In this blog Callum Paterson, Academic Engagement & Policy Coordinator at the Students’ Association, shares details about the final two categories in this years’ Teaching Awards: Outstanding Commitment to Social Justice and Sustainability, and the new Sabbatical Officers’ Student Voice Award. This post belongs to the Hot Topic: EUSA Teaching Awards 2024↗️.
The 2024 Teaching awards winners↗️
We’ve reached our final two categories! Both categories are hugely important to students and celebrate staff who have shown genuine commitments to social justice, sustainability, and to student voice.
Outstanding Commitment to Social Justice and Sustainability
This award exists to celebrate staff who empowered students to think critically about the world we live in; reflected the diverse global perspectives and experiences represented across our expansive University community, while addressing contemporary issues of sustainability and social justice through their work.
Our winner is Inga Ackermann. Inga is the coordinator for students on the Mastercard Foundation Online Scholars’ Programme, which supports online students in Africa. Inga demonstrated a genuine commitment to their learning, wellbeing, and sense of community despite the physical distance. Inga was described as having a deep understanding of the context that her students live in and the issues that affect them, continuously working to mitigate them as much as possible. She has also made real efforts to provide opportunities for her students to express their views and has shown dedication to making sure they feel part of the Edinburgh community. Inga was described as not just a member of staff, but a role model and friend to her students. Alongside all of this, Inga also sits on the university’s Refugee, Asylum, and At-Risk Advisory Group and coordinates the university’s annual Refugee Week.
The runners up for this award are: Simone Ferracina, nominated for his ambitious and timely Radical Harvest studio which explores responsible architecture in a world where construction makes up a significant proportion of total emissions; and Lindsey Horner, described as one of the most dynamic and engaging professors her students have ever had and covering issues related to peace, conflict, and development while avoiding essentialisations and black-and-white thinking.
Sabbatical Officers’ Student Voice Award
New for 2024, the Student Voice Award was introduced to thank a member of staff who has gone above and beyond in including, empowering, and elevating student voice. Only student representatives could nominate in this category, and our five Sabbatical Officers then reviewed the nominations and selected our winner – Mariya Levitanus.
Mariya demonstrated a steadfast dedication towards all her students, and in particular to her LGBTQ+ students – many of whom are from societies where queerness is a source of vulnerability and concealment. Mariya’s classroom has become a sanctuary of authenticity and acceptance, giving hope for these underrepresented groups within and beyond the academic sphere. From integrating queer perspectives as well as projects around topics such as decolonisation, she has created a safe and inclusive space that has empowered her students to explore their own interests and research within the field, helping them to see that such research is not just important for personal and academic growth, but that it can also serve as a platform for activism and advocacy. This has also empowered their students to make their valuable voices and unique perspectives heard.
Mariya’s nomination was driven by the profound and lasting impact she has had on students’ personal and academic development. From enriching their understanding of counselling through a lens of diversity and inclusivity by including and empowering them to use their voices, inspiring them to pursue paths that advocate for human rights, equity, and the empowerment of marginalized voices in their future careers.
As we end this series on the 2024 Teaching Awards, I want to say a huge thank you and congratulations to our winners: Mariya, Inga, Simone, Asad, Inma, Dawn, Dimitrios, Aliandra, Claire, Aletta, and Rosie.
And to all our over 1,000 nominees, a massive well done! I hope you are all incredibly proud of your work, for students to take time to nominate you shows the impact you have had on them already, and that I’m sure you will continue to have.
Callum Paterson
Callum Paterson is the Academic Engagement & Policy Coordinator within the Student Voice team at the Students’ Association. Alongside coordinating the Teaching Awards, he works with Programme and School Representatives as well as the Vice President Education, supporting and empowering them to make their voices heard on the issues that matter most to them.
