. Nandy was selfless and highly interested in the welfare of her students and has always had an open door to students who need her help.

For the College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, the award of College Tutor/Supervisor of the year was awarded to Professor Rob Macredie. Students noted that Professor Macredie has shown immense compassion and dedication to his students and would always show a level of support unparalleled in the most desperate times.

Finally, the Tutor/Supervisor of the Year for the College of Health and Life Sciences was presented to Dr. Amanda Harvey who received an incredible number of detailed submissions. Dr. Harvey has given her students the space to grow and develop over the course of her time here at Brunel and she has supported those who needed her help.

The Exceptional Support award is given to a member of staff who has done exactly that, provided an incredible level of support to student in either their studies or personal matters. This award was presented to Dr Stefania Pepitoni. Students talked in their submissions about how she has devoted her time to students applying for placements and develop their employability.

The penultimate award, the Sustainability Champion, goes to Dr Peter Imris. Peter, outside of his University Research into sustainable energy, has been fundamental to the Union's Beekeeping Project which has been supported by the National Union of Students and our Environmental and Ethics Officer, Ana Walters-Woodhead.

Finally, the last award of the night is a new one. The Liberation, Equality and Diversity Champion Award should be awarded to a member of University Staff who demonstrates an outstanding commitment to the empowerment of BME (Black Minority Ethnic), Disabled, LGBT+ and other marginalised students on campus. In its first year, this was awarded to Dr Laura Hills who has worked with the Students' Union in order to develop our strategy to encourage physical activity and sport for students from low participation groups.

We'd like to thank everyone who was nominated, won or submitted a nomination for the Student Led Teaching Awards 2019. These awards are designed in order to encourage partnership between our students and staff across the University, and we're immensely proud to be able to develop that across Brunel.