Exeter academic recognised for excellence in teaching

The Higher Education Academy (HEA) is today (28 July 2011) awarding National Teaching Fellowships to 55 lecturers and learning support staff. The award winners were chosen from over 200 nominations submitted by higher education institutions across England, Northern Ireland and, for the first time, Wales. Each will receive an award of £10,000 which may be used for Fellows’ professional development in teaching and learning.

Based in the University of Exeter’s Graduate School of Education since 2000, Will Katene began teaching in the mid 1980s. He has extensive experience in teaching physical education (PE) to secondary school pupils and lecturing in PE, sport sciences and education to students at undergraduate and postgraduate level. 

Will Katene said: “I am absolutely delighted to have received this prestigious National Teaching Fellowship Award. I would like to thank my colleagues, many of them are leading experts in Education, for their professional support and to my students for their passion for learning. I am dedicated to continually embodying research-led teaching, where my research shapes both how I teach and what I teach, so it is wonderful to have had this recognition.”

University of Exeter Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Janice Kay said: “Will Katene is an inspiring and innovative teacher who enjoys the respect of his students, his peers and the senior management of the University. Will embodies research-led teaching: his research shapes both how and what he teaches. He is passionately committed to excellence and has high expectations of himself and his students. In the seminar room and in his professional activities, Will acts as a role model for others.”

The 55 awards have recognised lecturers and learning support staff from a wide range of disciplines including geography, law, music, sport, psychiatry, English, medicine and economics.

Professor Craig Mahoney, Chief Executive of the HEA said: “I would like to congratulate all of the successful nominees.  During my first year as Chief Executive at the HEA I have been privileged to meet many National Teaching Fellows across the country and have been inspired by their work and achievements. Their commitment and expertise are an inspiration to academics and students alike across the sector. 

“The dedication of the 55 new Fellows announced today is to be applauded and provides further evidence of the high quality innovative practices that students paying fees will increasingly expect to experience in higher education.”

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme is part of an overall HEA programme to inspire and celebrate teacher excellence. It is funded by the Higher Education Funding Councils for England (HEFCE) and Wales (HEFCW) and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland (DELNI).

Along with the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme, the HEA’s work in teacher excellence includes the accreditation of institution's professional development programmes and individual recognition for staff who meet the criteria of the UK Professional Standards Framework.  

The new National Teaching Fellows will officially receive their awards at a ceremony which will take place in London on Wednesday 5 October 2011.