On the front line

To recognise their extraordinary contribution to teaching under difficult circumstances, the Monash Business School 2020 Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence was jointly awarded to our Directors of Education.

• Lorena Mitrione and Mukesh Garg, Department of Accounting
• John Watson, Department of Banking and Finance
• Jennifer O’Reilly and Andrew Moshirnia, Department of Business Law and Taxation
• Anastasios Panagiotelis and George Athanasopoulos, Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics
• Vinod Mishra and Simon Angus, Department of Economics
• Susan Mayson, Department of Management
• Erica Brady, Department of Marketing

Speaking on behalf of the nominating group of Monash Business School Heads of Department, Professor Michelle Welsh said “In leadership, time and energy, our Directors of Education were on the front line in dealing with constant changes to teaching requirements, and were entirely dedicated to ensuring quality learning experiences in the move to incorporate online learning.”

“They ran training sessions, prepared online resources and FAQs, converted teaching resources, and provided extensive one-on-one assistance to their colleagues. The support they provided to their colleagues and the innovations they introduced directly improved the student experience and enabled learning.”

The transition also required a revision of teaching and examination modes, with significant consequences for chief examiners, teaching staff and students.

“Through this, they developed innovative approaches at short notice and communicated with, and provided extensive support to their colleagues to help them deal with the changes. They also supported students in answering their questions about new learning and examination environments,” she says.