News Archive

Reading Lecturer awarded national teaching fellowship – University of Reading

Dr Julian Park, Senior Lecturer and School Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development at the University of Reading, has been awarded a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy.

Dr Park is just one of 50 lecturers and learning support staff to be awarded the fellowship this year, which recognises excellence in teaching and learning and celebrates individuals who make an outstanding impact on the student learning experience. Each winner will receive an award of £10,000 which may be used for their personal and/or professional development in teaching and learning.

Julian is a great advocate of fieldwork and learning outside the classroom. He believes this offers students the opportunity to hone their research skills in a learning environment which is both stimulating and often socially rewarding for both students and staff.

Dr Park said: "I'm pleased to receive this award and would like to thank colleagues in Agriculture, Policy and Development, CDOTL and CSTD for their support in helping to develop my teaching and learning knowledge and skills in recent years."

The new Fellows come from universities throughout England and Northern Ireland. Higher education institutions in England and Northern Ireland were able to nominate up to three staff who could demonstrate excellence in supporting the student learning experience in HE.

Professor Richard Ellis, Head of the University's School of Agriculture, Policy and Development said: "I'd like to congratulate Julian who is an accomplished and experienced university teacher and is recognised as a leading authority on issues of rural and sustainable development within agriculture.

"He is strongly committed to raising standards of university teaching and learning, not just his own but also that of colleagues within this School, the University of Reading and more widely. Julian uses a wide variety of approaches in his teaching, both modern and long established, to stimulate and motivate students and their evaluation of his teaching is uniformly high. He is a worthy recipient of the award."

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS), launched in 2000, is part of an overall programme to raise the status of learning and teaching in Higher Education. Funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland (DELNI), the scheme comprises two strands, Individual National Teaching Fellowship Awards and Projects.

The winners will receive their awards at a ceremony and dinner in London on 24 September.

Ends

For all University of Reading media enquiries please contact James Barr, Press Officer tel 0118 378 7115 or email j.w.barr@reading.ac.uk

Notes to Editors:

Dr Julian Park

As well as being an award-winning lecturer, Julian has been associated with a range of pedagogic projects linked to assessment, including the development of web resources. He was one of the founding members of the Applied Undergraduate Research Skills Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning and has developed web resources such as the Engage in Research and the Environmental Challenges in Farm Management website which are now used internationally.

Julian works closely with the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Bioscience where he helps develop specialist resources, workshops and networking opportunities. He is currently looking forward to starting several new projects associated with the provision of resources to teaching staff. These should facilitate the provision not only of better feedback but also more timely feedback to students.

After completing his first degree in agriculture at Newcastle University, Julian set up his own business in agricultural contracting which he ran for five years before starting to teach in further education colleges. He then completed a PhD at Cranfield University as a mature student before joining the University of Reading.

The Higher Education Academy

The Higher Education Academy works with universities and colleges, discipline groups, individual staff and organisations to help them deliver the best possible learning experience for students. It has a triple focus on national policy, institutional support, and subject and staff development.

It is an independent organisation funded by grants from the four UK funding bodies, subscriptions from higher education institutions, and grant and contract income for specific initiatives. Its functions include the accreditation of programmes and of individuals as registered practitioners, research and evaluation, and a UK-wide Subject Network providing discipline-based support for learning and teaching.