Great Contributions: helping make EEE a great place to work and study

The EEE Department has announced our latest Celebrating Great Contributions Awards at a virtual presentation.

The twice-yearly awards were established to recognise and reward the achievements, skills and efforts of our colleagues who help make our department a great place to work and study, and to help us build and maintain a positive and inspiring working culture of which we can be proud.

The winners, who will receive gift vouchers, were chosen by a panel of colleagues from across the Department, from nominations in five caegories.

Colleague Appreciation Award

This award is given in recognition of staff who make a particular effort and go out of their way to help and support others.

The panel made two awards in this category:

Rob Millwood

As Research Manager, Rob plays a key liaison role between our department's research activities and the College's various research administration centres. There are challenges that need to be overcome in order to ensure a smooth flow of information between them, and Rob's award acknowledges how efficiently and positively he responds to those challenges in order to help others, and to make complex processes a less-frustrating experience.

"I have nominated Rob for this prize to say thank-you for providing great support to academics and RAs across the Department, managing their research projects and bid submissions. Rob is always helpful and quick to respond, looking for ways to try and make improvements in the way things are done to make things easier for his colleagues in the Department."

“I think Rob does a great job — whenever I need funding-related help or advice, he’s always extremely helpful and approachable, even when he must be very busy. I really appreciate this. Thanks Rob!”

THomAS Clarke

In addition to his various responsibilities as a leader of two modules, fourth year organiser and team leader of our Computer Support Team, Senior Teaching Fellow Tom also has the vital role within our Teaching and Learning Team for managing the allocation, organisation and assessment of undergraduate and MSc projects that are a large and important part of our degree programmes. His award reflects how much his diligent work in this role is valued by his colleagues.

“Tom is passionate about his work and goes to great efforts to do his job really well. Managing the allocation of student projects is a very complicated task but he does it very carefully, he is receptive to special requests that complicate things further, and he writes very clear emails to staff explaining the various processes. I really appreciate his work."

Teamwork / Collaboration Award

The winners of this award are our Buildings and Facilities team:

Aurelio "Sousa" De Sousa Ferreira

Zia Rahman

Tom Ryan

The team are kept very busy in an older building like ours, especially with so many people to accommodate, and so many projects and activities taking place. The award highlights the tremendous efforts they go to, to ensure that students and staff can all work and study in a safe and pleasant environment.

"There's so much over the years that wouldn’t have happened without Tom's expertise. Tom is always there in the background of departmental life, doing the important things that help the department function daily. Sousa has shown great dedication over the past year in preparing the building from a limited access site to an active teaching environment for our students. Without his help, the building would not have been ready for start of term. Zia continues to be a pivotal member of the department, enthusiastic, ever helpful and hard-working."

"Zia, Tom and Sousa work extremely hard, keeping the Department running on a day to day basis, quietly making our lives easier. They’re an outstanding team, always willing to help and proactively offering support where they can. It’s been a pleasure to hear Sousa whistling down the corridor again, and to see Zia buzzing around the building. Tom will soon be leaving us after 27 years in the Department and we have been very lucky to benefit from his expert skills and knowledge, so we will be very sad to see him go, and wish him all the best."

Rising Star Award

This award celebrates staff who have begun their career or changed role in the Department in the last two years. It recognises an individual who has created or grasped an opportunity to substantially develop and grow in their role.

The panel made two awards in this category:

Harmony Wong

Harmony joined the department in 2020, one of his key roles is to help support our department's huge and complex student and teaching databases, and their integration with central College systems, which is not a straightforward activity. The rising star award is made in acknowledgement how quickly and easily Harmony has become a key member of this busy team.

“Harmony has been with us only one year and in that time has shown that he is unfailingly helpful, courteous, hard-working, has a great sense of humour, and has made himself in a short time an indispensable part of the department."

Christos Bouganis

Director of Undergraduate Studies is one of the senior management roles in the Department. As well as leading the strategy, design and overall management of our Teaching and Learning, they help the HoD in strategic planning and decision-making, including pay, promotions and recruitment. Christos's awards reflects the positivity and dedication he has already demonstrated in his first term in the post.

"Christos gave excellent support to colleagues and postgraduate students during his time as Director of Postgraduate Studies, including through the pandemic, and this summer he made the major commitment to the Department of accepting the role of DUGS. He has taken on this major and difficult job in the Department and thrown himself into it so enthusiastically. I’ve been really impressed by the kind and thoughtful leadership he has shown in his new role so far.”

Award for Citizenship and Community

This award recognises an individual who has been a good citizen within the Department, and/or made an exceptional contribution benefitting the Department or wider college community.

Tim Constandinou

Tim receives this award for his dedication to a positive working culture — including promoting a rich teamwork experience among staff and students in his research group, and for his attention to the development and the wellbeing of team members.

"Whether it's the weekly team meetings where members are invited to share ongoing developments on their work, any challenges or questions they would like input from the group on, or invitations to present a topic or hobby that matters to them, the team as a whole has been able to grow from this approach. Tim has dedicated one-to-one meetings with each staff member or PhD student and it is evident he has our personal and career development at heart."

Inspiration Award

Our final award celebrates a colleague who has inspired others throughout the year, either through the activities they have carried out at work or outside of Department life.

Pantelis Georgiou

"Professor Georgiou's work has been inspiring us for years, but the past year has been a great one to remember. We need academics at Imperial who will lead on positions that combine the elements of academic integrity, passion and ethos but also of the emotional intelligence and generosity that he has. We have been inspired by how much his students and colleagues have learned from him, especially when it comes to applying his ideas in medicine, and particularly infectious diseases diagnostics, where he has pioneered innovative Lab-on-Chip devices to tackle the needs of the NHS's huge efforts in AMR, the COVID-19 pandemic's ongoing rapid screening needs, but also the lack of diagnostics in LMIC countries.

Since March 2020, the amount of work and dedication Pantelis's team has put in during the pandemic has been monumental. He not only managed to keep the team running, but also brought the team together to achieve a common goal, in the most humble and inspiring way, and doing mental 'check-ups' on the team members regularly, to help make sure they could manage any stress.

We have learned a lot just by being around him, and very much hope that the wider academic community of the College sees what a star quality academic, researcher, entrepreneur, engineer and human being he is.”

Congratulations to all our award winners, and thank you to everyone in the EEE community who took the time to recognise the hard work and dedication of their colleagues and nominate them.