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> Global Teaching Award presented to NUMed teacher
A Sa teacher, one of the greatest achievements is recognition from students. So it was a moment of suspense when the winners of the 2017 Newcastle University Teaching Excellence Awards (TEAs), as voted by students, were announced at a ceremony recently.
Hundreds of students, including senior members of the faculty, attended the ceremony to see the unveiling of the winners. Up for grabs were awards for 11 categories, all the awards were student led. Any Newcastle University student could submit a nomination for a staff member. The students even organised the ceremony themselves!
Once all the 349 nominations from students across the campuses were received, it was up to the student committee and NUSU education officer, Chris Duddy, to make the tough decision to pick the winners for each category.
After analysing all the nominations, the committee managed to narrow down the list. The shortlisted names of the staff that students believe made the biggest impact on their learning experience were released. The winners were announced at the official ceremony.
"The standard of nominations we have had this year have been extremely impressive. It just goes to show how much Newcastle University students appreciate and recognise the incredible work that staff of the university put in to ensure their students succeed,” Duddy said.
This year, a new category, Outstanding Contribution to Teaching – Global Campuses, was added where over 5,000 staff from across the campuses were eligible for the award.
Two of the Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) professors made the shortlist: Dr Kenneth McKeegan, NUMed's Dean of Academic Affairs, and Dr Loh Huai Seng, NUMed's Associate Prof & Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs.
McKeegan was sitting at his desk when he got an e-mail announcing the nominations for the TEAs.
He was honoured that he had been nominated by the NUMed students for the award, and was more delighted that many of his colleagues – nearly 20 – had also been nominated. Some, along with McKeegan, had received as many as seven separate nominations.
McKeegan was informed of his win via a phone call before the ceremony which was held in Newcastle in UK. This enabled him to record a video to be played at the ceremony.
"The most pleasing aspect of this year's Teaching Excellence Awards is the strong involvement from NUMed. Over 60 of the nominations came from NUMed students, it's wonderful to see how engaged our students are in the process. The fact that NUMed was so well represented is a mark of the excellence of teaching here," McKeegan commented.
The award-winner continued: "While I am humbled to have won the award, it is more satisfying to see so many of the NUMed staff nominated. It is touching for all those nominated that students have taken the time to voluntarily submit a nomination for them. We can see the impact it has on the teachers, particularly the newer staff members."
For Loh, this was the third year in a row that he had been nominated for an award. However, his entry was in the top three for the Outstanding Contribution
to Teaching – Global Campuses award, making it to be the first time he was shortlisted.
"This is the first year I have been shortlisted for an award and it is a very special moment for me as the students play the largest role in this award. For me, the key to being a teacher is to make the explanation as simple as possible for the students – unlike the elaborate definitions in the textbooks. The role of being an excellent teacher is to condense and consolidate the important parts," Loh commented.
Besides the Outstanding Contribution to Teaching –