The Keele Institute for Innovation and Teaching Excellence (KIITE) is delighted to announce that 6 members of staff at Keele University have recently been awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) through the University’s HEA Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Route.

HEA Fellowship provides recognition of professionalism in learning and teaching in higher education, and evidence of commitment to continuing academic development. Across the four categories of fellowship, from Associate to Principal, individuals are recognised for their practice, impact and leadership of teaching and learning.

Congratulations to the following members of staff:

Principal Fellow

• Will Foster – Keele Business School

Senior Fellow

• Simon Rimmington – Foundation Year Centre
• Marion Cross – Pharmacy and Bioengineering
• Kalpesh Thakrar – Pharmacy and Bioengineering
• Lara McMurtry - Law

Associate Fellow

• James Shufflebotham – Humanities

Simon Rimmington, Director of Foundation Year Centre comments:

“I am extremely happy to have received Senior Fellowship status. Completing the application gave me the time to reflect on all the great work that has been done in the Foundation Year over the past few years. The process helped me to look at the finer detail of the work that I have been involved in and my role in supporting students and colleagues. The professional discussion was challenging but friendly and allowed me to expand on my reflections. The support and guidance from colleagues across the University has been great.”

Lara McMurtry, Lecturer in Law comments:

“I am delighted to be awarded a Senior Fellowship. Receiving this recognition is my professional highlight in what surely for everyone has been the most difficult and trying year. It is undeniable that making an application is at first daunting and that hard work is unavoidable, but the reward is well worth the effort. I have benefitted most from the opportunity for sustained personal reflection, and I emerge with renewed enthusiasm and better equipped for the challenges ahead.”

Georgina Spencer, Senior Curriculum Developer in KIITE who co-leads the CPD route, comments:

“Congratulations to all our new Fellows. This round of applications contained more examples of the excellent work that goes on across Keele. I am always impressed by colleagues’ commitment to an evidence-based, student-centred approach and examples of the impact of their work on students and colleagues were outstanding. Despite the challenges of the last twelve months, colleagues had committed considerable effort to their applications and the outcomes are well deserved.”

To find out more about the HEA CPD route offered through the Keele Institute for Innovation and Teaching Excellence, visit the KIITE HEA web pages.

To express an interest in becoming a mentor or reviewer, please contact KIITE via kiite@keele.ac.uk