VIRTUAL TOUR
2016
10 AugAN IRONCLAD RESOLVE TO HELP STUDENTS SETS LECTURER APART. UCSI’s 2015 TEACH Awards sees academics integrating technology into their lessons.
KUALA LUMPUR: Assistant Professor Dr Teo Swee Sen wakes up before sunrise each morning to reach UCSI University by 6am.
The archetypal early riser is not trying to book her favourite parking spot. Instead, she seeks pristine privacy to prepare her lectures in earnest.
Dr Teo’s dedication does not go unnoticed and she was duly recognised as the Best Lecturer in 2015 in UCSI’s recent Teaching Excellence Award Commitment worth Honouring (TEACH) ceremony.
“Punctuality is a virtue and I want to ensure that I’m ready for any questions my students may pose,” says Dr Teo who heads UCSI’s Aquatic Science programme at the Faculty of Applied Sciences.
“As an academic, my students are my priority and I make it a point to be available from 6am to 11pm. There were occasions when they even rang me up at 3am but that time is off limits now. I’m a mother of two and my children also need my care.”
Dr Teo’s meticulous nature is best exemplified by the way she evenly breaks down her 90-minute lectures into three half-hour sessions that focus respectively on teaching, discussion and tutorials.
Big ideas and lessons for the day are summarised and reemphasised in the tutorial and students often leave the lecture with more insights than they first expected.
Apart from her commitment to the cause, Dr Teo also stands out for her many publications in scientific journals like the Malaysian Journal of Science and Aquatic, Aquatic Botany and the Journal of Phycology.
Food Science lecturer Dr Tan Choon Hui made it two for the Faculty when she bagged the Most Innovative Teaching and Learning Award for integrating games, crossword puzzles, word searches, online games and even role play in her lessons.
A familiar scenario sees students being grouped in pairs to play the role of a consumer and product developer in order to understand the concerns of each party effectively.
“I want my lessons to be engaging and interactive and I spice things up when necessary,” says Dr Tan. “A case study can be analysed through many different ways and things should not always be confined to the textbook.”
The Best New Lecturer Award for 2015 was awarded to Liew Kai Bin, a lecturer at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, who uses online tutorials, videos and social media to make his lessons fascinating.
“I make it a point to provide students not only with knowledge, but with insights and a bigger view of the pharmaceutical industry,” says the 30-year-old registered pharmacist.
Lessons aside, Liew has been instrumental in organising the Faculty’s annual Public Health Campaigns for the past two years, highlighting awareness of specific diseases to communities in different states.
He also stands out for completing 15 research projects, encouraging his students to contribute to the pursuit and expansion of science.
Congratulating the three award winners, UCSI vice-chancellor and president Senior Professor Dato’ Dr Khalid Yusoff said that the results were heartening as it showed how academics could make science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes engaging and fun.
“We’re happy that two of the three award winners are from the Faculty of Applied Sciences as they inculcate inquisitiveness amongst their students,” he said after the ceremony.
“I hope to see future winners from other science-based faculties. The effort to spark interest in STEM education can be championed by universities like UCSI.”
Held annually, the TEACH award celebrates the efforts of UCSI academics who provide outstanding, creative and innovative teaching that is student-focused and effective.
TEACH award winners are selected by their peers through a nomination process that is held from January to February each year.
