EEE celebrates and thanks our brilliant colleagues

The EEE department has announced our latest award winners.

The Celebrating Great Contributions Awards were presented by Head of Department Professor Eric Yeatman at the summer staff party.

Winners are chosen by a panel of colleagues, from nominations in five categories, to recognise and reward the achievements, skills and efforts of colleagues helping make our department a better place to work and study.

Colleague Appreciation Award

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

Kate Farrar

Kate oversees the work of a large team that ensures over 850 students from EEE and other departments can register modules and sit their exams, including preparation and production of exam papers, the management of large amounts of data, queries from colleagues and students, and compliance with policies and regulations. It can be a hugely demanding role and this award recognises how her hard work and presence in the team are highly appreciated by colleagues.

“Kate is so dedicated to her role in running the exams and module registration among many other aspects of her job, she always puts the students first, advocating continually for change in processes to benefit the student cohort. She also cares about her colleagues a great deal, making sure they are supported and recognised for what they do. Kate always remains calm and professional in times of stress despite her workload, she is a bright light for the Education Support Office.”

Victor Iswa

Vic’s nomination reflects how he is a truly valued member in the technical support team, and acknowledges his commitment to providing a great service to students and staff.

“Victor has done an outstanding job this past year, exceeding expectations in the role of assistant storekeeper. Processing and allocating orders to students and staff can be a very tricky process. It needs a great deal of attention to detail and he has done exceptionally well in receiving and despatching orders. With his help we cleared all the back orders with the suppliers so students could receive their components in time to complete their projects.

“As the first point of contact for despatching, receiving, and collecting goods and deliveries Vic’s calm and friendly demeanour makes him very approachable to staff and students, and he has demonstrated great team player abilities, including covering for the Stores Manager on during leave, and finding creative solutions such as organising the shelving system in a way that makes items much easier to find.”

Raluca Reynolds

Raluca’s role as a research group administrator involves providing support to many different people and involves many different areas of knowledge. Her award highlights the meticulous, helpful and proactive approach she brings to the group.

“Be it on keeping a continuous eye on the grant spends, new RA recruitments, postdoc probations or computer and consumables purchase the group – Raluca is absolutely on top. Requests are actioned within 5-10 minutes. She is extremely meticulous with expense claims and project time sheets, and she keeps her calm and has any problems sorted.

‘Raluca has an open and timely approach to handling the group administration, and brings a positive energy to our group – she is a very smart and efficient administrator and deserves this recognition.”

Teamwork Award

Pastoral Team:

Zahid Durrani, Kristel Fobelets, Kelly Greenwood, Esther Perea Borobio, Emma Rainbow

The senior tutor and wellbeing roles have changed significantly over the years as the number of students needing special exam arrangements and making mitigating circumstances claims is growing. We have seen an unprecedented increase in the caseload for this team.  

Of a student body of 747 we now have approximately 14% who require special exam arrangements and 25% submitting mitigating circumstances. (To give an idea of some of the numbers - in 2022-23 there were 358 MC claims and 180 extension requests). In addition, there are also students with difficulties who are well known to the team but do not claim mitigating circumstances and still need attention.

“The new MC team has had to deal with a growing number of urgent and difficult situations. They have all met with students face-to-face and provided them with support and guidance. They have worked extremely well together and have shown huge commitment and dedication to the students, regardless of how busy they were with the rest of their work. They have also been working towards streamlining MC processes for the future.”

Lab Technicians Team:

Vic Boddy, Amine Halimi, May Tang

The day-to-day running of first and 2^nd year lab projects has been exceptionally busy and demanding on lab staff this year. The lab has been packed with students every day, and there has been a constant stream of requests for equipment, tools and replacement parts, including from teaching staff who have made complex, last-minute requests. This award recognises the particular efforts of the team to make the projects a success.

“Vic has faced the challenge of clearing the lab at the end of the day every day. Amine has manufactured hundreds of custom parts that were requested by students. May has kept control of the inventory of spares. It has been an exceptional effort - much more so this term than in recent history.”

“The amount of work that was carried out by my colleagues in lab, especially this term was beyond the usual, … not only organising and setting up the two arenas for the 1st and 2nd year projects, but also preparing and ensuring that all the group projects’ labs-in-a-box are well organised and managed.”

“The care and the support they provide to students is of great value, not only in technical terms, but they also provide a valuable moral support especially to those who are in difficulties.”

Rising Star Award

Kate Highnam

Kate is currently working towards completing a PhD, but her contributions to the DICE Committee (our Diversity, Inclusion, Culture and Equity Committee), and in particular her work in the co-ordinator role for the Department’s upcoming Athena Swan Bronze Renewal Application, has been outstanding.

Before Kate was offered the position of the Athena Swan Coordinator, she was an active member of this committee as a Postgraduate Rep, where her input was described as “aware, insightful and helpful.”

“Kate has grasped this opportunity, and has grown into and with the role. She has put in huge effort because she genuinely cares about the issues, the people, and the Department. She is making a significant contribution to the Athena Swan Application, in particular organising the Culture Survey and analysing the data collected. Kate is dedicated to creating an improved culture within the Department and is a great credit to and ambassador for, the Department."

Department Award for Citizenship and Community

Giordano Scarciotti and Ed Stott

It’s vitally important to support our undergraduate student community through the early stages of their studies by giving them ‘The Best Possible Teaching and Learning Experience’ on this highly demanding course of study.

Giordano’s and Ed’s awards reflect the tremendous efforts they make towards the delivering the academic side of our students’ experience in first and second year, through their innovations, their commitment to assessment and tutor support, attention to detail, helpful communications with others, and managing the complex practical components of the degree course.

“As previously 2^nd year- and now 1st year course organiser, Giordano has led on innovations such as introducing an assessment map, and championing new teaching practices such as the flipped classroom and team-based learning which students regard very highly. As year group leader he provides very clear communications to tutors outlining what is required and when.”

“As a member of the Department Teaching Committee Giordano’s scrutiny of documents is always incisive with an excellent eye for picking up points where the information is incorrect or unclear.”

 “This year in the Undergraduate labs it has been particularly busy and demanding to deliver our undergraduate projects. Ed has stepped in to ensure that the second year project has been designed and delivered in addition to ensuring that all his commitments to the 1st year have been managed too.”

“Ed's commitment and hard work to the laboratory cannot be underestimated. He listens carefully to suggestions and ideas from others and also supports the lab staff. He is always calm, which helps alleviate some of the stress in others.”

Inspiration Award

Tom Clarke

In his role as Final Year Projects co-ordinator over more than two decades, Tom’s contribution to the Department is hugely valued. He is unfailingly helpful to colleagues and is passionate about giving our students the support they need to showcase their very best independent work.

In his other role as Team Leader of our Computer Support Team -- for which he is possibly less visible to many -- Tom is recognised as an excellent leader and line manager.

“Tom is not only pivotal to getting things done in the Department, his leadership and support for his team is outstanding. He makes himself available always, listens to issues and is a real champion for the staff in his group, recognising their skills, and helping them pull together as a team”.

“Tom consistently upholds Imperial key values, and he puts the service of others before himself. His ability to energize and motivate our team is truly inspiring.”

Congratulations to all our winners, and thank you to everyone for your excellent nominations.