NUMed’s New Dean of Academic Affairs Honoured for Teaching Excellence
New Dean of Academic Affairs has received prestigious accolades for making an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession.
18 August 2023
Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia’s (NUMed) new Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr Joanna Matthan, was recently awarded the prestigious National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) for excellence in teaching across the medical education sector, and for her innovative teaching approaches, as well as for the significant impact she has made in the anatomy sector during the pandemic, her work on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and widening participation, and her outstanding pastoral support for all her students.
The NTF Scheme, which commenced in 2000, celebrates and recognises outstanding individuals teaching in higher education in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Taking place on an annual basis, it aims to raise the profile of teaching and learning, and is widely recognised as a mark of quality.
Dr Matthan, who was previously the Director of Academic Studies at the School of Dental Sciences at Newcastle University, UK, expressed her excitement and gratitude at garnering the award. “I am thrilled and honoured beyond measure to be recognised as a National Teaching Fellow and to represent my beloved Newcastle University in a forum that shares excellent practice across institutional boundaries. For me, the National Teaching Fellowship is the culmination of a decade of collaborative work across the anatomical and medical education sectors, which slowly but surely extended outwards from my ‘home bases’ in the School of Medicine and School of Dentistry, and has spread steadily wider both nationally and internationally. This award recognises the countless truly amazing interactions with medical and dental students and staff, all of which have moulded me as a person and educator and have afforded me opportunities for personal and professional growth and impact far beyond my own comfort zone into the wider medical educational sphere.”
“My ethos has always been to offer positive learning experiences and compassionate encounters for students, staff, patients, and healthcare professionals – and anyone I encounter – on this journey through academia. It has, however, only been possible for me to even begin to put theory into practice through having been nurtured and guided by numerous wonderful educational enablers in-house and externally – and through collaborations with the Anatomical Society and other external organisations who have so graciously given me opportunities to thrive,” she said.
Having recently assumed her current position at NUMed, Dr Matthan looks forward to expanding on her efforts in Malaysia by enabling the growth and development of the student body here while nurturing a more empowering work and learning culture at the university. “As staff development has always been close to my heart, I will be working closely, but also liaising widely, to share practice and develop together, while cross-pollinating with external organisations to diversify our collaborative practice and impact,” Dr Matthan expands.
With the NTF award under her belt, Dr Matthan joins over 900 national teaching fellows across a wide range of institutions as a member of the Association for National Teaching Fellows. “I cannot wait to start exploring the new landscape that will reveal itself as a result of this national recognition. Gaining access to a network of like-minded educators to learn from will, without a shadow of doubt, provide me with even better opportunities to assist others on their journey to educational excellence. I have already been privileged to have been invited to the launching of the Malaysian Chapter of the Senior Fellows (SFHEA) network (under Advance HE) and, through this, I hope to facilitate wider NUMed staff involvement into this internationally-recognised body that champions pedagogical excellence,” she shared.