Previous Award winners
2015
Winners of the President's Awards for Excellence in Teaching 2014/2015
The award winners were:
Academic Category: Dr Brian Harney, DCU Business School
"Brian brought a level of critical analysis to every lecture that really impressed me... He brought theory into the real world with such ease it made lectures double as practical workshops."
"I often took notes during class that were actually blueprints for my business and other business strategies. It doesn't get more real that. To put icing on the cake, he was approachable, patient and funny."
"For me personally, it was one of the most enjoyable and engaging topics of the Masters and in my opinion, Brian's expertise and passion is unparalleled in his field.”
Academic Support Category: Henry Barry, School of Physics
“I found the course extremely challenging and the lab work daunting. This was made easier by the hands on approach and dedication of the technical staff and most notably, Henry, the head of 1st and 2nd year labs; a very approachable, likeable and knowledgeable man who was always eager to help and explain difficult concepts in a tireless and patient fashion. It was Henry who would engage with students in a friendly manner whilst always keeping his professionalism, which made these labs a truly enjoyable, and most importantly, a highly educational experience”
New Lecturer/Tutor Category: David Passmore, School of Health & Human Performance
“David has a very enjoyable and interesting style to his teaching that makes you want to be in his classes. He has massive experience and knowledge from the field of coaching and sport and his enthusiasm is infectious. This makes his classes the ones you want to go to.”
“David video records our group presentations so we can review these ourselves and he has used this to improve presentation skills...so valuable.”
"To really bring things to life, he has brought in a number of coaches, service providers and top international athletes to give their perspectives of an area which you would expect to experience in the real work of sports science.”
Special Award for Distinctive Teaching Approaches: Anne Kirwan, School of Nursing and Human Sciences
“I find her lectures very interesting as she brings in her own life experiences to some topics which helps me to visualise it just that bit better. She walks around the lecture hall and interacts with the students and is always asking us questions about what we would do in the situation – this captures my attention and really gets me thinking about what I would do if that were to happen to me."
"I always look forward to Anne's classes, she's really up beat and passionate about her work, her classes are never boring and she has a way of making things stick in your head. She's very patient and helpful always there when I or a fellow student needs help with something.”
Special Award for Distinctive Approaches to Assessment & Feedback: Dr Eric Clinton, DCU Business School
“When receiving feedback you knew that he had spent time reading over every group’s and individual’s work as he took the time to write up roughly two pages on the pros and cons of the assignment."
"A hell of a lot of work went into our final Business Plan, work which we may not have been so relentless in doing if it wasn't for this area of his teaching ability."
"The final presentation for the module involved presenting to a group of venture capitalists ...This was a brilliant experience, one of the most practical of my time in DCU. It stretched me in more ways imaginable, but developed my confidence and tested my nerve.”
The Presidents Special Award : The DICE team
The DICE module exposes participants to multiple modes of learning e.g. team work, online learning, live webinars, project work and mini conferences.
Students are assessed on their individual and group creativity through continuous assessment including the design and development of their own blogs, developing a tourism app for a region, and conceptualising a new innovative cloud-based app.Industry experts (e.g. Microsoft progra mmers) are part of the assessment process.
The course has its own email address manned by all staff daily to deal with any issues or questions as well as an anonymous ‘problem log’ that students can fill online.
2014
Winners of the President's Awards for Excellence in Teaching 2013/2014
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.”
2013
Winners of the President's Awards for Excellence in Teaching 2012/2013
From left to right: Dr. Jenny Lawler, Professor Brian MacCraith, Dr Briege Casey, Mr Billy Roarty, Professor Marann Byrne, Dr. Mark Glynn, Dr. Claire Gubbins, Mr Billy Kelly
We are delighted to announce the winners of the President's Awards for Excellence in Teaching 2012/2013.
The awards were presented by the President, Professor Brian MacCraith at the Annual Teaching and Learning Day held in the Helix Theatre on 16th May. The awards are aligned with DCU's strategy, celebrating and recognising teaching and learning excellence.
The winners are:
Teaching Support Category: Mr. Billy Roarty, School of Electronic Engineering
“Without his tireless work and enthusiasm on the EE223 module it wouldn’t be anywhere as successful as it is now. Billy goes beyond the “normal expectations” of his duties; however, it is in every one of his tasks that he goes far above and beyond. He never takes the easy option; rather, he chooses the option that is best for the students.”
New Lecturer/Tutor Category: Dr Jenny Lawler, School of Biotechnology
“Jenny’s teaching approach aims to stimulate students interest and foster and maintain engagement in topics relating to biotechnology. To this end she utilises a variety of media in her teaching, in order to address the different learning styles of the students. Jenny makes herself very available to students and is very approachable. “
Special Award for Distinctive Teaching Approaches: Dr Briege Casey, School of Nursing and Human Sciences
“Briege brings a passion and commitment to Teaching and Learning that has brought a renewed energy to Teaching and Learning activities in the School. She has championed an agenda to improve on-line and face to face feedback for students. Briege consistently gives excellent support to her students, providing one to one sessions/meetings and extra support should students require it. She has often gone the extra mile to ensure a student has access to learn and succeed at their studies.”
Special Award for Distinctive Assessment and Feedback: Dr Claire Gubbins, DCUBS
“Claire has always taken a particularly innovative approach to teaching constantly inspiring her students to learn and continue learning. In my experience, she continuously creates a very stimulating and creative learning environment addressing the diverse needs of her students by integrating hands-on strategies and problem-solving activities into daily teaching practices. Dr Gubbins is a true educator, DCU business school is lucky to have a lecturer with her talent on the team.”
Academic Category Overall: Professor Marann Byrne, DCUBS
“Marann’s expert knowledge, ability to foster deep understanding, her sheer enthusiasm for the subject matter and her commitment to her role as a teacher have fuelled the interest and aspirations of generations of students. Marann’s principal approach to teaching is one which is focused both on developing students’ understanding of core concepts and also on facilitating their mastery of accounting practices.”
2012
Winners of the President's Awards for Excellence in Teaching 2011/2012
From left to right: Professor Brian MacCraith, Dr Jean Cushen, Mr Vincent Hooper, Dr Derek Molloy, Dr Mary Canning
Academic Category: Dr Derek Molloy, School of Electronic Engineering
"Recording lecture videos really helps to catch up if a student misses a class. Pre-recorded videos for digital electronics labs were really helpful. Derek used a straightforward manner to explain the hard theory, also using lots of examples to help understanding. Weekly videos of lectures and indexed tutorial videos are great tools for students to better master the points of module."
New Lecturers/Tutors Category: Dr Jean Cushen, DCUBS
"Taught us real life examples in class and got us involved via interactive role plays which we had to prepare for a brilliant mix of resources and teaching materials, included video clips, cartoons, graphs etc. Individual and Group Feedback Forms with lots of useful tips and observations on assessment and participation."
Academic Support Staff Category: Vincent Hooper, School of Chemical Sciences
"Vincent has been responsible for innovating and improving on laboratory teaching practices for the first and second year teaching syllabi as run in the School of Chemical Sciences. This has been particularly valuable for the teaching of large classes of students in an efficient and safe manner he is highly thought of by all those who know and work with him."
Two special awards were made for Distinctive Teaching Approaches and Distinctive Approaches to Assessment and Feedback and the winners were:
Distinctive Teaching Approaches: Dr Mary O'Connell, School of Biotechnology
Distinctive Approaches to Assessment and Feedback: Colm O’Ciardubhain, Fiontar