Winner - Luke Hodson (Psychology)

I believe my role as a teacher is to work with students, to inspire them towards excellence; building on the concepts of Successful Learning, I also stress that excellence looks different for each individual. I work to create environments where co-production is prioritised, where students are active-learners; this includes smaller practices (e.g., incorporating pedagogical technology into lecturers), through to reflective assessments, and facilitating peer feedback. I seek to utilise my expertise in Positive Psychology, and wellbeing and employ this knowledge across the whole undergraduate curriculum. I also work to champion the value of diversity and inclusion in Higher Education.

About Luke

Luke is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department. Luke teaches Statistics & Research Methods and Positive Psychology covering all years; and is Senior Tutor and Deputy Director of Admissions. Luke practices a holistic, compassionate, and successful learning-based approach to teaching in order to create inspiring and effective learning environments.

Highly Commended - Tom Ritchie (Chemistry)

My teaching approach goes beyond the traditional curriculum, fostering skills for future careers and a holistic learning environment. I reimagine and adapt modules to student needs, bridging the transition gap for first years and preparing graduates with critical thinking, communication, and teamwork skills. I also demonstrate my commitment to going beyond module feedback by supporting students with professional coaching sessions that help them navigate their learning journeys and co-design module changes. My signature pedagogy impacts past the classroom, influencing student partnership and curriculum design at Warwick and beyond.

About Tom

Dr. Tom Ritchie is an Assistant Professor and Director of Student Experience in Chemistry. He's dedicated to creating a holistic learning environment for students, fostering a sense of community and belonging through his interdisciplinary modules “Beyond Science” and “Innovation 101”, as well as the We are Chemistry student experience programme.

Commended - Robert Huckstepp (Life Sciences)

I focus on deep learning with real-world applications in my teaching. I use active learning methods and immersive labs to train students how to be scientists whilst delivering course content. As curriculum lead, I created a student-staff co-designed program that better connecting course material, and improved student’s skills to meet the challenges of modern science. I champion inclusivity, and have given students a greater voice and agency over their education, whilst fostering a strong sense of community. By empowering students, I have improved their educational experience and strengthened the School-student relationship.

About Robert

Robert is an associate professor in SLS, and a lifelong learner, known for innovative teaching. As DUGS and curriculum review lead, Robert champions inclusive, student-centred learning, and drives policies enhancing student experience. By engaging in university-wide teaching initiatives, Robert shares his experience with others, whilst gaining insights from them.

Postgraduates who teach award: SEM Faculty

Winner - Alina Bendt (Physics)

The teaching experience can be a wonderful endeavour to fascinate new minds with physics. Even though as lab demonstrators we see individual students only once or twice per term, we can still make a large impact. Encouraging questions and fostering a fun and safe environment for all is important. Therefore, the students’ feedback on their experience is particularly valuable and should be encouraged. While supporting students as they come to university is very important, I find the journey really starts with outreach to younger students to encourage them to pursue this subject even if with a lack of representation.

About Alina

Alina is a German PhD student in CFSA working on space plasma turbulence. During their PhD, they are teaching first year undergraduate physics labs, and coordinating module feedback for physics courses. Alina also supports staff and students with computing enquiries within CFSA and has engaged in public outreach in schools.

Winner - Mabilly Cox (Chemistry)

Every time I teach, I feel a sense of satisfaction in being able to contribute to someone else’s growth. My experience teaching chemistry undergraduates has been extremely growth-promoting, where I could not only apply my pre-acquired skills but also develop different perspectives on teaching and on accounting for diversity and inclusion in my practice. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary nature of my knowledge has been crucial in bringing out the relevance of the topic in question to the students. Looking forward, I aim to continue improving my teaching skills with further training provided by the university.

About Mabilly

Mabilly is a pharmaceutical scientist with 5 years of medicinal organic chemistry experience and 1 year in biomedical research, currently a PhD candidate in Challis/Alkhalaf Group. Mabilly works on the interface of chemistry and life sciences, with a focus on Enacyloxin IIa and the development of improved structural analogues to tackle antibiotic-resistant infections.

Commended - Zhizhuo Su (Warwick Manufacturing Group)

My teaching narrative for the WATE PGR Awards highlights my dedication to student engagement through innovative methods. Utilizing real-life examples, like lottery tickets in online statistics lectures, I enhance engagement and comprehension. I support international students with tailored guidance, promoting inclusiveness and academic integrity. In programming labs, my personalized approach encourages active participation and customized learning, showcasing my commitment to creating an adaptive, collaborative educational environment. These efforts exemplify my capability to foster impactful, student-centred learning experiences, meeting the criteria for teaching excellence.

About Zhizhuo

Zhizhuo Su, a PhD candidate at WMG, University of Warwick, specializes in enhancing autonomous vehicle safety. As a senior graduate teaching assistant, he significantly improves MSc students' learning experiences for four years by providing customized instruction in academic skills and machine learning models for health data analysis.

Commended - Owen Tooley (Chemistry)

In the department of chemistry, most of my teaching revolves around demonstrating in teaching labs. Within this environment, I aim to provide clear scaffolding as to what is expected from the lab session, with timescales as to what we aim to do when. I believe this manages student expectations, which in turn takes uncertainty away from the lab. Outside of the lab, I also help on offer holder open days, where we introduce students to new pieces of equipment and begin to build a deeper understanding of how instrumentation is used in research, giving a wholistic overview of the subject.

About Owen

Owen is currently a PhD student at the Warwick analytical science centre for doctoral training. After completing an MChem at Cardiff University, including a year in industry working at AstraZeneca as an analytical chemist, Owen enrolled at Warwick with a focus on developing analytical techniques to characterise nanoparticles for cancer therapy.