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Two Â鶹ƵµÀ Leicester (DMU) academics have been awarded National Teaching Fellowships in recognition of their outstanding contribution to teaching and inspiring colleagues in higher education.

Associate Professors Di Turgoose of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, and Dr Irina Gokh of the Faculty of Business and Law, are among 55 new national teaching fellows announced by Advance HE. The award celebrates and recognises people who have made an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession. It brings the total number of NTFs at DMU to 17.


AWARDS: Irina Gokh (left) with Professor Susan Orr, PVC Education and Equalities, and Di Turgoose

Di said: “As an aspiring NTF, I have always found the NTF community to be collegiate, inspiring, nurturing, empowering, and reassuring, and I am immensely honoured to receive this prestigious award. Special thanks go to my longstanding colleague and mentor, Angela O’Sullivan - Emeritus Professor of inclusion, who has, and continues to be a source of inspiration – I could not have done it without her.”

Irina said: “It was honestly a total shock to hear I would be awarded a national teaching fellowship. This is one of my proudest moments and I would like to thank my mentor, Alasdair Blair and all the many colleagues who were willing to share their advice.”

Di Turgoose came to DMU in 2006 from a career in criminal justice, and her wealth of professional experience and innovative teaching has helped inspire thousands of students on professional, UG and post graduate programmes of study including probation, policing, criminal investigation, social work, criminology and psychology.

Di became a DMU Teacher Fellow in 2019 and Associate Professor Teaching and Learning in 2021, where she champions pracademia – blending teaching, research, policy and practice to deliver innovative pedagogic outcomes.

Dr Gokh, Associate Head (Education) of the School of Leadership, Management and Marketing, joined DMU in 2018 and now helps guide the student journey for around 4,000 students in the faculty.

She has helped develop block teaching at DMU and, as a former international student, works to remove barriers to learning using different pedagogical tools to bring more immersive, interactive experiences to sessions. She has her where she explores different teaching methods and interviews figures in international business.

Professor Susan Orr, Pro Vice-Chancellor Education and Equalities, said she was proud of Irina and Di’s achievements. She added: “Both Di and Irina exemplify the ethos of DMU’s Empowering University strategy. They are passionate about passing on their expertise by co-creating and  developing innovative approaches to learning and teaching which  transform the lives of our students. At DMU we are extremely proud to have such a successful track record of NTF awards, which is reflective of the important work that all our staff undertake in creating a welcoming and inspiring learning environment for our students to thrive in.”

The National Teaching Fellowship awards are officially presented at a ceremony in October. Some 55 HE professionals and 17 teams are due to be recognised for their outstanding contribution to excellent teaching.

Alison Johns, Advance HE Chief Executive said: “We know that higher education has the power to transform lives but this doesn’t happen by default. Outstanding teaching is the result of knowledge, commitment, passion, energy and creativity. All of these 2024 winners demonstrate these attributes and put them into practice with excellent results.  

“It is vital for student success that we invest in higher education teaching and promote the value of excellence.”