Recognising Navitas Advance HE Fellows

As a global member of Advance HE, Navitas aims to champion teaching excellence in higher education. Since 2018, Navitas Learning and Teaching Services (UPA) has been supporting Navitas professional and academic members of staff through the process of writing their Advance HE Fellowship applications through the Navitas Advance HE Fellowship program. To date, 154 (and counting!) Navitas staff joined the program and have been awarded Fellowship, and today we are celebrating the newest 23 Fellows (listed below)!

Fellows from the 2022 program share their reflections on the experience:

“Receiving an Advance HE Fellowship has opened new opportunities for me in my career and has given me a greater sense of purpose and direction in my teaching and coordination practice. It has also connected me with a community of like-minded educators who are committed to improving student learning outcomes. As an educator, I am constantly seeking ways to improve my teaching practice and engage my students. Receiving Senior Fellowship has provided me with the tools and knowledge to do just that and has given me a renewed sense of passion and commitment to my work. It has challenged me to think critically about my teaching practice and to continuously strive for improvement.” – Nicky Zaikis (SFHEA), Academic Coordinator | SAIBT – Adelaide

“The whole process was really well supported. More than just an application, it was a journey of reflecting on, and renewing, my learning and teaching practice. I especially valued the rounds of feedback that fostered deeper engagement with the professional standards framework, and the conversations with peers that were both supportive and inspiring. I have really appreciated the opportunity to be part of this. We don’t often take the time we need to really ask why we do the how of what we’re doing. Whilst it can be quite an effort to ask, and answer, those questions, I feel I am a better educator, mentor, and learner, because of it.” – Associate Professor Helen Correia (SFHEA) | ACAP – Perth

“Obtaining SFHEA is a significant mark in my professional development, and I am grateful to Navitas L&T Community for creating this opportunity for me. The resources, guidance, and support- everything was great from drafting my application to the final submission. I believe this endorsement will allow me to collaborate broadly with the community and contribute more towards our students’ learning experience. I encourage everyone to take this opportunity to reflect on their own teaching practice and engage in their professional development.” – Dr Azad Noor (SFHEA) | Brunel University London Pathway College – UK

“Completing the Fellowship program at Navitas was a valuable and enriching experience. The program provides a comprehensive professional development opportunity, including guidance and feedback throughout the process, helping me reflect on my teaching experience and gaining a deeper understanding of the principles of higher education. I appreciated the support of my colleagues at Navitas, who were instrumental in helping me achieve this recognition and I look forward to continuing my education journey – FHEA done, SFHEA next.” – Dr Daniel du Plooy (FHEA) | ACAP – Melbourne

“The application for Fellowship process has provided me with an opportunity to reflect on the manner in which I encouraged staff to implement pedagogical materials and processes that I had developed. This gave insight to the many challenges, lessons learnt, and plans for the future implementation. All in all, the process was made more manageable through the guidance of local mentors.” – Associate Professor Hsien-Jin Teoh (SFHEA) | ACAP – Brisbane

Fellows from the 2022 program include (a few more outcomes are outstanding):

Senior Fellows (SFHEA)

Kristy Nikas – Deakin College
Nicky Zaikis – SAIBT
Paula Facal Marina – SAIBT
Azad Noor – Brunel University Pathway College
Tim Kitevski – SAE (Perth)
Hsien-Jin Teoh – ACAP (Brisbane)
Haidee Hicks – ACAP (Melbourne)
Helen Correia – ACAP (Perth)
Sharon Aris – ACAP (Sydney)

Fellows (FHEA)

John Bahtsevanoglou – Deakin College
Bridget Morrissey – Deakin College
Gemma Digby – Deakin College
Tanya-Lee Robinson – Griffith College
Hong To – WSUIC
Zhia Zariko – SAE (Melbourne)
Nick Harrison – SAE (Melbourne)
Strutts Psyridis – SAE (Melbourne)
Angela Liu – SAE (Perth)
Michael Unwin – SAE (Perth)
Haruka Kitamura – ACAP (Brisbane)
Daniel du Plooy – ACAP (Sydney)
Kimmi Smellin – ACAP (Darwin)

Associate Fellows (AFHEA)

Kristen Lee – SAE (Sydney)

The 2023 Navitas Advance HE Fellowship program started in February. Six current Navitas Advance HE Fellows joined one of the live sessions as guest speakers providing their valuable insights on the experience, sharing tips and tricks on preparing an Advance HE Fellowship application with the current cohort of applicants. A big thank you goes to: Dilini Eriyawala (FHEA) and Puspa Muniandy (FHEA) from Deakin College, Lili Zhang (FHEA) from UCC, and Daniel Du Plooy (FHEA), Helen Correia (SFHEA), Hsien-Jin Teoh (SFHEA) from ACAP.

If you would like more information on the Navitas Advance HE Fellowship program, contact Karen.McRae@navitas.com.

Photo by Sagar Patil on Unsplash