Roshnee Sunder, the DUT Radiography Lecturer who received a Teaching Excellence Award from the Higher Education Learning and Training Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA) last year (2012), looks back to 2012 with elation.

Not only did Sunder receive recognition for her exceptional teaching techniques from HELTASA, but she was also a recipient of two prestigious DUT awards.

Sunder received a DUT Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence from her Faculty (the Faculty of Health Sciences) in December last year (2012). She also received the Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award which will be conferred formally during the 2013 autumn graduation.

The DUT Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence is awarded to lecturers who have made a substantial contribution towards enhancing the quality of learning and teaching at the University. The Vice-Chancellor’s award is conferred to one awardee in the aforementioned area.

“When I was informed that I would receive the HELTASA award, I scored a hat trick for DUT. Now, having received two more awards, I have scored a hat trick for myself,” said Sunder.

The HELTASA Teaching Excellence Award was conferred to Sunder during the association’s annual conference held at the University of Stellenbosch in November last year. A first time attendee, Sunder described her experience as “refreshing”.

“The conference was about sharing teaching experiences and practices. I learnt a lot from the presentations of fellow awardees; it was good to hear of the wonderful work and changes happening in higher education across the country. Twenty-first century learning is about revolutionising the way we engage our 21st century learners. I got more ideas to test out,” she said.

In 2013, Sunder looks to accomplish even more. Her goals include studying towards her PhD, doing her research in teaching and learning in the 21st century as well as sharing knowledge and practice with peers.

–Naledi Hlefane