Academic Families shortlisted for Impact Award
Biomedical Sciences has been shortlisted for an Impact Award in the category of Best Peer Support Group for the Academic Families programme.
This second nomination, following on from the award last year, is testament to the continuing outstanding work of the student support team in BMTO and our student volunteers who have established the Academic Families as such an invaluable component of our student support and experience portfolio.
This is the second year in a row that the undergraduate team at the Biomedical Teaching Organisation, who deliver the Academic Families programme, has been recognised by the Edinburgh University Students' Association Impact Awards. Academic Families won in the category of Best Peer Support Group in 2016.
The reason that Academic Families works so well in Biomedical Sciences is down to the enthusiasm and input of our student leaders. Testament to their continuing efforts is that we have been shortlisted for the Edinburgh Student’s Association Impact Awards as Best Peer Support Group, an award which BMS took home last year.
An exerpt from the nomination states:
“I nominate the Biomedical Sciences Academic Family peer support committee and affiliated staff as a beacon of good practice in staff/student collaboration. This scheme is an example of genuine equal partnership to ensure the best possible outcomes for all new UG entrants into the Deanery of Biomedical Sciences”
Really delighted to hear about our shortlist for the teaching impact award peer support category again this year - fantastic achievement to do this for the second year in a row. It is a testament to our Academic Family leaders who put in huge amount of work to ensure the scheme is as successful as it is. It is also down to the hard work and commitment of Debbie Shaw, our Senior Personal Tutor, and Lisa Ketchion, one of our Senior Team Leaders in the BMTO who work very closely with the students to make sure the scheme continues to go from strength to strength - we are really very proud of all of them!
Dr Deborah Shaw, undergraduate Senior Personal Tutor and recipient of last year's Impact Award, says the awards celebrate 'exceptional students.'
Once again I am absolutely thrilled that the hard work and effort of our students and staff is recognised by being shortlisted for the Best Peer Support Group in the EUSA Impact Awards 2017. These awards celebrate exceptional students and projects that have had a positive effect in our community and so I’m delighted that our scheme, which aims to provide a first-class, welcoming and inclusive environment to all our new UG entrants, has been acknowledged as one of the best in the University for the second year running.
The Biomedical Teaching Organisation was also nominated in the category of Best Student-Staff Collaboration, which recognises "a staff-student team or pair that have worked closely and effectively to further change within their School, student group, community or project.”
“These staff members of the Biomedical School have really revolutionised teaching within our school, being able to carve out a new deanery in our college of MVM over the summer period last year, but the best part is that every single one of them has said that they are putting the students interests at heart from undergraduate to postgraduate”
Baber Rasheed, Biomedical Sciences School Convenor, has also been shortlisted in the category of Outstanding Student Leader.
The winners will be announced on the 6th of April at the Impact Awards ceremony.