Dr Colin McHenry and Associate Professor Ramesh Rajan receive inaugural MSA Teaching Awards.

Dr Colin McHenry, with student Lara Rijkmans, receiving
the Outstanding Teaching Award for FMNHS. 

Congratulations to Dr Colin McHenry from the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology who recently won the Outstanding Teaching Award for the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.


Congratulations also go to Associate Professor Ramesh Rajan from the Department of Physiology who recently won the Innovation in Teaching Award for Monash University.

A joint initiative of the Monash Student Association and the Office of the Vice-Provost (Learning and Teaching), these awards were established to acknowledge and reward innovation and excellence in teaching.

With almost 800 quality nominations, selecting 

the 12 winners was a challenging task and it is therefore quite an achievement for both Colin and Ramesh from the Faculty of Biomedical and Psychological Sciences to have been chosen.

“There can be no more meaningful awards that a teacher can receive than accolades given by their students,” said Professor Darryl Evans, Vice-Provost (Learning and Teaching).

Colin’s efforts to engage students both within and outside of the classroom were recognised, with special mention made of the Facebook communities Colin had established to enable dialogue and engagement between the staff and student cohort, and to facilitate peer-based horizontal coaching.

"These awards represent an opportunity for students to identify teachers who have had a positive impact on them, teachers who inspire them to learn. I've always wanted to be that teacher for my students, so I am proud and humbled to receive this award," Colin said.

“Facebook can be an incredible learning tool: for enhancing communication, promoting collaboration, enabling networking and for engaging students in a way that is just not possible in traditional classroom settings, particularly for large student cohorts,” he said.


Anyone interested in learning more about the benefits of using social media for learning and teaching applications can contact Colin by email colin.mchenry@monash.edu or mobile 0412 659541.

Ramesh was nominated for his Innovation in Teaching Award for his use of genuinely creative, engaging and innovative tools to educate students. Many of those nominating Ramesh also commented on his rare ability to personalise his teaching and make every student feel like an individual.

“His passion for teaching is clear and his innovative use of moodle and extra learning resources was an invaluable source of knowledge to all students,” one student remarked.

A/Professor Ramesh Rajan, with former student Lauren O’Dwyer,
receiving the Innovation In Teaching Award for Monash University.

“I have never been so engaged in a unit before and I owe it all to Ramesh. He designed the course in a way that allowed me to completely understand the material. He designed study and revision material in a variety of different ways for all types of learners,” another said.

Anyone interested in learning more about the benefits of using e-books and other innovative tools for learning and teaching applications can contact Ramesh by email ramesh.rajan@monash.edu or telephone 9905 2525.