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SU Teaching Awards 2022
Author: Dr Karin Cattell-Holden
Published: 01/12/2022

​​The annual SU Teaching Awards acknowledge and reward outstanding teaching at the University. The awards are offered in three categories: Leaderly Teaching ScholarScholarly Teacher and Teaching Collaboration.*

The 2022 Teaching Awards have been received by:

  1. Prof Faadiel Essop (Centre for Cardio-metabolic Research in Africa (CARMA), Division of Medical Physiology, BMRI, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) (Category: Leaderly Teaching Scholar)
  2. Prof Herman Kamper (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering) (Category: Scholarly Teacher)
  3. Ms Mareli Rossouw (School of Accountancy, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences) (Category: Scholarly Teacher)

No award was made in the category Teaching Collaboration.

Prof Faadiel Essop is currently a professor in the Division of Medical Physiology (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences). He is also the Director (and co-founder) of the Centre for Cardio-metabolic Research Centre in Africa (CARMA) at Stellenbosch University. He is a Fulbright fellow, an NRF B2 rated researcher, and has a strong interest in two research fields: a) the effects of chronic stress on cardio-metabolic diseases onset and b) the development of HIV-related cardiovascular diseases. During 2021 he was awarded the Physiology Society of Southern Africa's prestigious Lifetime Career Achievement Award that “honors a well-established physiologist wh

o has proven their research excellence over a period of time". Prof. Essop received an SU Teaching Award in 2018 (in the category Scholarly Teacher) and became a Teaching Advancement at University (TAU) Fellow in 2022.

Prof. Essop's teaching philosophy revolves around a student-centred approach that requires the implementation of innovative active learning practices. His philosophy also strongly emphasises authenticity, both in terms of what the lecturer brings into the classroom and the promotion of authentic learning for the real, complex world. Such a transformative experience enables students to become critical citizens and well-rounded professionals who display increased humaneness and empathy. These students are equipped to act as change agents when tackling contemporary (and future) health-related challenges.

Prof Herman Kamper is Associate Professor and Postgraduate Coordinator in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering. He is a Professional Engineer registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). Prof. Kamper is an NRF Y1 rated researcher. He was named the Faculty of Engineering's Upcoming Researcher of the Year in 2019 and received the IEEE ICASSP Outstanding Reviewer Award in 2022. He is the co-founder and organizer of the seminar series and discussion forum Maties Machine Learning (MML), 2017 to present.

Prof Kamper's teaching philosophy aims at enabling students to grasp the threshold concepts in his course, and to learn the skills through which these concepts are applied to solve real problems. He accomplishes this by

a) getting students excited so that they are motivated to engage with the subject matter,

b) giving students the lay of the land, so that they have the bigger picture, and

c) equipping students to build their own knowledge by showing them where to find and how to process the relevant resources.

Ms Mareli Rossouw is a lecturer in Financial Accounting in the School of Accountancy, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. She is a member of the SAICA Community of Best Practice, Critical Thinking, and has been a SAICA ITC Marker since 2020. She has received four First-year Achievement Awards and was voted Online top lecturer (undergraduate category) by her students in 2020. She is a member of the EMS Faculty Readmission committee and has been serving as a Thuthuka lecturer mentor since 2013.

Ms Rossouw's teaching philosophy is based on the drivers of trust, personal development, passion, and critical thinking. She believes that:

  • learning will happen if students also believe in the journey and the authenticity of the content being taught – she feeds into this belief through trust;
  • students develop, personally and as learners, through teaching – she encourages further development through assessment;
  • teaching should motivate and encourage students in their learning – she tries to achieve this through her passion and enthusiasm; and
  • teaching should change the way students think about the work that they are learning – she aims to develop critical thinking in this regard. 

The Centre for Teaching and Learning would like to congratulate these three lecturers on their achievement and their dedication to their teaching and their students' learning. They will receive their awards at a Teaching and Learning celebration on 2 March 2023.  

For enquiries about the SU Teaching Awards, please contact Dr Karin Cattell-Holden at kcattell@sun.ac.za.

On the photo above are (from left to right) Prof. Faadiel Essop, Ms Mareli Rossouw and Prof. Herman Kamper.

*  The Scholarly Teacher award is open to teaching academics who are reflective practitioners and also: draw on educational literature to reflect on their teaching practice and professional growth, and move beyond personal reflection to observation and peer review of their teaching. (Teaching and Learning Policy, 2018:4-5)

The Leaderly Teaching Scholar award is open to teaching academics who are scholarly teachers and also: contribute to the body of teaching and learning knowledge through publication, and provide leadership in the field of teaching practice institutionally, nationally and internationally. (Teaching and Learning Policy, 2018:5)

The Teaching Collaboration award is open to a group of two or more academics from the same department or different departments/faculties who have worked together over a sustained period to design, develop and deliver a module, programme or other teaching-related project, such as curriculum renewal. At the time of application, the module/programme/project must already have been in the implementation phase for a minimum of two years. ​