Swinburne celebrates 2026 School Teaching Excellence Awards winners

Swinburne has recognised 20 educators through its 2026 School Teaching Excellence Awards, celebrating the impact they make on student learning and success.

This year, our educators have been honoured for their excellent contributions to innovative and inclusive teaching, authentic assessment, curriculum design and industry-aligned learning experiences.

Now in its seventh year, the School Teaching Excellence Awards highlight the dedication of educators across Swinburne's six higher education schools who are shaping engaging learning experiences and helping students develop the skills and capabilities needed for their future careers.

Recipients are selected following a review process led by academic representatives from each school.

Swinburne’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Educational Innovation, Professor Llew Mann, congratulated this year's recipients, saying, " we are honoured to recognise our outstanding educators whose passion, expertise and commitment are making a meaningful difference to our learners and the experience of being a student at Swinburne.”

School of Business, Law and Entrepreneurship

Dr Rhys Ashby is presented with a School Teaching Excellence Award.

Dr Rhys Ashby, Lecturer in Marketing has been recognised for excellence in developing and delivering an innovative model of international expert-led micro-lectures, combining advances in theory and practice, to inspire enhanced student experience.

Dr Ashby’s micro-lecture series connected learners with contemporary thinking and emerging industry practice in digital marketing and created a more relevant and engaging learning experience which has contributed to a sustained increase in unit satisfaction.

Dr Jason Tian is presented with a School Teaching Excellence Award.

Dr Jason Tian, Senior Lecturer in Finance has been awarded for the redesign of two investment units embedding Bloomberg Terminal live market analysis and industry-aligned content, empowering students with the professional judgement they need in the AI era.  

School of Social Sciences, Media, Film and Education

Jennifer Allen, Dr Mia Chen, Tamara Ellis, Belle Fields, Dr Queena Lee and Dr Andrea Ng are presented with a School Teaching Excellence Award.

Jennifer Allen, Dr Mia Chen, Tamara Ellis, Belle Fields, Dr Queena Lee and Dr Andrea Ng were recognised for excellence in transforming early childhood teacher education through inclusive, relational and technology-enriched practices that strengthen confidence, professional identity and practice readiness across diverse cohorts.

Through an innovative blend of technology, professional experience and community learning, the team has delivered sustained improvements in learner satisfaction, professional capability and readiness for practice.

Dr Jennifer Cutri, Dr Robert New, Dr Alina Kewanian and Kimberly Vause are presented with a School Teaching Excellence Award.

Dr Jennifer Cutri, Dr Robert New, Dr Alina Kewanian and Kimberly Vause were recognised for developing the First-Year Student Success Ecosystem, a collaborative framework for fostering engagement, self-efficacy, belonging and success in undergraduate first-year units of study.

The team created a scalable model of shared responsibility that connects Course Directors, Unit Convenors, student support services and peer networks around a common goal of learner success.

School of Engineering

Associate Professor Tommy Cheung is presented with a School Teaching Excellence Award.

Associate Professor Tommy Cheung, Department Chair in Aviation has been awarded for excellence in designing authentic assessments that engage aviation management and piloting students using real-world data and professionally relevant analytical learning.

Professor Justin Leontini and Associate Professor Hailing Zhou are presented with a School Teaching Excellence Award.

Professor Justin Leontini and Associate Professor Hailing Zhou have been recognised for excellence in the development of curriculum and resources to bridge classical mechanical vibration analysis and modern data-driven techniques.

School of Health Sciences

Sharmeen Adnan, Lecturer (Education Specialist) has been highly commended for inspiring students to engage actively with complex anatomy content through clinically grounded, research-informed and technology enhanced teaching in undergraduate courses.

By combining evidence-informed teaching with digital technologies, this approach has made complex anatomy more engaging and accessible, contributing to sustained improvements in learner satisfaction.

School of Science, Computing and Emerging Technologies

Dr Atie Kia, Lecturer in Computing Technologies, has been awarded for excellence in engaging and industry-relevant assessment that builds student confidence, strengthens academic integrity and make contributions visible in a first-year core Web Technology subject.

By redesigning the unit, Dr Kia’s work has strengthened learner engagement, confidence and ownership, while creating a more authentic and industry-relevant learning experience.

Associate Professor Tapio Simula has been recognised for transforming education of quantum technologies in response to Australia’s National Quantum Strategy. Associate Professor Simula achieved this through modular, digitally enabled experiments that integrate modelling, hands-on inquiry and collaborative learning.

Noushin Shabab and Dr Armita Zarnegar have been highly commended for excellence in authentic curriculum design in malware analysis, integrating industry expertise and cloud-based infrastructure to equip students with real-world cybersecurity skills.

Through this curriculum, learners gain practical experience in real-world malware analysis, building the cybersecurity knowledge and skills needed for industry.