Teaching that puts students first: 2026 Dean’s Awards for Education Excellence
The Monash University Faculty of Information Technology’s 2026 Dean’s Awards for Education Excellence recognise outstanding contributions to teaching, educational leadership and the student experience across the Faculty.
“Excellent education is shaped by thoughtful teaching, evidence-informed practice and a commitment to continual improvement, particularly as AI reshapes how we teach and learn. This year’s recipients have strengthened learning across the Faculty by creating inclusive, authentic and engaging experiences that help students build confidence, capability and ownership of their learning,” said Professor Jean-Guy Schneider, Deputy Dean (Education) at the Faculty of IT.
This year, the Faculty recognises recipients across four award categories.
Education Impact Award
Recognising demonstrable and scalable improvements to teaching and student learning.
Charlotte Pierce, Emma Yench, Rayn Olsen and Jason Haasz
Charlotte Pierce and Emma Yench developed a scalable approach to unit redesign centred on student agency, formative feedback, transparent standards and authentic evidence of learning, with Rayn Olsen and Jason Haasz helping implement and refine the approach across three pilot units. FIT2096 Games Programming recorded a 6.3 per cent increase in pass rates, while eight units have now completed the transformation and another 26 are transitioning for 2027.
Educational Leadership Award
Recognising sustained impact through education-focused leadership.
Across roles including Course Director for the Bachelor of Computer Science, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Academic Programs, Julian Garcia Gallego has helped shape curriculum, assessment and teaching quality across the Faculty. His leadership spans curriculum review, Education Transformation and accreditation, alongside evidence-based teaching that contributed to a SETU rating of 4.66 out of 5 in FIT3139 Computational Modelling and Simulation.
Student Experience Award
Recognising outstanding contributions to inclusive, supportive and engaging student experiences.
Jai Cornes
As lead teaching associate in FIT1045, the Faculty’s largest unit, Jai Cornes supports more than 2,000 students and over 55 sessional staff each year. He has strengthened student support through extensive forum engagement, a structured training program for teaching associates and collaborative marking sessions designed to improve the quality and consistency of feedback.
Within nine months, Jason Haasz led the redesign of FIT3146 Maker Lab and FIT3178 iOS App Development and co-led FIT2096 Games Programming, introducing portfolio-based assessment, authentic project work and more regular formative feedback. The changes contributed to a 6.3 per cent increase in FIT2096’s pass rate and helped teaching teams identify and support students at risk earlier.
Jasper Cai combines project management experience with an inclusive, highly interactive approach to teaching. Since 2023, every SETU-evaluated teaching offering has received a Very High rating, with scores ranging from 92 to 100, while his focus on active participation, clear feedback and mentoring has also supported the development of newer teaching associates.
Dr Jue (Grace) Xie established Monash Students for AI with Communities (MOSAIC), where students build professional confidence, judgement and leadership through multidisciplinary projects with community partners. The group has grown to 37 active students and delivered projects including an interactive playbook for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Ctrl + Alt + Prebunk, a misinformation-literacy game presented at PAX 2025.
Teaching Excellence Award
Recognising sustained excellence and impact in teaching and learning.
IT Project Management Teaching Team
The IT Project Management Teaching Team has transformed its approach by making student feedback part of an ongoing cycle of improvement. Regular pulse surveys, learning analytics and visible “You Said, We Listened” responses contributed to overall satisfaction in FIT2002 rising from 31 to 79 per cent, while the team’s teaching now reaches around 3,000 students each year across Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The team comprises Eehui Lim, Sanaz Nikfalazar, Farheen Siddiqui, Steve Paull, Sulaiman Al Sheibani, Manika Saha, Rumana Ahmed, Emy Elyanee, Erza Aminanto, Yi-Shan Tsai, Anthony Wong, Monoar Hossain, Karen Vella, Hengbo Cai, Negar Hosseini, Tasdik Hasan, Victoria Ignateva, Bhagya Gangoda Gamachchige, Anastasiia Blizniuk, Zoe Henderson, Swami Swaminathan, Gary Ng, Lisa Seabrooke, Basil Koli, Deejay Raina, MD.Khalid Hossain, Karan Raman, Yiting Xie, Jayden Yang, Minh Vo, MJ Sharma, Jun Fu, Evian Zhuang, Chris Mennen, Sachini Samaraweera, Shamim Nipa, Mia Zhang and Jack Kam.