Pilkington Prize Winners - 2011

Twelve of the University’s very best teaching talents have been honoured at the annual Pilkington Prizes awards ceremony.

This year, prizes have gone to individuals who have pioneered new methods of learning, those whose work on outreach programmes has been simply outstanding, or those who have shown an incredible capacity to connect with, and inspire students to achieve.

All are linked by their commitment to teaching of the highest possible quality.

The Pilkington Teaching Prizes were established in 1994 by businessman and alumnus of Trinity College, Sir Alastair Pilkington. The aim was to ensure that excellence in teaching at the University was given proper recognition.

The prizewinners received their awards from the Vice-Chancellor during a reception at Homerton College.

Dr Brendan Burchell, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology.

Renowned for his strong grasp of and genuine interest in his subject, he delivers quantitative methods training in a highly accessible and creative way, providing sociology students with the ability, and enthusiasm, to apply statistics to exploring their areas of interest. His introduction of a real-world research project for undergraduates has been received by the students with great enthusiasm, and has provided many opportunities for their academic career advancement.

Brendan has a hugely valued ability to relate to students, and as Director of Graduate Education he has shown great dedication to fostering a thriving research environment and sense of community amongst graduate students.

Dr Lucy Delap, College Teaching Officer and Newton Trust Associate Lecturer, Faculty of History.

Lucy Delap works determinedly to improve the quality of teaching at every level. She has been highly praised for her focus on interactive teaching, openly inviting students to interrupt lectures with their own points, in support of more active learning. Students value her overriding enthusiasm and passion for her subject, which both inspires and provides entirely new historical perspectives.

Lucy set up a mentoring scheme in collaboration with colleagues, in which faculty attend each others' lectures and provide feedback on teaching techniques. This has now been officially adopted as a central feature of the staff support system, and is successfully promoting the spread of good practice, enhanced standards of teaching and good relationships across the faculty.

Dr Mark Gurnell, University Lecturer, Department of Medicine

In 2005, clinical medical education in Cambridge was undergoing major change. Mark took on the role of Speciality Director for Medicine, responsible for one of the major subjects in the new curriculum. In this role he provided exemplary leadership in the introduction, maintenance and revision of the new programme.

Mark is a popular teacher, and a successful Director of Clinical Studies at Sidney Sussex College, a role in which he supervises students from all six years of the course.

Mr Andy Jefferies, Director of Teaching, Department of Veterinary Medicine

Andy Jefferies has been Director of Teaching in the Department of Veterinary Medicine since the post was introduced in the early 1990s.

Drawing on his broad experience and understanding of all aspects of the veterinary profession, he has made many innovations in the courses that have greatly enhanced students' understanding of the subject as a whole. He has played a key role in facilitating reviews of the teaching programme by external bodies, including the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and his sustained effort has been rewarded with successful outcomes for the course.

Dr Barry Kingston, University Senior Lecturer, Department of Pathology

His exemplary standard of teaching leads his lectures to consistently achieve the highest student appreciation scores. He is organiser of many key pathology courses, and acts as Graduate Education Officer for student progression and monitoring.

His extensive contributions include serving on the Education and Admissions Committees of the Vet School, acting as co-ordinator for the Wellcome Trust four-year PhD programme in Infection and Immunity, and serving on the School of Biological Sciences Undergraduate Admissions Committee.

Dr David Oldfield, Affiliated Lecturer, Department of History of Art

David Oldfield has been an Affiliated Lecturer in the Department of History of Art since 2003. His substantial contribution to teaching the History of Art Tripos has been absolutely pivotal to its success.

Through his teaching, and his role as a Director of Studies at six colleges over the years, David has become the only member of his Department to be familiar with every one of its students. He is always in great demand as a dissertation supervisor across a wide variety of topics, and students greatly value his advice on their educational and professional development, to which he is deeply committed.

Dr David Perry, Consultant Haematologist, Addenbrooke's Hospital and University Associate Lecturer, School of Clinical Medicine

David enthusiastically led the introduction of a successful large scale programme of 'Student Selected Components' into the clinical curriculum, through which students can pursue their particular interests in greater depth. He actively encourages the study of a modern language as part of this programme, which has been invaluable to many students in preparation for their clinical placement abroad.

David is known for his enthusiasm for e-learning, and is in great demand by students wishing to work with him in creating e-learning materials, such as those in haematology to be introduced to the Pathology teaching and learning programme in 2011. He has extended this into the postgraduate sphere, authoring two popular educational websites on topics in haematology.

Dr Paul Russell, College Teaching Officer and Affiliated Lecturer, Faculty of Mathematics.

Paul Russell's excellent teaching style has been reflected in his students' feedback over the past two years. He has had great success in encouraging student interest in notoriously difficult subjects, and his skill in teaching complex mathematics has made subjects such as Graph Theory much more accessible.

Dr David Scott, Deputy Head (Teaching), Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology

He has been instrumental in introducing new teaching modules that have broadened the undergraduate curriculum, to the considerable benefit of students.

David has examined and been Chairman of Examiners in all parts of the Tripos. He has taken on the highest level of responsibility for the management of teaching activities in the Department, and provides expert and reliable guidance to the Head of Department in all teaching matters. The success of the Chemical Engineering Tripos is in very large part attributable to David's dedicated work.

Dr Hugh Shercliff, University Senior Lecturer, Department of Engineering

Hugh has implemented new styles of practical teaching, and generated a range of new, highly successful teaching materials, including innovative online video clips explaining key concepts to students to complement his first-year Materials lectures. He has also revised an existing self-study text on Phase Diagrams, a topic that is notoriously difficult, adding supporting multi-media materials that have transformed students' understanding of the subject.

As Director of Undergraduate Education for Engineering, Hugh has been strongly supportive of the Department's staff, implementing measures to make administrative work more efficient and encouraging high quality teaching. Hugh combines the imagination and vision to lead the development of the Engineering Course, with the logistic and management skills that result in efficient practical implementation.

Professor David Ward, Head of Physics Teaching, Department of Physics

David Ward has consistently been named by students as amongst the best and most approachable teachers in the Department of Physics. Lecturing and supervising across the entire Tripos, his well-organised, generous and warm style of teaching takes a subject that can be intimidating for many students and makes it accessible.

David brings great rigour and care to the design of courses, course structure, practical classes and practical teaching methods. As Head of Physics Teaching for the last few years, he led a redesign of the complete course structure and content across all years. This has had evident positive outcomes in student satisfaction and participation.

Dr Charles Weiss, Language Teaching Officer, Faculty of Classics

Since joining the Faculty of Classics in 2003, Charlie Weiss has almost single-handedly transformed the provision of learning materials for undergraduates studying Greek and Latin at Cambridge. Addressing the scarcity of accessible learning materials for his subjects, he has worked tirelessly to create a dedicated online resource for students.

Launched last summer on a Camtools site, this has already proved invaluable to the Faculty's delivery of the ancient languages, for both students and academics. His most recent initiative is a suite of online and printed materials designed to help incoming students the summer before coming into residence.


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