Awarding quality teaching
THREE academic staff of Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) were presented with awards for excellence in teaching and enhancing student learning by Curtin Malaysia pro vice-chancellor, president and chief executive Prof Jim Mienczakowski in a ceremony last week. Also present was deputy pro vice-chancellor Prof Beena Giridharan.
Prof Mienczakowski presented the awards on behalf of Curtin University’s deputy vice-chancellor, Academic Prof Jill Downie.
Mechanical engineering senior lecturer Dr Sumaiya Islam, culture and language lecturer Dr Anita Jimmie and foundation in engineering and science lecturer Kamaroizan Mohamad were awarded Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.
They were awarded for empowering students through a community and outreach programme and for inspiring students to become independent problem-solvers.
Their achievement, along with those of academics at Curtin’s main campus in Perth, Australia, was acknowledged at the 2018 Curtin Awards for Excellence in Innovation and Teaching (CEIT), which was held in conjunction with the university’s annual Festival of Learning in Perth last November.
Prof Mienczakowski thanked Dr Sumaiya, Dr Anita and Kamaroizan for their dedication to ensuring that their students have enriching learning experiences.
He said they and many of their colleagues do Curtin Malaysia proud by continually winning awards for teaching and research excellence, which is especially significant because Curtin Malaysia celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
He said Curtin has a tradition of recognising its teachers and programmes that support student learning, as reflected in its success in the Awards for Australian University Teaching coordinated by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.
In the past four years, Curtin has won nine Awards for Teaching Excellence, three awards for Programmes that Enhance Learning and 25 Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, some of were won by Curtin Malaysia teaching staff.
The CEIT Awards are awarded annually to provide recognition and rewards for outstanding performances by individuals and teams in the global Curtin community in teaching and enhancing student learning.
Curtin University now spans its main campus and regional campuses in Western Australia and international campuses in Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai and Mauritius.
Three other Curtin Malaysia academics were acknowledged at CEIT for being awarded Higher Education Academy Fellowships from the UK-based Advance Higher Education: mechanical engineering lecturers Lai Zhenyue, Chew Ing Ming and civil and construction engineering lecturer Dr Wong Shi Yee.
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■ To learn more about the full- and part-time courses for adults, visit https://www.britishcouncil.my/english/courses-adults