Teaching and Learning Showcase 2023 Programme

Reading Students' Union

Teaching and Learning Showcase EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023 Wednesday 3rd May

Welcome!

Hello all and welcome to the Teaching and Learning Showcase. We’re excited to have you here with us today to celebrate another brilliant year of Teaching and Learning excellence at the University of Reading.

This year, we’ll be giving out twenty-one Excellence Awards. Fifteen of these are Teaching Excellence Awards and recognise staff nominated by students from each school of the university. These awards focus primarily on contributions to the teaching and learning experience, though students often talk about how the winners have influenced their lives beyond this and about the positive traits they bring with them to their classes.

This year we have also introduced a sixteenth teaching award – the Excellence Award for Teaching by Postgraduate Students. This award was created to recognise the invaluable contributions of Postgraduate Students to teaching and learning at the University of Reading.

EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023

Additionally, we also have two awards that recognise staff for their contributions outside of lectures – the Academic Tutor Excellence Award and the Support Staff Excellence Award – and a Diverse & Inclusive Teaching Excellence Award. The final two awards recognise our amazing student reps: Senior Rep of the Year and Course Rep of the Year. The final two awards recognise our amazing student reps: Senior Rep of the Year and Course Rep of the Year.

From Oscar Minto, Education Officer 22/23: “This year we received 432 nominations across all of the awards. On behalf of everyone at Reading Students’ Union, congratulations to all nominees. Teaching and Learning is central to the University and therefore, to the student experience. It is brilliant to see so many students recognising your drive, dedication, and passion in making their time at university the best that it can be.”

Showcase Running Order 12pm: Welcome 12:05-12:25 – Winners announced for: Teaching Excellence Award for SAPD Teaching Excellence Award for SAGES Teaching Excellence Award for SACD Teaching Excellence Award for SBS Teaching Excellence Award for SBE Teaching Excellence Award for SCFP Teaching Excellence Award for HBS & ICMA 12:25: Presentation by Excellence Award winner Amanda Millmore 12:35-12:50 – Winners announced for: Teaching Excellence Award for Humanities Teaching Excellence Award for IoE Teaching Excellence Award for ISLI Teaching Excellence Award for Law Teaching Excellence Award for SLL Teaching Excellence Award for SMPCS Teaching Excellence Award for SPEIR Teaching Excellence Award for SPCLS

EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023

12:50: Presentation by Excellence Award winner Calvin Smith 13:00-13:20: Lunch 13:30-13:50 – Winners announced for: Academic Tutor Excellence Award Diverse & Inclusive Teaching Excellence Award Support Staff Excellence Award Excellence Award for Teaching by Postgraduate Students Senior Rep of the Year Course Rep of the Year 13:50-14:00: Closing

Winners School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Nominees: Dr Sarah Cardey, Professor John Hammond, Dr Alex Arnall Winner: Dr Sarah Cardey “Sarah Cardey went above and beyond from the very beginning. She has always made herself available to students to provide us with support and guidance, particularly for international students who were unable to resume studies initially due to visa issues. She also provided support for student activities that were aimed at bridging the gap among us.”

School of Archaeology, Geography & Environmental Science Winner: Professor Michael Goodman “Mike not only taught the most inspiring module I have taken, he also massively supported me through a very tough year.

As my supervisor, Mike went above and beyond to answer my endless questions and meeting requests and gave me constant reassurance when I wanted to give up, I would have really struggled to complete my degree without his support!”

Nominees: Dr Shovonlal Roy, Dr Alanna Cant, Professor Michael Goodman, Amanda Clarke

School of Art & Communication Design Nominees: Dr Matthew McFrederick, Sonia Latchford, James Lloyd, Dr Rob Banham, Tina O'Connell, Geoff Wyeth, Professor Lucia Nagib Winner: Sonia Latchford “Sonia came into the studio on a Sunday just to help me with a painting that was due Tuesday (this was my first oil painting and I barely knew how to work with it), she helped me make a whole canvas so that I would have a surface to paint on for my exhibition. She motivates me and brings me up when I'm feeling uncertain about my abilities, etc...”

School of Biological Sciences Nominees: Dr Brian Pickles, Dr Chris Jones, Professor David Leake, Dr Francoise Mazet, Dr Lindsey Thompson, Dr Natasha Barrett, Professor Phil Knight, Dr Graham Holloway, Dr Philip Baker, Professor Philip Dash, Professor Kim Watson, Dr Renee Lee, Professor Richard Sibly Winner: Dr Philip Baker “Phil has gone above and beyond what was expected of him this year. He offered incredible support for his Ecology of Urban Areas module assessments, but has helped out massively with my dissertation as well, giving advice on statistics and as a whole. He has helped multiple people with their dissertations and given up his free time to help.”

School of Built Environment Nominees: Dr Tim Lees, Dr Emmanuel Essah Winner: Dr Tim Lees “Tim has been extremely helpful across the whole School of Construction Management and Engineering, always finding time to help with any issues. His work with the Construction Society really is invaluable, and he has been instrumental in ensuring the successful organisation of the End of Year formal, which gives a chance for students to celebrate.”

EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023

School of Chemistry, Food & Pharmacy Nominees: Dr Nilesh Patel, Dr Jessica Gusthart, Rav Savania, Dr Michael Piperakis, Professor Becky Green, Professor Bob Rastall, Catherine Langran, Dr Chris Smith, Dr Hisham AlObaidi, Dr John Mckendrick, Dr Leanne Black, Dr Lizzy Lander, Dr Maria Maiarú, Dr Sam Bizley, Dr Richard Perry, Dr Elena Kabova, Professor Francesca Greco, Professor Gary Stephens, Dr James Hall, Dr James Hallett, Professor Katrina Bicknell, Professor Kenneth Shankland, Professor Lisa Methven, Professor Parastou Donyai, Oliver Hancox, Ryan Norris Coones, Professor Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy, Dr Afroditi Chatzifragkou, Professor Sakthi Vaiyapuri, Dr Sarah Greenwood, Dr Francesco Tamagnini, Dr Vimal Karani, Winner: Dr Hisham Al-Obaidi “Dr Hisham has gone well over and beyond in helping me understanding my dissertation and helping me with the practical aspect of lab work. He gave extremely useful extra curricular guidance, helping me to decide future paths. He replies to my questions very promptly and signposts me toward interesting articles which help clarify doubts.”

Henley Business School & International Capital Market Association Centre Nominees: Dr Amal Ahmadi, Dr Irene Garnelo-Gomez, Dina Ghanma, Dr Pin-Te Lin, Karim Kirollos, Kate Jones, Dr Lebene Soga, Daniel Tuckey, Dr Mads Emil Wedell-Wedellsborg, Dr Lisa Schopohl, Gail Rolland, Dr Eduardo Ibarra-Olivo, Dr Irute Karanicholas, Professor Kecheng Liu, Dr Adeyinka Adewale, Deng Ming Mui, Professor Eamonn D'Arcy, Dr Gita Persand, Professor Rajneesh Narula, Jack Hui, Amir Heidarzadeh, Dr Nico Biagi, Alex Scher-Smith, Leon Coopasamy, Dr Andrew Hull, Professor Brian Scott-Quinn, Dr Lazaros Symeonidis, Sue Blackett, Dr Ekililu Salifu, Joanne Stringer Winner: Dr Lebene Soga “Lebene's energy during lectures is truly a class above what I have previously experienced. With all his enthusiasm in a lecture, it's difficult not to be inspired. Looking forward to being taught by him again in the future.”

Break for Lunch

EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023

Previous Winners

Dr Emmanuel Essah

Professor Sakthi Vaiyapuri with Samir Abdel Wahab and Namra Din

EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023

Dott. Enza Siciliano Verruccio with Miranda Roberts

Professor Simon Sherratt with Emilia Fenn EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023

Dr Hazel McGoff with Beth Nugus Education Officer (21/22)

School of Humanities Nominees: Dr Ruth Salter, Dr Jacqui Turner, Professor Patrick Major, Graham Moore, Dr Elizabeth Maeve Barnes, Dr Charlotte Newey, Amie Bolissian, Abbie Tibbott Winner: Dr Ruth Salter “Ruth has been an absolutely excellent support for me throughout my time at university studying history. She has taken time out of her evenings and days to meet with me to discuss my ideas. Additionally, her help on the history society that I am President of, and her outstanding hosting of visit days has inspired me to go into academia.”

Institute of Education Nominees: Barbara King, Marion Brown, Jane Machin, Dr Maria Kambouri, Pamela Cottrell, Suzy Tutchell, Nick Davies, Dr Alison Silby, Scarlett Murphy, Cecilia Muldoon Winner: Marion Brown “Marion is always there to check in with how we are and makes every member of the course genuinely cared about.

She has worked consistently through our course while staff changes have meant that she has effectively been working two jobs and also answers all emails in and outside working hours. She’s just so supportive.”

EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023

International Study & Language Institute Nominees: Daniel Devane, Brian Turner, Suzanne Smith, Dr Dawn Clarke, Sarah Harford Winner: Daniel Devane “Daniel is a great tutor and he is able to communicate in clear and understandable terms to the students. I am nominating him for his unique attribute of making sure the message is passed across clearly to the class.”

School of Law Nominees: Professor Thérèse Callus, Dr Rachel Horton, Professor James Devenney, Dr Basak Bak, Dr Annika Newnham, Sharon Sinclair-Graham, Professor Rosemary Auchmuty, Dr Mathilde Pavis, Amanda Millmore, Dr Nowrin Tamana, Dr Frances Hamilton, Dr Mary Synge Winner: Amanda Millmore “She is just the most amazing lecturer I’ve had. Anything Amanda teaches, I understand it in an instant and her kind and informative approach is the reason why I believe her to be my favourite lecturer. I know many of my peers would agree and find that she has been the most helpful because without her I would not have enjoyed Law as much as I do now.”

School of Literature & Languages Nominees: Professor Clare Furneaux, Cong Xia Li, Professor Cindy Becker, Dott. Enza Siciliano Verruccio, Dr Lucy Bending, Kazumi Hiramatsu-Kidd, Dr Marjorie Gehrhardt, Dr Melani Schroeter, Dr Maria Reyes Baztan, Suzanne Smith, Dr Nigora Nasirova, Óscar García García, Ugo Marsili, Robert McCluskey, Wendy Hillier, Celine Biart, Dr Claire Ross, Shelley Harris, Dr Marine Orain, Yuko Tochii, Virginia Dimitroff, Dr Catriona McAllister, Dr Younis Lahwej, Dr Sophie Payne, Debra Page Winner: Óscar García García “I have been blown away on multiple occasions by someone not only an expert in the field they teach but also on how Spanish is learnt and perceived by English students. His utmost enthusiasm for the subject matches his will to help his students and I have never come across a more friendly and kind teacher who I strongly believe deserves this award.”

EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023

School of Mathematics, Physical & Computational Sciences

Nominees: Dr Muhammad Shahzad, Dr M. Arifur Rahman, Dr Karen Poulter, Dr Calvin Smith, Claire Newbold Winner: Dr Calvin Smith “The best lecturer I have had in all my three years of study.

Willing to help at any point without making you feel stupid or dumb. Light-hearted and happy at all times and it is a joy to be in his classroom (even if the module is hard)!”

School of Politics, Economics & International Relations Nominees: Dr Amanda Hall, Dr Graham O'Dwyer, Dr Fangya Xu, Dr Shixuan Wang, Daniel Devane, Dr Kenton White, Dr Mark Guzman Winner: Dr Amanda Hall “Amanda has had a very positive impact on my education this year, particularly with the engaging methods she employs in seminars that have allowed for deep and productive discussion on some very difficult topics. Her detailed and effective feedback has been massively beneficial not just within her modules but on my wider degree as a whole.”

School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences

Nominees: Professor Ludovica Serratrice, Joe Spackman, Dr Mirjana Sokolovic-Perovic, Dr Vishnu Nair, Dr Amanda Branson, Dr Rich Harrison, Dr Emma Pape, Dr Thalia Theodoraki, Zola Dean, Dr Eugene McSorley, Dr Katie Gray, Dr Fiona Knott, Lynne Bell, Dr Beth Law, Shannon Wake, Allie Biddle Winner: Joe Spackman “Joe started teaching us this year and immediately made an active effort to learn our names - something a lecturer has never done before. Joe is always reaching out and asking for feedback as he wants us to get the most out of his teaching.

No query or question is too big or too small - even if he cannot ask it himself, he will chase it for us.”

EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023

Academic Tutor Excellence Award Nominees: Dr Michael Piperakis, Dr Julia Rodriguez Garcia, Dr Tim Lees, Dr Veronica Heath, Professor Kecheng Liu, Natalie Drake, Dott. Enza Siciliano Verruccio, Professor Sakthi Vaiyapuri, Dr Lebene Academic Tutor Excellence Award Soga, Dr Peter Sweby, Jane Batchelor, Helen De Felice, James Lloyd, Dr Sam Bizley, Jane Machin, Dr Chengcheng Miao, Professor Matthew Worley, Professor Cathy Tissot, Wendy McLean, Dr Steve Samuel, Matthew Tolley Winner: Jane Machin “Jane has gone above and beyond in supporting us during our year 2 studies on the foundation degree. She has been considerate about our needs as learners and taking on the full teaching of year 2 following extenuating circumstances. She has done this with no complaint and continues to offer above what is expected and always with a positive mindset.”

Diverse & Inclusive Teaching Excellence Award Nominees: Dr Afroditi Chatzifragkou, Professor Sakthi Vaiyapuri, Brian Turner, Ilan Dwek, Dr Natasha Barrett, Dr Sarah Greenwood Winner: Dr Afroditi Chatzifragkou “She has helped me a lot with anxiety stemming from a combination of imposter syndrome, autism and gender. She agreed to me doing oral exams instead of assays, make exceptions for practical labs (like wearing headphones) and generally making herself available to talk any troubling I run into. Her personal touch was invaluable to my progress.”

Support Staff Excellence Award Nominees: Kate Booth, Sunny Chawla, Eadaoin Connolly, Emily Cosser, Jane Batchelor, Annie Duffin, Helen Slingsby, David Marron Winner: Annie Duffin “Annie helps coordinate much of the careers side of the law school and goes above and beyond every-time in trying to help students achieve. Because of Annie, I have been afforded opportunities that many law students can only dream of and realistically without her help, a career in law would hold no prospects.”

EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023

Excellence Award for Teaching by Postgraduate Students Nominees: Joe Spackman, Ellie Carter, Allie Biddle, Mia Wick, Lambis Dionysopoulos Winner: Ellie Carter “Ellie is absolutely amazing and she makes chem labs bearable. She always helps out and makes us understand how to do the labs and what the criteria is for labs. She also makes labs really fun and engages with us. She also teaches us how to complete the experiment and teaches us the theory about it. She's so kind.”

Senior Rep of the Year Nominees: Katherine Hadjistavri, Sophie Jordan, Vanessa Chan, Chloe Fleming, Sonal Zahid, Chinmay Thakkar, Aryn Brown, Linus Wong Winner: Sophie Jordan “Sophie is always willing to do everything she can to support students. Her extra work on creating resources for first year students shows how she goes above and beyond. She is always on top of deadlines, emails, contacting, and organization and is an enthusiastic supporter of her course reps and their achievements.”

EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023

Course Rep of the Year Nominees: Leighton Monty, Miyuki Doel, Obianujunwa Umahi, Abigail Thomas, Anna McDonald, Ben Moriarty, Victoria Vertrees, Sachman Gill, Valentyna Solovei, Olivia Moors, Abigail Walton, Disha Chhugani, Amy Bullen, Sonia Franklin, Laila Omer, Ramandeep Nijjar Winner: Ramandeep Nijjar “Raman is always supplying us with information, keeping us informed after meetings etc. She diligently makes notes at field trip meetings etc and forwards them on to us so we all have details. She is caring too if people have any problems.

It’s great to have someone to ask a question of without going on an app! An asset to the zoology course.”

Thank you!

Thank you for all your hard work this year!

We hope you’ve had a lovely time at the Teaching and Learning Showcase and that we'll see you again in 2024 to celebrate another wonderful year of Teaching and Learning at the University of Reading.

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