This document recognizes outstanding teachers, researchers, and student support staff from Sheffield Hallam University for 2013. It provides short nominations and testimonials from students about the positive impact, passion, and support demonstrated by these inspirational educators. The nominations describe how the educators make learning engaging and enjoyable, push students to achieve their full potential, and go above and beyond to help students succeed in their academic and personal lives.

1. Inspirational Teaching Awards
2013

2. Inspirational Teachers

3. Dr Andrew Garrard
... can keep my attention even if I've
got a horrific hang over and I'll still
learn something.
The course content is exactly what I
need, his teaching methods are ideal
and student focused and makes it a
pleasure to come to his lectures
Been totally awesome and supportive!

4. Katy Carroll
• … has incredible and intriguing
lectures for contextual studies.
• I was always intrigued by what
she had to say. I may not have
always engaged with the
contextual studies modules but I
always had the utmost respect for
Katy.
• She is extremely enthusiastic and
passionate about what she
teaches us. This makes it a much
more enjoyable experience and a
lot easier to learn a difficult
subject!

5. Liz Erett
• Liz is the reason that I'm going
to graduate and have a degree
in Mathematics. ... You can
genuinely tell how much she
cares about us all.
• Makes me think about new
ideas
• She has given me more
confidence in myself a my
ability

6. Dr Mehmet Bülent Özcan
• … told our class how producing
algorithms wasn't easy for him at
first, during his student days.
However through extra work he
has become an expert in his field
(this has made me do extra work
something I never would have
done otherwise.)
• ... always inspiring people to push
further and go further.
• … always knows what level the
class are working at and which
topics need more covering in more
depth. He is also easy to talk to
and treats students with respect.

7. Dr Mohammed Islam
• ... one of the reasons I applied for
Sheffield Hallam as on the Open
Day he was so enthusiastic and
you could tell that he thoroughly
enjoyed his job. He is a pleasure
to be taught by and I also look
forward to his lectures because of
his friendly, funny and hard
working nature.
• Unique lecture style makes
difficult course material easier to
cope with.
• He made me open minded to
things that involve the world of
aerospace.

8. Steve Harriman
• Straight forward, no-nonsense and
honest.
• Provided me with the confidence
and knowledge to improve my
communication and management
skills and realises my potential. A
true asset to your university !
• Real down to earth bloke who
made the classes so interesting a
pleasure to be involved with. He
liked to have a bit of banter which
was good and always had a laugh
but could be serious about
something 5 minutes later. Top
man.

9. Dr Douglas Fraser
• Inspiring and passionate about what he
teaches. … Puts a smile on my face and
looked forward to his lectures.
• ... He is engaging, entertaining and his
fascination with all of the topics he has
covered is contagious. I am quite a
introverted person and Doug always gets
me involved and reinforces it with positive
responses. He is a world class teacher!
• After short conversation in the education
exhibition in Beijing, I decided to became
a student at SHU where I may get a
chance to reach my goal.

10. Dr Edwyn Anderton
• Every lesson is fantastic and
engaging, I learn so much in each
lesson and gain so many ideas for
when I begin teaching! My whole
class look forward to his lessons.
• He has made Science exciting for
me and I find it easy to understand
things that confused me before. It
is a nice change from the GCSE
science that I was used to.
• Demonstrated how teaching
should be done - a real passion
for his subject!

11. Dr Liz Laycock
• Encouraged us to enjoy university
life but take work seriously. Get
the balance right.
• Motivated me get off my ass and
do some bloody work.
• Lecturers are paid to tell us
information, and it doesn't really
matter how they tell us. This
lecturer tells us as if she's a
performer and in an entertaining
fashion, even though we all still sit
there looking bored and not
replying when she talks to us. She
doesn't have to be like that, but
she is.

12. Mark Edwards
• … makes even the dullest of subjects
interesting. He is always enthusiastic
and always takes the time and effort to
make sure you are ok in yourself and
not just focused on the work. If you
have a problem and attend his lectures
and seminars he will do what ever he
can to rectify your problem.
• When I was applying for a place at the
university, he corresponded with me
regularly and answered any questions
that I had. He met with me at short
notice for a discussion about which
course would best suit me and he
made me feel confident that Sheffield
Hallam was the right university for me.

13. Dr Susan McPherson
• ... committed to getting the very best out
of her students. I love the way she
challenges and encourages at the same
time.
• Her seminars are the best I have ever
been in.
• ... clearly passionate about her subject
and this encourages students to be
enthusiastic about their work. Sue also
has a harsh but fair outlook towards her
role as a tutor and you can genuinely
tell she has your best interests at heart.
Sue will push her students to achieve
their full potential, she has an excellent
approach to teaching!

14. Claire Craig
• ... bringing life into the most
dullest of lectures.
• Just given me the confidence I
needed before I started my
current placement.
• ... has an incredible passion for
what she does and how she
can use her skills and
knowledge not only to benefit
others in practice but to
educate people around the
world with her vast experience
and research.

15. Dr David Smith
• His knowledge and experience are clear
to the group when explaining
experiments. He continuously ensures
we have understood the topic.
• ... beyond enthusiastic in every lecture
and make me want to turn up and listen.
• ...very passionate and fun lecturer and
his lectures have been a highlight for
me personally. He reaffirmed my love of
science and as a result I want to go on
to do a PhD, carry out research and try
and impart knowledge to students in an
interesting and inspiring way.

16. Jane Foggin
• Every lecture she holds is
motivating, interesting and useful
no matter what the content is.
• A very fine educator!!!
• She gave me a chance ...
• She makes learning fun and
interesting without losing the
seriousness of the issues being
discussed. Instead of talking at
us, she takes us on a learning
journey with her.

17. Jane Gurman
• Always has time for her
students, listens and has a sense
of humour so lectures are never
dull.
• She just always seems like she's
having a good time, she knows
how to make lectures fun and
enjoyable and at the same time is
actually teaching us valuable and
necessary knowledge.
• She is such a fantastic woman
who can inspire a higher learning
capability through her teaching
style.

18. Tracey Briggs
• … is excellent at relating theory to
practice, and her sessions are always
enjoyable and engaging.
• ... very knowledgeable, and is
passionate about her subject. She
creates exciting and interesting
seminars, and openly and honestly
shares her own personal and
professional experiences. I found her
classes inspirational.
• She has always encourage us to be
hard working and aim for the best than
settling for 40% in assignments and
she also relates the learning materials
to present events.

19. Matthew Willett
• he has inspired me to think
outside the box with academic
theory and I have no doubt he
will benefit my thoughts for
many years to come.
• Innovative Enterprising
Friendly Supportive
• ...Very supportive

20. Jenny Cockill
• Very knowledgeable and up to date in
her field. ... Always makes an effort with
all of the students. Very respectable.
• I have never met a tutor that is so
dedicated to helping their students, not
just as a requirement but a genuine
want to offer support. This is not just
academic but also in working life as she
has many valuable connections.
• ... She has assisted with getting a future
professional mentor as well. Jenny goes
above and beyond the whole time and
assisted me with getting a fantastic
placement opportunity.

21. Martin Roberts
• … made accounting seem almost
fun. He was strict but not in a
harsh way, wanted us to do well
and got along with him well.
• True legend, he's been there and
done it and now passing his
experience on. Great relationships
with students, approachable and
there to help.
• He taught me finance! He made it
easy! I'm petrified of finance and I
can do it now!! I'm absolutely
amazed! No one has ever been
able to teach me finance before
(and several have tried!)

22. Nigel Jones
• … so enthusiastic and
knowledgeable about the module
he teaches that I can't help but
feel interested and passionate
about the subject, hence it being
my favourite module and the one I
try hardest in.
• … is full of passion during class
and he teaches clearly.
• Given so many real life marketing
examples of what certain
companies do well and not do
well. I wrote every word I could
during his lectures.

23. Paul Beresford
• If it wasn't for Paul and his support
I wouldn't be at university today. I
would just like to thank him for all
his support and work in
encouraging me and supporting
me to stay in university.
• Very inspirational, keeps
everybody positive and always
keeps student on track - this leads
to success in his cohort. ...
Wonderful man!
• I can't express how much this
particular lecturer has impressed
me and made me think so highly
of Sheffield Hallam..

24. Phil Crowther
• Always enthusiastic and goes that extra
mile for students..
• ... is brilliant at getting everyone
involved. Phil also offers us great
opportunities to expand our events
knowledge in the 'real world'. I always
take him up on his extra tasks as I know
they will be beneficial to me in the future.
• He has continuously pushed me and
motivated me to work harder and
achieve the marks that I want by giving
us lots of information and the quality in
which we should be working at. His
enthusiasm and determination is
appreciated.

25. Tim Williams
• He is a passionate and approachable
tutor, in terms of support, delivery of
seminars and generally in every aspect
of my learning experience. ...interesting
and driven, this rubs off and drives me
to do well.
• ... So supportive and enthusiastic. Fun
lectures and seminars. Really
passionate for his job and doing the
best for his students.
• Easily the best tutor! So supportive and
enthusiastic. Fun lectures and
seminars.

26. Inspirational Research
Supervisors

27. Dr Simon Polovina
• … His breadth and depth of
knowledge is fantastic and he is
always keen to share information
and knowledge as much as he is
willing to listen and learn himself.
• From my perspective Simon is
more than professional in his own
career and research while
developing fruitful relationships
with students and colleagues.
•
• He has the ability to
motivate, often through enabling
challenging engagements such as
the lecturing opportunities.

28. Prof Ann Macaskill
• She is inspiring because she is
extremely knowledgeable about
her academic subject area and
clearly has a real passion for
discipline. She has high
expectations of me as a
researcher which has really
stretched me at times but she
always gives constructive and fair
feedback.
• After supervision with Ann I
always feel inspired and feel a
sense of renewed energy to
continue. This has been
invaluable over the three years as
doing a PhD feels like a long road
at times

29. Prof Angela Tod
• Angela gave me the confidence and
support to take that step and realise what I
had to offer the University, what the
University had to offer me and how
together, we could deliver a doctorate that
could make a positive difference.
• Angela is passionate about her field and
has produced outputs that have informed
practice and policy on the ground. For
me, that is what applied research is all
about - making a positive difference and
especially to those who are not really in a
position to help themselves
• This opportunity will shape me, my
career, my life and hopefully the life of
others. Without Angela, I would not have
taken that step and for that I will always be
eternally thankful.

30. Prof Bill Bramwell
• …has a wealth of knowledge and
experience both in academia and at
government planning level in the area
of my research and thus is able to help
me visualise things from different
perspectives and aid my critical
thinking to be creative and original.
• In a very strong sense I would like to
say that he is one of the few individuals
that made me believe that I can do
PhD. Thus, I decided to do PhD and
became very interested in tourism
planning & development
issues, governance etc. as his lectures
in my 3rd undergrad year and Master’s
degree were fascinating.

31. Dr Andrew Johnston
• Very encouraging, great
unwavering support and mentor-
ship. I get a full package of
constructive
comments, criticisms, and
commendations. I am inspired by
his calm and collected nature.
Very knowledgeable but so down
to earth.
• English is not my native
language, I am a job and a half to
him yet his approach is so
sensitive and professional.

32. Outstanding Student Support

33. Claire Rayner
• Excellent customer service
and communication skills. Very
supportive and helpful.
• Always keeping me informed
and quick to respond to any
problems or questions.
• Support and encouragement
when needed. It is very much
appreciated. Thanks!

34. Katie Kay
• ... makes the time to sort out
any problems with the course
or anything else, and doesn't
make you feel you're wasting
her time.
• She is extremely positive and
helpful and runs herself ragged
trying to make our experience
a better one.
• Helped me as a Student rep to
break the bridge between the
students and the staff and
helped in knowing the how to
represent my class to the
teaching staff.

35. Polly Newman
• ... provided me with
exceptional support when I lost
my father earlier on in the year
and made contact with me on
a regular basis to ensure that I
was okay and coping well.
• Helped me when I have really
needed it, with support.
• Being easily contactable and
guiding to the right services

36. Andrew Bromley
• He is my first UK friend since I came to
Sheffield and always so helpful and
friendly to me and other international
students. thanks very much for
everything he has done for us!!
• By being open to new
cultures, encouraging integration and
having a constant state of happiness.
• He is active and very passionate
about events for the international
students, which helps them to meet
each other and feel much comfortable
during their study experience.