UWL head of Accounting and Finance recognised with National Teaching Fellow award

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UWL head of Accounting and Finance recognised with National Teaching Fellow award

8 August 2022

Dr Dinusha Weerawardane, Head of Subject for Accounting and Finance at the Claude Littner Business School at the University of West London, has received a National Teaching Fellow award from Advance HE.

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) celebrates and recognises individuals who have made an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession in higher education. Dinusha was nominated for the Fellowship by UWL’s own academic development unit, the Centre for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT).

It is an honour to be recognised for excellence in teaching and learning at a national level in the UK,”

Dinusha says.

I am also delighted to win this prestigious award for my institution, where there are a plethora of highly qualified and experienced staff members doing amazing things.”

As a career-focused university with a diverse community of students, UWL does much to widen participation and improve social mobility, she adds:

This ethos aligns with my own values and aspirations. I am passionate about helping students unlock their career potential. Inclusiveness, innovation, staff and student achievement, and student experience are my core drivers.”

As a Principal Fellow of Advance HE and a Global Council member of ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), Dinusha actively engages in her own professional development, using it to inform and inspire others.

The number of female graduates taking on careers in finance is still significantly lower than their male counterparts, something that Dinusha is keen to address:

At UWL, I have had the opportunity to empower many students, especially women, into choosing finance careers. Together with my team, I have embedded employability skills through the application of a spiral curriculum. This has helped break down self-perceptions that were acting as barriers.”

Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Anthony Woodman said:

We are proud and delighted to see this well-deserved recognition for Dinusha’s work.”

She has been instrumental in creating networks with employers and professional bodies to promote the role of women in finance, even including female accountancy undergraduates in school outreach programmes to encourage girls into finance, which had an empowering effect on the undergraduates themselves.”

View and find out more about this year’s NTFS winners.

Find out more about studying accounting and finance at the Claude Littner Business School.

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