Miri – 20 October 2023 – Three academics of Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia), the largest global campus of Curtin University, have been recognised for learning and teaching excellence by the university at its recent Festival of Learning Award Ceremony and Curtin Academy Fellow Inductions 2023.
The Teaching Excellence Awards give recognition to teachers (individuals and teams) renowned for the excellence of their teaching, who have outstanding presentation skills, and who have made a broad and deep contribution to enhancing the quality of learning and teaching at Curtin University.
Associate Professor Sujan Debnath of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science won an ‘Award for Teaching Excellence for University Associates’, a category of teaching award introduced in 2017 to recognise teaching excellence and the contribution to student learning by Curtin’s global community of university associates who teach at the university’s onshore and offshore locations, including Curtin Malaysia.
Recipients are selected based on their approaches to teaching and the support of learning that influence, motivate and inspire students to learn. This may include fostering student development, effective and empathetic guidance and advice, promoting equity and participation, encouraging student engagement, inspiring and motivating students, and others.
Sujan was awarded on the merits of his teaching practices, which focus on explaining engineering concepts through industrial application. Student feedback in teaching evaluation surveys have reaffirmed his excellent command of subject matter and his adeptness in making them more comprehensible to students.
Curtin Malaysia’s Pro Vice-Chancellor, President and Chief Executive, Prof. Simon Leunig, in congratulating Sujan, remarked, “Sujan’s teaching strategies align perfectly with Curtin’s Graduate Capabilities, enabling graduates to be entrepreneurial, globally-engaged, digitally-competent, industry-connected, and career-capable. His pedagogical prowess has also resulted in him being made a Senior Fellow of the prestigious Advance HEA.”
Meanwhile, Associate Professor Raymond Chiong of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering won an ‘Outstanding Contribution to Learning and Teaching Award (Individual, Global Campus)’.
This award, introduced in 2023, recognises teachers at Curtin’s global campuses renowned for the excellence of their teaching, who have outstanding presentation skills, and who have made a broad and deep contribution to enhancing the quality of learning and teaching. Award criteria include influence on student learning and the student experience, the breadth of impact of their works, their demonstrated creativity, imagination and innovation, and their collaboration and teamwork.
Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Science, Prof. Tuong-Thuy Vu, said Chiong has played a pivotal role in providing direction and leadership to his colleagues to enhance the learning and teaching experience for students in his role as the Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching of the Faculty.
“Associate Professor Chiong’s dedication to maintaining high teaching standards and introducing student-centred has greatly benefited the students. His commitment to student success is evident through consistently high student satisfaction rates in our teaching evaluation surveys, resulting in him winning multiple Students’ Choice Awards over the years,” said Prof. Vu.
A third accolade was achieved by Curtin Malaysia’s Dean of Learning and Teaching, Professor Tang Fu Ee, who was inducted into the Curtin Academy as an Associate Fellow.
The Curtin Academy has been established to recognise, reward, enable and extend excellence in teaching at the university, nationally and internationally. The Curtin Academy is a unique and vibrant community of academics and an active and honorary network of leaders who are committed to teaching excellence and the pursuit of the scholarship of teaching and learning at Curtin University. Inductees are selected based on their proven track record of leadership in learning and teaching and evidence-based research and/or scholarship in higher education.
Prof. Leunig commended Prof. Tang for being a beacon in Curtin Malaysia’s learning and teaching domain, establishing an excellent track record for leadership in learning and teaching, and mentoring academic staff to achieve excellence in teaching.
“He is actively involved in scholarship in higher education through his affiliation with professional engineers, to enhance authentic learning. As the Dean of Learning and Teaching, he has significantly improved learner engagement, developing effective tactical strategies which have resulted in tremendous improvement in student engagement,” said Prof. Leunig.
Prof. Tang expressed both pride and joy in being inducted into the Curtin Academy, saying he was looking forward to contributing to the Academy by facilitating greater and more meaningful interdisciplinary exchanges between the faculties at Curtin Malaysia and Curtin’s main campus in Perth. He is also keen to help link Malaysian and Sarawakian industry and academics with the Academy.
“These achievements follow a whole string of awards and fellowships received by our staff for teaching and research excellence of late, demonstrating the significant ramping up of scholarship and research at our campus over the last four years. With regards to Advance HEA Fellowships, we have the third-largest number of fellows in various categories among institutions in Malaysia, which in itself speaks volumes of the quality of our learning and teaching,” said Prof. Leunig.
Information on Curtin Malaysia can be found on its website at www.curtin.edu.my, or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Tik-Tok.
Online Education Fair 线上教育展
Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia)
科廷大学马来西亚分校
https://edufair.fsi.com.my/curtin
