The University of West London

The University's Vice-Chancellor's Award Ceremony at the Teaching and Learning Conference

Thursday 12 July 2012

It was an evening celebrating the excellence and achievements of the University's staff in this year's Vice-Chancellor's Award Ceremony.

The ceremony took place on 26 June 2012 and recognised the accomplishments of colleagues from across the University, who have demonstrated their impact on students and the learning experience through inspirational practice.

The awards included the Technology-Enhanced Learning Championships, Early-Career Prizes, the University Teaching Fellowships and the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence.

Several of these awards are associated with a development or research project that was selected for its potential to further enhance teaching and learning.  

Suresh Gamlath, Field Leader for accounting, finance and risk management at the University's International Business School was awarded Technology-Enhanced Learning Champion for his technology-enhanced learning project entitled ‘The University of West London's Trading and Investment Virtual Club’. This award will support students’ practice of the trading and investment world via a virtual platform on which they will be able to practice investing in a risk-free environment using real trading strategies and being provided with an opportunity to reflect on their decisions.

The Early-Career Prize recognised promising lecturers in the initial stages of their career who have contributed outstanding projects or initiatives within their course.

Louise Hunter, lecturer at the University's College of Nursing and Midwifery was awarded this prize due to her lead role towards securing accreditation by the World Health Organisation/ UNICEF for a prestigious ‘baby friendly’  status for the University, and for the way she has used her subject expertise to impact on the curriculum in respect of breastfeeding standards. Her input has increased students’ confidence and developed their skills in giving advice on breast-feeding; it has also engaged her colleagues in reflecting on this issue. 

The title of Teaching Fellow is an honorary title which confers awardees with recognition for their expertise in and commitment to teaching and learning and was awarded to Ann Austin, School of Computing and Technology.

Her Teaching Fellow research project focuses on developing study skills and aims to enhance the School’s personal tutor system.  She will provide a programme of study support using a Learning Inventory to measure attitudes, values, beliefs and dispositions of students at the start, and at the end, of their first year. This will focus students on those skills, and enable them to become more conscious and effective learners.

The evening culminated in the winner being announced for the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence which was awarded to Dr Pauline Fox, who is Principal Lecturer in the School of Psychology, Social Work and Human Sciences. Dr Fox was nominated for the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence by colleagues from the University who said of her that she was a ‘pioneer in terms of embedding employability skills and work based learning (WBL) into the undergraduate curriculum’. Her nomination was supported by students who said inter alia that ‘Pauline consistently encourages students to work smart, making the best of their abilities while aiming to better themselves’. She is particularly commended for her ‘Place to Place’ initiative which produced online employability resources and was funded by the CETL in Professional Placement Learning. Pauline is engaged in many university-wide initiatives. Her scholarship extends equally to teaching and to research.

Commenting on the Vice-Chancellor's Award Ceremony, Professor Joelle Fanghanel, Director of the Institute for Teaching, Innovation and Learning (INSTIL), said:

'The Vice-Chancellor’s Awards celebrate the talent and dedication of members of staff across the University and the inspirational way in which they reflect on their practice to enhance the learning environment at the University. They are awarded on behalf of the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Network (LTAN). The winners were selected through a rigorous two-tier process including a formal application process, specific quality criteria, and involving the judgement of peers across the University. Through these awards, the winners have demonstrated their ability to draw on the field of research on learning; their creativity in devising solutions to address the challenges they had identified; and a sense of determination in bringing to fruition projects that make a difference. Senior colleagues from across the University are involved in supporting the Awards in their roles as advisors, assessors, and supervisors. They bring rigour and professionalism to their roles, and INSTIL wishes to thank them too for their valued contribution.'