This year's Pilkington Prizes for Teaching Excellence in the School of Biological Sciences have been awarded to Sue Jones, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience and Tim Weil, Deputy Head of School for Undergraduate Strategy and Associate Professor in the Department of Zoology.
The Pilkington Prizes for Teaching Excellence are awarded to individuals who make an outstanding contribution to teaching at the University of Cambridge. They were endowed and inaugurated in 1994 by Sir Alastair Pilkington to acknowledge excellence in teaching and are coordinated by the Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning.
Sue Jones
University Senior Lecturer
Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience
On receiving the award, Sue Jones said, "It is an enormous honour to be awarded a Pilkington Teaching Prize at the University of Cambridge, one of the best teaching Universities in the world! The opportunity to interact with our incredibly smart undergraduate students is one of the highlights of my job. For the past 20 years I have always found it immensely satisfying and rewarding to create ways to make the learning experience of our students engaging and fun as well as interesting and effective, and especially so during the pandemic, so to receive a prize for doing this is unexpected- but truly wonderful. Many of my University Teaching Officer colleagues in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience as well as our professional teaching support staff are passionate about teaching. They have created a teaching-centric environment that I have always valued and appreciated. I would like to thank them, because it is their support, advice and encouragement that enabled me to develop new courses and re-design existing ones. It has also been fantastic to work with the SBS Digital Learning Technologists, Stuart Humphries and Hamish Adams."
Tim Weil
Deputy Head of School - Undergraduate Strategy
Associate Professor, Department of Zoology
Tim Weil said, “Working with enthusiastic, curious, and intelligent students makes teaching at Cambridge a joy. The inquisitiveness and depth of knowledge keeps me on my toes, and I think brings out the best in all of us as educators. It is especially rewarding when students connect with the material presented. I also find it rewarding when students inquire about opportunities in the field of interest and seek life advice on their future. I appreciate receiving this award and am honoured to be a part of the rich teaching tradition in the Department of Zoology. Finally, I share this recognition with all those who support teaching in the School of the Biological Sciences.”
Read more about the 2022 Prize Winners.