Jaksa engineers teaching excellence

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Associate Professor Mark Jaksa, Senior Lecturer in the School of Civil, Environmental & Mining Engineering, was presented the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching during December 2005 graduations.

Associate Professor Jaksa has been at the University of Adelaide for more than 20 years. After studying at Adelaide in the late 1970s and early 1980s he entered the workforce and worked in two consulting engineering practices. In 1988 he returned to the University to obtain his PhD and started his career in teaching.

"I thought I'd come back, get my PhD and head back to the world of consulting engineering, but I worked as a tutor then landed a contract as a lecturer after a few people left, and I've stayed ever since," Associate Professor Jaksa said.

"I love it. My workload is probably about 60% teaching and 40% research. I get to work across a whole range of subjects, probably about 20 to 30, teaching second, third and fourth year students, as well as supervising PhDs.

"My skills as a teacher have come mainly from my own experiences as a student, as well as working with student feedback on what works for them and what doesn't, as well as peer discussion. We often work in isolation, but there is a real focus on evolving our teaching and the need to constantly work on improving our game."

This dedication shows across the results for Associate Professor Jaksa's faculty.

A/Prof Jaksa and Dr Matthew Sorell from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering were the winners of the Stephen Cole the Elder Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

Both winners in this category were from the Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences.

For more information contact Associate Professor Mark Jaksa.