Teaching Award success for School of Physics and Astronomy staff
Congratulations to Professor Judy Hardy and Dr Jean-Christophe Denis for their success in the 2021 EUSA Teaching Awards.
Professor Hardy won the award for Personal Tutor of the Year. Personal Tutors provide academic guidance and support to students. Comments in support of Judy’s nomination include: “[She is] extremely generous with her time, she always made her students feel valued. She is the epitome of what a good personal tutor should be: kind, caring and committed to helping her students.”
Dr Denis received the award for Support Staff of the Year. Jean-Christophe (or JC as he is known by students and staff) works as Outreach Officer and runs a Physics Outreach Team of students. Feedback in support of JC’s nomination include: “His support from the start and especially throughout this very challenging year has been invaluable to me and thanks to this I feel like I have grown a lot both as a science communicator and personally.”
Professor Hardy commented:
I was incredibly touched to be nominated, and then when I heard that I’d been shortlisted, it was actually quite difficult to take in. So I’d like to thank EUSA for this recognition. Without question, it’s a real boost. Being a Personal Tutor is part of a team effort, so I’d also like to thank my colleagues, including our outstanding Student Support Team. But especially I’d like to thank the students who nominated me. It really does mean a great deal to know that what we do makes a difference.
Dr Denis reported:
I would like to sincerely thank all of the students who nominated me and wrote such heart-warming statements. Working with students is a favourite part of my job, but in a world impacted by COVID, my work has been radically changed and the way I work with students has been challenged. I’m still not sure I have been able to provide the same level of quality interactions as usual, but these nominations and this victory reassures me in thinking that I positively impacted the lives of some students at least.
EUSA Teaching Awards
Staff play a pivotal role in the student experience at Edinburgh, from lecturers and tutors to supervisors, Personal Tutors and professional services staff. The annual Teaching Awards provide students with an opportunity to thank staff for their hard work and celebrate the very best of teaching and support at the University. Over 1300 staff received over 2800 nominations, all of which were reviewed by a student shortlisting panel. Many congratulations on the winners, nominees, and all those who have continued to provide an excellent standard of teaching and student support during a time of challenging personal and professional circumstances.