2008 winners

Excellence in Teaching

Winner - Dr Yenna SalamonsonYennasmall

Dr Yenna Salamonson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Yenna has committed over 20 years of her academic career to creating a positive learning experience for students in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Yenna's areas of expertise are in cardiovascular nursing, pharmacology and quantitative research methods. Yenna is highly regarded by her peers in the School, with the College formally recognising her contribution to teaching and learning by awarding her a Learning and Teaching Citation this year. Yenna has actively supported the learning experience of the School's international students, and for those whom English is a second language. Yenna consistently scores high results in SEEQ and SFT surveys. Yenna is a key figure in the School's assessment processes, having developed processes in managing student assessment results, in consultation with the Director of Teaching and Learning. Yenna is currently lead investigator in four new educational research projects, with academic collaborators from the School of Medicine, School of Biomedical and Health Sciences and School of Engineering. Yenna's nomination has been strongly supported by her School.

Highly Commended - Dr Guy CurtisGuy-CurtisDr Guy Curtis is a Lecturer with the School of Psychology. Guy is an enthusiastic and dedicated teacher. He stands out for his capacity to question established ways of doing things, and for generating fresh innovative ideas for improving learning and teaching in the contemporary context. Guy has a genuine ability to engage students in their learning and to provide the kind of support and encouragement that motivates and assists students to achieve their full potential.

Excellence in Professional Service

Winner - Ms Janelle DavisJanelle-Davis
Ms Janelle Davis is Relationships Manager UWS/VET, Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching). Janelle has successfully established articulation policies and procedures as well as a central contact point for Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers to communicate with UWS. Janelle has created and implemented a system to establish, maintain and update articulation agreements and promote partner initiatives with the VET sector. Janelle has also standardised a system for communicating pathways or credit transfer to potential students. Janelle chairs a VET Transition Project team to identify and address transition issues for VET students studying at UWS. She has worked closely with the Office of the Academic Registrar to develop an electronic system for confirming student pathways credit, and with the Office of Marketing to promote VET pathways. Janelle's nomination was strongly supported both internally and externally.

Commended - Ms Sue ThomasCommended - Ms Sue Thomas
Ms Sue Thomas is Community Engagement Facilitator, Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (University Engagement). Sue's professional service achievements embody an exemplary commitment to engagement through public service, outreach, engaged teaching and learning, research and evaluation. Her professional contributions demonstrate authentic community engagement, responding to community partners and regional community needs to developing mutually beneficial partnerships.

Commended - International Admissions TeamInternational-Admissions-Team

The team has embraced structural change and business process re-engineering to improve performance in support of the University's strategic goals and targets for international onshore student income. The team has been instrumental in turning around UWS' reputation in the International workplace. In 18 months they have adopted new practices to reduce the response time for an application. This has played a crucial role in increasing the international student numbers in 2008 for the first time in four years.

Excellence in Postgraduate Research Training and Supervision

Winner - Professor Bob Hodge
Bob-hodge2
Professor Bob Hodge is a Professor with the Centre for Cultural Research. Bob has advanced interdisciplinary higher degree research (HDR) supervision across an extraordinary range of perspectives and topics. He frequently assumes principal supervisory responsibilities for candidates with difficult candidatures. Bob holds inspiring workshops for HDR candidates and makes an important strategic contribution to the Centre for Cultural Research HDR Committee and has been instrumental in shaping the innovative Doctorate of Cultural Research program. Between 2006 and 2008 Bob has had eight HDR completions as principal supervisor and four as second supervisor. Bob has, almost single-handedly, developed an innovative coursework program to guide the Centre's HDR candidates at all stages of their degrees. He has pioneered the introduction of an innovative professional doctorate that links UWS research to industry, community and government needs.

Highly Commended - Music Research Supervisors' Group
The Music Research Supervisors' Group is a dynamic group that has generated an exceptionally positive research culture and that has provided both successful supervision and exemplary mentoring in the broader sense of promoting professional opportunities. The Music Research Supervisors' Group has a good record of postgraduate completions and demonstrates outstanding performance by supervisors assisting candidates to achieve standards of excellence.

Excellence in University Engagement

Winner - Dr Loshini Naidoo
Loshini2
Dr Loshini Naidoo is a Lecturer with the School of Education. Loshini has facilitated and nurtured collaborative partnerships between the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) and the NSW Department of Education and Training (DET) as well as ongoing dialogue with disenfranchised communities, such as the African refugee community in the western and south western regions of Sydney. Loshini is helping to build student and community capacity through service learning and is providing authentic models of service learning and scholarship around these models. Loshini is coordinator of the Refugee Action Support and Crossing Borders programs and is a mentor to Chinese academic teaching staff on Chinese scholarship programs studying with the School of Education at UWS.

Highly Commended - "Real-Life" Computing ProjectsThe "Real Life" Computing Projects team's main responsibility is to coordinate teams of students in their final undergraduate year to identify a business problem, analyse and design a solution and develop software. Students have the opportunity to deal with industry partners to solve computing and IT related 'real-world' problems.  The project team have developed numerous industry partnerships that have provided the basis for the projects. The "Real Life" Computing Projects Team has become an intrinsic part of the School of Computing and Mathematics' strategic move towards the engaged learning experience.

Excellence on Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Commended - Education Knowledge Network

educationknowledgeThe Education Knowledge Network team has successfully introduced an annual program of teacher professional learning, completely endorsed by the NSW Institute of Teachers, throughout western and south western Sydney. This program is extremely important in providing a basis for the School of Education's future entrepreneurial activity and profile in the NSW education community.