Amazing efforts of inspirational teacher rewarded

Inspiring students in challenging circumstances has seen Dr Chris Randall recognised in this year’s prestigious Leeds Partnership Awards.

Inspirational teachers use their passion and dedication for a subject area to inspire others to be ambitious and enthusiastic, and to challenge them to develop new ideas.

This year’s winner is Dr Chris Randall, Lecturer in Microbiology and Programme Leader for BSc Microbiology and Medical Microbiology degrees in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology.

Grace Pountney, a second year BSc Microbiology student, was among those to nominate Dr Randall for the award.

She said: “Chris goes above and beyond for all his students, always looking out for them.

“He works incredibly hard – and has worked even harder this challenging year – to ensure we are happy, supported and achieving our full academic potential. He is the most inspirational lecturer, tutor and teacher I have ever met, and my experience of my course and university would not have been the same without him. His teaching, be it in a lecture or a lab session, is always engaging.

“I cannot thank Chris enough for all the effort he puts in to ensure we get the most out of our degrees and university lives.” 

Dr Randall said: “I’m still finding it difficult to put into words how thrilled I am to win this award and how grateful I am to the staff and students who nominated me.

“It has been a challenging year to deliver any form of teaching, even before considering how to make it inspirational, and I feel the only way I’ve managed to achieve this is through the advice, support and collegiality from academics, technical staff and postgraduate demonstrators in the Faculty of Biological Sciences.

“I also have to say a very big ‘thank you’ to my students this year for remaining so enthusiastic as I tried (and failed several times!) to teach in an entirely new way.”