Students and staff come together in the magnificent Draper’s Hall for QMSU’s annual education awards. The awards celebrate exceptional students and staff who have made outstanding contributions to the learning experience at Queen Mary.
Last week, students and staff from across Queen Mary came together in the magnificent Draper’s Hall for QMSU’s annual education awards. The awards celebrate exceptional students and staff who have made outstanding contributions to the learning experience at Queen Mary. We received an amazing 257 nominations across the 14 awards. Nominees were shortlisted and winners were picked by a panel of QMSU executive officers and student staff – a tricky task with so many amazing nominations!
The evening started with speeches from Samarth Lakhanpal, Vice President for Humanities and Social Sciences at QMSU, and Deborah Rafalin, Deputy Vice-principal (Education) at Queen Mary.
The course rep awards were then presented by Samarth. These awards recognise course reps who’ve gone the extra mile to collect student feedback, advocate for their peers and create change on their course. Our winners delivered some moving and inspiring speeches, with their passion for representing their peers really shining through.
"It means a lot to me that both the students I represent and the students’ union have recognised the efforts I put in to make a positive impact on the experience my peers have at Queen Mary"
-Gia Arora, Winner - HSS course rep of the year
“This award reflects the collective support and collaboration of my course mates, faculty, and the Students’ Union, and highlights our value in driving meaningful and positive change”
-Keannu Mortula Arnoco, Winner – SMD course rep of the year
Next came the teaching awards, presented by Tushar Goyal, Vice President for Science & Engineering at QMSU. These awards celebrate academic and support staff who’ve gone above and beyond to support and develop students, enhance their academic experience and amplify student voices.
"It is rare to receive acknowledgement of our efforts, and lovely to know that my feedback has been impactful for some. The nomination was highly unexpected, but truly heartwarming. Thanks again."
Andrew Pitt, Winner - Assessment & Feedback champion
The evening finished with a closing speech from Tushar. Tushar reflected on the dedicated, quiet and often unrecognised work all our nominees do to make QMUL a better place and improve students’ lives.
Whether you submitted a nomination or attended on the day, thanks for making this year’s education awards such a success. We’ll see you next year!
Shortlisted nominees and winners for all the awards can be found below:
HSS Course Rep of the Year:
Anastasia Goglidze
Saniyah Waqar
Gia Arora (winner)
S&E Course Rep of the Year:
Andrew June Jake Mai
Emomalijon Murodzada
Naif Alaqeili (winner)
SMD Course Rep of the Year:
Keannu Mortula Arnoco (winner)
Naif Alaqeili
PGR Course Rep of the Year:
Jonas Decker (winner)
Mahima Khan
Course Rep Impact Award:
Anastasia Goglidze
Esha Sharma (winner)
Sayed Abdullah Bihboodi
Teacher of the Year:
Dr Andrew Pitt
Dr Chandres Tejura
Dr Ting Huang (winner)
Academic Advice Champion:
Dr Zhe Li (winner)
Dr Chandres Tejura
Dr Cristina Cioffi
Assessment and Feedback Champion:
Dr Andrew Pitt (winner)
Dr Ting Huang
Student Voice Champion:
Dr Chandres Tejura (winner)
Innovative Teaching Champion:
Dr Zhe Li (winner)
Dr Karen Shoop
Dr Chandres Tejura
PGR Supervisor of the Year Award
Dr Zhe Li
Dr Garry Gabison (winner)
Professor Rodrigo Olivares-Caminal (winner)
Ruth Fletcher
Post Grad Teaching Champion:
Zixuan Zhu
Zhihuan Li
Muzumil Anwar (winner)
Support Staff Member of the Year:
David Oluwatobi Ajibade (winner)
Esha Sharma
Sustainability Champion:
Dr Rehan Shah (winner)