Rector's Awards for Excellence

Two members of staff from our department have been recognised for their excellent contributions to teaching and the student experience in 2012.

For her work in Industrial Liaison and Careers, Clare Drysdale wins an award for excellence in Supporting the Student Experience.

Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Tim Green said, "Clare has made an outstanding contribution to establishing industrial internships as a part of the student experience. We know that students can be at a serious disadvantage when applying for employment without meaningful experience and valuable lessons learned from placements. Clare has identified many ways to connect students with companies in the UK and overseas. She has made a huge effort to identify companies and works with them to make them aware of the quality of our students, and make students aware of the opportunities in relevant sectors."

One of Clare's major contributions has been to produce a series of careers videos featuring practicing electrical engineers in a variety of fields. These videos are aimed at helping our students understand what an engineer does in different roles in different sectors.

Furthermore, when our students requested more industry lectures, Clare put this in place and arranged a series of lunchtime industry talks using the contacts she has established. 

Professor Green added, "Clare has built up our support for internships and career development using her own judgement and ideas, and her achievements have been remarkable. The outcome is that one third of first year students, and two thirds of second year students had summer placements last year, in large measure because of her efforts. We now have a growing list of companies willing and eager to take our students and cohorts of students who have fuller CVs and are better prepared for future selection processes."

What our students say: Clare Drysdale has been instrumental to providing an excellent student experience to undergraduates in the Department. Clare is very easy to talk to and is always interested in students, their work and extra-curricular activities. She without a doubt goes out of her way to ensure that students are enjoying their time whilst at Imperial. Clare has been an immense support throughout my three years in college. Whether it's putting in touch with someone or helping arrange large events, she never refuses to help. She helps create a friendly, 'looked-after' environment for us and very much values our opinions and suggestions.

For excellence in teaching, Dr Yiannis Demiris will also receive the Teaching Excellence Award in  Engineering Education. Professor Green praised Yiannis as "an outstanding teacher who has consistently delivered modules to the highest standards over many years. His teaching is very popular with students due to his ability to inspire and interest them while putting across concepts in fundamental form without diluting them or hiding the difficult aspects. He is especially good at pitching his material to suit his audience and prepares materials of the highest quality.

In his recent new robotics module he took the difficult and time-consuming route of devising extensive coursework to allow the student to experience creativity in his subject. The students were so proud of their coursework achievements that they put together videos of their work and posted them on YouTube. They also used their own time to take the robots out on to Exhibition Road and greet the crowds visiting the museums. Inspiring and equipping the students so that they want to do this is fantastic."

What our students say: Even at 9am Dr Demiris can keep everyone awake with a very lively way of lecturing, at the same time efficiently explaining the material. His lectures are interesting and involving. He is very approachable, encourages questions and makes sure that everyone understands all the issues. He is such a genius and gives immediate and full answers to our problems. He's enthusiastic lecturer who cares about students. The lectures are well-delivered and concepts are explained very well. He is also extremely polite and always welcomes feedback.