National Teaching Fellows 2022 announced

The prestigious National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS), run by Advance HE, raises the profile of teaching and learning across the UK, recognising and celebrating outstanding achievements.  

We are pleased to announce that two colleagues have been awarded National Teaching Fellowships this year for their impact on student outcomes and experience and on the teaching profession. 

Please join us in congratulating Amanda Millmore and Professor Norbert Morawetz – our National Teaching Fellows for 2022.  

With a growing number of National Teaching Fellows – 13 in total – we are regarded in the sector as having a high NTF success rate. The awards demonstrate our commitment to fostering excellence and the valuable impact this has on students, peers and colleagues. 

Infusing authentic partnership working and student support 

Amanda Millmore is Associate Professor at the School of Law. She brings unique perspectives to her work and utilises the power of partnerships to transform teaching, learning and the student experience.  

Amanda has developed a distinctive approach to teaching law, blending theory with her legal knowledge and practical experience as a barrister. Inspiring her students to envision themselves as lawyers of the future, irrespective of background or circumstance, Amanda embeds real-world authentic pedagogic approaches to enhance her students’ employability.  

She is passionate about student-staff partnerships, having led eight significant projects in the last five years and has successfully fostered a partnership culture within the Law School. Amanda plays a pivotal role in key working groups focused upon student support, teaching and learning and leads the University's Community of Practice for Student Engagement and previously led the Directors of Academic Tutoring. 

Amanda said: “I tried searching for synonyms for “delighted” and “humbled” as they are so often used in relation to awards, but in reality there are few alternatives that apply as well to this situation. Being nominated was an amazing opportunity, but to learn that I had been successful and was to be awarded a National Teaching Fellowship stunned me into silence. This award is a wonderful antidote to impostor syndrome and I am proudly looking forward to joining this prestigious national teaching community and being in a stronger position to champion teaching, and my personal passions of student partnership and support, across the University and more widely in the sector. I would like to thank the fantastic colleagues who have supported me in this process as well as those who I get to collaborate with in all aspects of my teaching on a daily basis, and in particular to thank my students, who work in partnership with me and engage so enthusiastically with my teaching, who make this job so worthwhile.” 

Breaking new ground in student experience and employability through entrepreneurship education and developing new learning technologies 

Norbert Morawetz is Professor in Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovation at Henley Business School and Programme Director for the university’s undergraduate entrepreneurship programme portfolio. 

Norbert brings a distinctive approach of innovation and experimentation to teaching which has enabled him to achieve significant reach and impact in equipping students with entrepreneurial, digital and employability skills. In addition to his excellent T&L practice at Henley, Norbert has created a number of innovative learning software tools as an academic innovator. These tools have been adopted at over 150 colleges and universities in the UK, and impact hundreds of thousands of students a year. Norbert consistently works with UK and international institutions, as well as sector innovation body Jisc to promote and develop innovation in T&L, especially with a view towards closing the university-industry skills gap. During the pandemic, Norbert’s initiative Classof2020 brought together over 50 graduate and professional volunteers, as well as support from 40 corporates to build a free online academy that supported young people nationwide in entering a difficult job market.  

Norbert said: “I’m truly chuffed with being awarded a National Teaching Fellowship! For me NTF not only represents the recognition of T&L practice at the highest level, but more importantly being part of a community of values – putting learners and the student experience first and caring deeply about Teaching and Learning. This is such a fantastic opportunity to champion innovation and contribute to the evolution of Higher Education, at our own institution and across the sector. I have many people to thank, but I want to particularly thank the team who have worked with me on developing new learning technologies, my colleagues at the Henley Centre for Entrepreneurship, as well as superb mentors at Reading who have been so generous with their feedback and support.” 

As National Teaching Fellows, Amanda and Norbert will continue to play an ongoing role in enhancing teaching and learning at Reading, the HE sector and beyond.