Edward Aspinall awarded Vice Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Education
For the second year in a row, Professor Edward Aspinall from our Department of Political and Social Change has won the ANU Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Supervision - an award which recognises his exceptional contributions to the quality of learning, teaching and student experience at ANU.
Each year, the ANU teaching community gather to celebrate those who have enhanced the quality of learning and teaching in higher education. Although it has been a year like no other, Professor Aspinall continued to provide a world-leading education in the most difficult circumstances.
Professor Aspinall comments on his motivation for teaching
“It’s always about seeing students grow and develop their own ideas to write beautifully […] to see students being able to really express themselves in a powerful, expressive way in their own writing. That’s what inspires us as teachers, as educators. It’s really all about the students.”
“I think part of the key lesson that I’ve learned along that way is letting go of that feeling that you always have to be right. You always have to be all knowing, that learning in any topic is really about a journey that we undertake, together with our students.”
At the online ceremony, Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt congratulated all recipients on their awards and offered inspiring reflections on the importance of tutoring and demonstrating, supervision, student learning, and teaching excellence.
“I don’t know exactly what the future holds for us yet, but I do know that ANU will continue to offer a world-leading education, and our teaching staff and supervisors – you all – will be integral to this.
“Every university has a mission. And our mission is interesting, not just for Australia, but for the world. It comes from being created after World War Two, to help Australia emerge and prosper – and we are here to do that again.
“Our students will be particularly important as we support the national effort of reconstruction. We will need them to think critically, analyse, debate, innovate – and with an ANU education, they’ll have all they need to change the world.
“But to do this, they need a great education. They need to be taught by the best teachers, and they need to learn from the best people. And that’s exactly what they have at ANU.”