In May, QMSU hosted the annual Education Awards, celebrating the contributions of students and staff to improving the Queen Mary learning experience.
In May, QMSU hosted the annual Education Awards, celebrating the contributions of students and staff to improving the Queen Mary learning experience. The ceremony was hosted at Drapers’ Hall for just under 100 attendees including Executive Officers, Students' Union and university staff, and students from across all faculties.
We received a massive 500+ nominations across 20 categories, which were narrowed down to shortlisted nominees and winners by our student representatives. There were so many glowing nominations, and it was fantastic to see how much of a positive impact our student representatives and staff members have made on the student experience. Whether you received a nomination or not, we want to extend a massive thank you to everyone who champions the voice of students' in their role. We couldn’t make these important changes without you, and you all deserve a congratulations!
You can read our recap below, as well as see the full list of awards, winners, and shortlisted nominees here.
The award ceremony was opened by speeches from Adi Sawalha, SU President; Stephanie Marshall, Vice Principal Education; and Gil Baldwin, QMUL Council Member and Liveryman of the Drapers’ Company.
We then began the awards announcements with the Course Rep Awards, hosted by Muneer Hussain, VP Science & Engineering. These categories celebrated Course Reps who had made a huge difference to students and their courses. Muneer highlighted the difficulties Course Reps have faced this year transitioning back to on campus teaching and assessment changes.
‘Championing the voice of students can be really difficult at times... but it’s important to remember the difference that you made to the students around you, every student whose life was made that much easier because of the effort that you put in.’
The Course Rep awards were given to the following winners:
HSS Course Rep of The Year – Shruti Gupta
S&E Course Rep of The Year – Omayma Bouaziz
SMD Course Rep of The Year - James Siswick
Course Rep Collaboration Award – Aisha Qadi & Omayma Bouaziz
Course Rep Campaign Award - Pran Mahendran
Charlie Sellar, VP Barts and The London and BLSA President, then presented the Student Council Awards. These were awarded to members of Student Council that have made a positive impact to students through their roles, campaigns, and involvement in Council.
‘These roles are the essential make-up of Student Council, and this year has seen an incredible pool of students that have contributed in their own ways to the overall quality of the student experience using the Council.’
The winners of the Student Council Awards were:
School Rep of The Year – Roulian Zelo
Postgraduate Rep of The Year – Matthew Beach
Student Council Campaign of The Year – Amelia Jones
Best Representation and Feedback – Jumainah Rahman & Shirin Massroor
School Councillor of The Year – Aisha Qadi
The awards ceremony then concluded with the Teaching Awards, hosted by Saynab Sharif, VP Humanities & Social Sciences. The categories included awards for support, advice, innovation and sustainability. Saynab congratulated the nominees for going ‘above and beyond to create engaging learning environments, challenge their students to reach their full potential, and inspire them’.
The staff members who were awarded Teaching Awards were:
Academic Advice Champion – Dr Anastasios Tombros
Assessment and Feedback Champion – Zoe Asser
Student Voice Champion – Dr Anna Chrysostomides
Innovative Teaching and Technology Champion – Dr Georgios Kavetsos
PGR Supervisor of The Year Award – Adrian Biddle
Postgraduate Teaching Champion - Pedro Perez Rothstein
Support Staff Member of The Year – Jennifer Ogden
Education for Sustainable Development – Professor Patrick Healey
Teacher of The Year – Dr Anastasios Tombros
We once again would like to thank everyone who attended the awards and submitted nominations to celebrate students and staff who work hard towards improving the academic experience. It is inspiring to see our student representatives work to make a positive difference to education and raise awareness for student issues, and to see so many staff who are dedicated to student welfare, innovative teaching, and outstanding contributions to education.
You can see the full list of winners and nominees, as well as more photos from the evening at the links below.