Author: Gratsiela Madzharova, Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering
Our Centre of Excellence in Engineering & Design Education (CEEDE) recently hosted its first Teaching Award Celebration. Colleagues came together to recognise this year’s nominees and winners from the Faculty of Engineering & Design.
While celebration was at the heart of the event, it also highlighted something important: the value of creating opportunities for colleagues to connect. Many of us share the same goal—supporting student success—but often work within our own departments, disciplines and teams. This was an opportunity to step outside those boundaries, exchange ideas and learn from innovative practices.
Nominees
- Mary Tasker Award: Samantha Hayward (Winner), Nuno Reis, Emma Emanuelsson Patterson (Commended)
- Director of Studies Award: Eleni Sikou, Leen Jabban
- John Willis Award: Sanjay Nagarajan, Antonio Jose Exposito
- Leadership in Learning & Teaching Award: Tina Düren (Winner)
- Innovation in Learning & Teaching Award: Matthew Lennox, Samantha Hayward
- Best Team in Support of Student Learning Award: Team Bath Heart supervisors – Katharine Fraser, Melusine Pigeon, Jamie Gawith, Nathaniel Kelly, Lee Nissim and Andrew Cookson (Winners)
- Academic Advisor of the Year: Brian Rutter
Congratulations to all nominees and award winners for their dedication to enhancing learning and supporting students.
Learning from inspiring practice
One of the highlights of the day was hearing from nominees about the experiences, values and approaches that underpin their work.
Nuno Reis, Tina Düren, Eleni Sikou and Brian Rutter shared reflections on their teaching and student-support practices. Their presentations illustrated the many ways colleagues create engaging learning experiences, foster student success and contribute to a positive educational environment.
The conversations that followed proved as valuable as the presentations themselves. Colleagues exchanged practical ideas, discussed shared challenges and identified approaches to explore further in their teaching and support roles.
Workshop themes identified
- Staff development, leadership and recognition
- Student confidence and independent learning
- Active, engaging and experimental learning
- AI and digital education
- Assessment, feedback and learning improvement
- Authentic learning, industry and community engagement
- Collaboration and community (staff)
- Communication, organisation and wellbeing
- Curriculum design and teaching practice
- Inclusive learning and student belonging
Turning ideas into action
To conclude the afternoon, we invited participants to write a postcard to their future selves. Each postcard captured a teaching idea, action or change they hoped to put in place in the coming months.
We will return the postcards to their authors later in the year. This will serve as a reminder of the commitments made, ideas generated and the ambitions that felt particularly achievable after lunch!
The pledges revealed colleagues' enthusiasm for developing their practice and learning from one another.
Respond