EEE PhD student awarded Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year

Eugenie's award celebrates a passion for her subject and a dedication to teaching

The Faculty of Engineering presented its Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Of The Year award at the staff BBQ last week.

The annual award recognises the integral role our GTAs perform within the Faculty, and offers an incentive for GTAs to strive for excellence in their teaching. Each year, all engineering departments select their top GTA, and from these nominees the Faculty chooses an overall winner.

Eugenie Ducoin from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering was named overall winner of the award for 2022, and Georgia Smith, Department of Bioengineering, received the highly commended award.

Eugenie completed her undergraduate studies in our department in 2019 and is now pursuing a PhD in power electronics.

“Eugenie’s passion for our subject is evident to all, and combined with her careful and caring approach to teaching, her contributions are highly valued by our students.” Professor Tim Green

Nominating staff Professor Tim Green and Dr Phil Clemow praised Eugenie as a vital member of their team on our Power Electronics and Power Systems module.

They commended her for her pro-active engagement with undergraduates, as well as her subject knowledge and the appreciation of students’ learning styles which have been essential in helping design, test and refine lab experiments.

Eugenie's nomination highlights her dedication to the student experience, and her thoughtful and approachable teaching methods in both the lab and problem class sessions.

Professor Green said: “Eugenie’s passion for our subject is evident to all, and combined with her careful and caring approach to teaching, her contributions are highly valued by our students.”

"She has a quiet confidence in the teaching setting, and is highly approachable and listens well to students as they explain their workings or difficulties. She responds with a thoughtful and assuring style to give students just enough help to get started again on the problem, and adeptly adjusts her responses to the needs of the student, either just giving gentle hints or going back to the fundamentals.”

Eugenie is keen to pass on her love of the subject to our undergraduates, she explains:

“Students sometimes shy away from power electronics because they find the subject uninteresting or irrelevant, but it is essential to solving the environmental challenges of today and tomorrow. Being a GTA both in the lab and in class has allowed me to share my passion, and I will never tire of seeing the excitement of students when they begin to understand a topic. I hope I have encouraged some students to pursue power engineering the same way Professor Green and the lab GTAs inspired me when I was an undergraduate.

Teaching has also helped me to communicate and share my research more effectively, as I have learnt from explaining something in several different ways to fit each student’s learning style. I recommend all PhD students to get involved in teaching; it might surprise them how rewarding it is.

I am very grateful for the recognition that winning this award represents. With the invaluable help of Professor Tim Green and Dr Phil Clemow, I have improved my teaching skills over the past three years, and I am glad to have received such appreciation from the Faculty of Engineering.”

Our congratulations to Eugenie and all this year's nominees from across the Faculty.

Find out more about graduate teaching assistants.