Student Academic Choice Awards shortlist revealed

The shortlist for this year’s Student Academic Choice Awards (SACAs) has been revealed.

48 staff from across a number of departments are shortlisted for eight awards, including Best Teaching for Undergraduates, Best Support Staff, and Best Supervision. This year 935 staff members were nominated, with 1,868 nominations submitted in total – the highest number since the SACAs began in 2013. Nick Burstow, Deputy President (Education), who is one of the leads for SACAs organisation, told Felix: “Our Academic and Wellbeing Representatives did a fantastic job sifting through the huge number of nominations to whittle it down to these final few.”

A number of nominees have previously been recognised in the SACAs: Dr Steve Cook, from the Department of Life Science, for example, has been nominated for Best Tutoring this year, having been awarded Best Teaching for Undergraduates in 2015.

Giskin Day, a course lead for the Imperial Horizons programme, and course director for the intercalated BSc in Medical Science with Humanities, Philosophy & Law, has been nominated for the Best Innovation award. It awards staff who have made use of “imaginative use of technology” and “early adoption of new methods”.

Day told Felix she was “absolutely delighted” by the nomination: “Student appreciation really boosts the morale of teachers who care about the education experience. It is heartening to see that, in these days of high fees, students don't view education merely as a service transaction but as something worth expressing gratitude for. It certainly makes the effort we put into teaching feel very worthwhile.”

Burstow said “it was a pleasure to read through the nominations and see just how much of a positive impact Imperial staff have had on students. It was incredibly difficult choosing just six shortlistees per category, and even harder picking a winner.”

The shortlisted candidates are invited to the prize ceremony on Monday 14th May, where the winners will be revealed.