Winner of the President's Award for Excellent Performance and Achievement in Teaching 2004/05

Since joining the University in July 2002, Dr Wright has demonstrated outstanding teaching performance with consistently high SFQ results. He sees teaching as a labour of love and indeed has laboured to develop a coherent and distinctive philosophy of teaching and learning, determined to equip students for the real world by emphasizing the need to “take it to the next level” through the development of critical thinking skills.

Dr Wright’s influence extends beyond the classroom. He often discusses teaching innovations with colleagues and actively promotes an innovative teaching culture within the department. He has made a particular contribution to the Faculty’s development of Work-Integrated Education (WIE). He chairs the Department’s WIE Task Force and, with his usual enthusiasm and commitment, has developed an excellent model and plan for implementation, and has worked with the Educational Development Centre (EDC) to develop and pilot test an on-line management system for WIE. In addition, through his constant liaison with the business community (many of them guest speakers at his classes), he has single-handedly set up an internship scheme for final-year Human Resource Management undergraduates, finding part-time work placements for almost the entire class in each of the past two years.

Dr Wright is a very demanding teacher, especially in terms of students’ active participation and discussion in classes, but his individual-centred approach (even with relatively large classes) sets him apart from other teachers.