Welcome to the Excellence Awards 2022. I’m Ondrej Kucerak, Vice-President for
Education at AUSA and I’m delighted to introduce the winners of the AUSA and
the University of Aberdeen Excellence Awards. These awards are led by our student community
who share how they’ve been inspired or supported by someone they’ve encountered on their university
journey. The awards recognise the exceptional work of our academics, our academic support staff,
our student class representatives, and for the first time this year, our student ambassadors.
Well done to everyone that was nominated in the 2022 awards,
and a special congratulations to all of this year’s winners.
The AUSA and University of Aberdeen Awards.
Best Undergraduate Lecturer
The winner is Flora Groening
Flora is recognised for her dedication and resilience during the pandemic.
She has been available to her students and built a strong connection with her class.
She has led her students to fantastic results, allowing them not just to pass but to thrive.
Best Supervisor - Undergraduate
The winner is Asha Venkatesh
Asha provides effective critique and uplifting boosts of encouragement in her teaching.
She has shown genuine interest and excitement in student projects and supports students by sharing
her own personal experiences with research, creating an open and welcoming environment.
Best Postgraduate Taught Lecturer
The winner is Cheryl Dowie
Cheryl has gone above and beyond in supporting her students, setting-up a number of Q&A sessions out
with class to give her students the opportunity to ask questions and get help when they need it.
Cheryl is further recognised for her close work with class reps, liaising with them
on a weekly basis to transform and enhance the experience for reps and students alike.
Best Supervisor Postgraduate Research
The winner is Brian Brock Brian is a role model to many, taking a proactive approach in reaching out
to his students and forming strong relationships. He recognised for navigating his students through difficult and complex situations.
Personal Tutor of the Year
The winner is Justin Borg-Barthet
Justin is recognised for his work to ensure that all of his students are taken care of.
He does this not only through his tutoring, he also ensures that students know about the support
available to them, and puts provisions in place to ensure his tutees achieve their best.
Most Accessible Lecturer
The winner is Roozbeh Rafati
Roozbeh has made a real impact to the students he supports, providing additional sessions for
some students during term time when they needed help to navigate course content,
as well as scheduling support out with the normal term time
when necessary. He responds to student queries quickly, and is truly accessible to his students.
Outstanding Innovation in Digitally Enhanced Learning
The winner is Dan Paget Dan's planning skills and course design for online
and hybrid courses has been outstanding. Dan has embraced the online teaching world by envisioning
what that teaching online should look like rather than recreating in-person environments online.
Dan has implemented a number of activities that support online students
including weekly online discussions, online articles and weekly online tasks.
Outstanding Interdisciplinary Course Team
The winners are Joy Perkins and Stuart Durkin for the ED3536 Employability course.
Joy and Stuart’s delivery of the course allowed students to enjoy not only their academic skills,
but the cross-over between education, professional environments and personal development throughout
this course. Joy and Stuart worked effectively to ensure that students benefitted from both
their personal experiences which left a lasting impression with their students.
Best non-academic team or service
The winner is the GoAbroad Team
The GoAbroad team are recognised for their relentless efforts throughout the pandemic.
The team provided a number of online sessions and spoke with students in a very friendly and relatable way.
They supported many students in making informed decisions to travel abroad, giving them life-changing international experiences.
Best Support Staff
The winner is Joanna Kunzlik
Jo goes above and beyond to make sure students have everything they need to settle into their
courses. Jo created a platform for PGR students to meet every Friday, providing
a forum where they could have open discussions during very challenging times. The impact on
postgraduate research students has been enormous, and Jo’s efforts were highly praised by students.
Mental Health Champion
The winner is Jane Mackenzie
Jane is recognised for the support she has offered students going through challenging circumstances.
Jane’s kindness, encouragement and reassurance have helped ensure that her students were able
to continue in their education and had support and advice when it was needed.
Most Inspiring
The winner is Chinedu Etteh
Chinedu has created a framework and a forum for minority students to get involved in activities
which has left a lasting impact. Staff and students alike were impressed by Chinedu's
passion to promote equality issues in a broader level and engage new students in the University.
Best Student Class Rep
The winner is Emmanuel Osarfo Emmanuel is recognised for
establishing an extraordinary culture of partnership in the courses he has represented.
Emmanuel’s natural leadership skills made a big impact on the course coordinator, who was able to
make a number of changes to enhance the experience of his fellow students with Emmanuel’s support.
Best Student Ambassador
The winner is Elspeth Cherry
Over the last 5 years, Elspeth has reached out to thousands of students in Hillhead and
supported fellow students who felt isolated. She has helped with countless events at the Multifaith
Chaplaincy, approaching everything she’s been involved in with a positive attitude and
dedication, which has left a lasting impression on staff and students at the University of Aberdeen.
Congratulations to all our winners in the 2022 Principal's Excellence Awards.