Teaching and learning superstars from The University of Queensland’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Law were fêted at the annual UQ Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
The Faculty’s award-winning BEL Student Employability Team (BEL SET) collected another prestigious accolade, an Award for Programs that Enhance Learning, while UQ Business School’s Associate Professor Marta Indulska received a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.
Staff and guests gathered at Customs House this week to honour the inspirational teachers who have helped cement UQ’s ranking in the world’s top 50 universities.
BEL SET Director Rhea Jain said her team was honoured to be recognised for their vital contributions to student learning and the student experience.
“It’s gratifying to know that we are adding value to our students’ professional journeys,” Ms Jain said.
“The vision for our students is to empower them to develop lifelong employability skills, take charge of their career path, gain diverse experiences and ultimately feel confident to navigate through a world of constant change.
“In the face of fierce competition and a changing professional landscape, we need to teach our students to confidently articulate their professional brand, go the extra mile and get set for their future.
“Our employability programs are purposely designed to be challenging and replicate real-life scenarios. We provide a safe environment for students to gain experiences; sometimes they fail, but from there they reflect, develop and really succeed.”
BEL SET supports more than 10,000 students from enrolment to post-graduation. The team runs 12 comprehensive experiential learning employability programs, delivered by industry and recruitment experts in partnership with employers.
Largely thanks to their efforts, the BEL graduate employment rate rose by five per cent to 79%, outperforming the national graduate employment rate of 69%*.
Representing UQ Business School, Associate Professor Indulska earned her citation for instigating and leading a full curriculum review and redevelopment of business information systems courses to improve digital literacy in business graduates.
She was also applauded for developing marketing messages to create awareness among students, and working to increase industry engagement and alignment in the curriculum.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Joanne Wright said the awards night, which marked the start of Teaching and Learning Week, was an important recognition of the dedication of teachers and their extraordinary capacity to stimulate learning and provide direction to their students.
“Providing our students with the knowledge and skills to be enterprising graduates capable of building meaningful, agile careers is at the heart of UQ’s vision of knowledge leadership for a better world,” Professor Wright said.
“We set aside this night each year to recognise and thank those teachers who extend themselves and go the extra mile to create stimulating and inspirational environments for their students.”
The awards night is the beginning of a week of acknowledgements, workshops, panel discussions and seminars designed to highlight teaching excellence and innovation at UQ. This year, Teaching and Learning Week runs from Monday 30 October to Friday 3 November.
Full award synopses are available here.
TC Beirne School of Law Professor Anthony Cassimatis was also recently recognised in the Australian Awards for University Teaching for his leadership, innovation, and scholarship, and his efforts to create a global network of international lawyers to guide and inspire students to achieve excellence.
*Based on those available for full-time employment in 2015/2016.
Award for Programs that Enhance Learning
Business, Economics and Law Student Employability Team: Ms Rhea Jain, Mr Ken Lai, Ms Jacqueline Niblett, Mr Ryan Webb, Ms Joanne Buchan, Ms Catherine Lam, Ms Cate Clifford, Ms Debbie Hathaway, Ms Carlene Kirvan
