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President’s Awards 2013/2014 – Winners Announced

Innovation and excellence in teaching and learning at DCU were celebrated at this year’s annual Teaching and Learning Day and presentation of the Presidents Awards for Excellence in Teaching which took place on 16th April 2014 in the Gallery at the Helix. 

Each award consists of a formal citation, together with a prize of €8,000 for the Academic Award, €2,500 for the New Lecturers/Tutors Award and €2,500 for the award to Teaching Support staff. The category winners also received an inscribed piece of Tipperary Crystal and all nominees received a commemorative piece of Crystal Eire. In addition, two special awards were presented for Distinctive Teaching Approaches and Distinctive Approaches to Assessment and Feedback.

The award winners were:

Academic Category: Dr Lorraine Boran, School of Nursing & Human Sciences

“Dr Boran truly deserves an award as a recognition of the appreciation from her students as every students in my year speaks highly of her.”
“This lecturer has gone above and beyond the call of duty with assisting our class into settling into DCU life. She should thoroughly be recognised for her contribution to her students.”

 

New Lecturer/Tutor Category: Terry O’Brien, DCUBS

“Terry engages with the class and ensures a culture of mutual learning both inside and outside the lecture room. In terms of approachability, Terry is probably the best lecturer I have ever come across.”
“He was able to get the class involved in every stage of the lectures and have discussion based lessons rather than theory heavy. His charisma and wit make the lectures fun to attend. His enthusiasm spreads through the classroom, and the room becomes a room full of thinking and engagement.”

 

Special Award for Distinctive Teaching Approaches: Dr Tom Hickey, School of Law & Government

“From the very first day, Dr Hickey has been nothing but an inspiration to me. He is a wonderful lecturer who emphasis the qualities of analysis and logical thinking.”
“He has been a very reassuring presence around DCU and has helped in making the transition from secondary school to University.”
“His student/lecturer communication is second to none. He motivated students in every lecture, constantly encouraging us to think outside the box.
“Having just completed my first semester of my first year in university, I can say with confidence that Dr Hickey was a definite source of help in feeling settled and getting to grips with the academic side of university life!”
“I cannot endorse Tom enough for this award and I think he would be a very worthy recipient.”

 

Special Award for Distinctive Approaches to Assessment & Feedback: Jennifer Bruton, School of Electronic Engineering

“Jennifer regularly attends teaching and learning workshops hosted by the LIU and keeps abreast of teaching and assessment developments through journals such as the IEEE  journal in Engineering Education.”
“She strives to provide students with a positive, supportive, feedback based learning experience.”
“Jennifer uses a mixture of formative and summative assessments throughout her modules.”
“She provides the students with feed-forward information in advance of the assessments, outlining common pitfalls students have made in the past.”
“Through marking guides and rubrics Jennifer provides students with the opportunity for self-evaluation immediately after the class tests.”

 

Academic Support Category: Liam Domican, School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering

“He works tirelessly to present each student with the equipment and environment required to achieve their best.”
"Liam never turns down a request for assistance or advice from a student, and many turn to him for his guidance and wise counsel.”