Centre for Biological Sciences excellence in teaching awarded

The 2014 Excellence in Teaching Awards (ETA's) were hosted at the Highfield Campus on Thursday 8th May and we were very proud to say that we had ten members of staff nominated from the Centre for Biological Sciences.

The ETA's are an annual event hosted by the Students Union at University of Southampton. The ETA's give our student's the opportunity to recognise the support of the staff that teach them and show how that teaching has had a real impact on their academic experience.

The categories for the awards are:

• Outstanding Lecturer
• Teaching & Learning Lifetime Achievement
• Innovative Teaching
• Best Feedback Provision
• Contribution to Academic Support

Dr Felix Eigenbrod was named faculty winner for 'Innovative Teaching'. The reason behind his win was his interaction with students in lectures and impact this has had in their learning.

'Felix teaches within a clear and explicit framework, making aims and objectives clear from the beginning of the lecture and reinforcing ideas with student participation via Q&A interactive zappers. It is clear that he has put thought and effort into the way in which he presents topics in order to make lectures clear. Interacting with us throughout the lecture not only keeps us awake but provides him with feedback about how well we've understood. He has actively responded to this feedback on several occasions, updating power points in response to students' comments and responses. He has also arranged seminars for further interactive learning and provides all literature he references in lectures on Blackboard. Furthermore, he seems to have confidence in the abilities of the student audience which creates an encouraging learning environment.'

Nash Matinyarare was named faculty winner for 'Contribution to Academic Support', with his enthusiatic and fun approach to teaching.

'Nash Matinyarare is the best PhD supervisor within biological sciences. He instils passion into his student with his continued enthusiasm for Neuroscience. Out of all the nominations Nash received the most votes within biological sciences and definitely deserves the award. He encourages students to think and learn by encouraging questions and is willing to go the extra mile to help any of his students out. He truly makes learning fun and doesn't leave anyone behind.'

The Excellence in Teaching Awards allows students across the university to highlight, recognise, and celebrate their favourite members of staff. Alongside high performing National Student survey scores this is a tremendous acknowledgment of the high esteem in which our undergraduate students view the biological sciences degree programmes offered at Southampton University.