Two Queen Mary academics awarded National Teaching Fellowships

The awards are in recognition of their outstanding record as educators and in enhancing the student learning experience.

Dr Randall is a Senior Lecturer in Global Public Health at Queen Mary and Student Experience Lead for Global Health. She has played a central role in the development and launch of Queen Mary’s online MSc in Global Health, and has also been key to the development of the ‘Stepping Stones’ and ‘Get Ahead’ programmes, which were established to support students across Queen Mary in making the transition to university-level study.

Over the course of a 20-year career, Dr Randall’s teaching has led to transformative and empowering learning experiences for hundreds of students. She was also awarded ‘Teacher of the Year’ in the 2021 Queen Mary Students’ Union Education Awards, and was named ‘Lecturer of the Year’ by the Barts and The London Students’ Association last year.

Commenting on her National Teaching Fellowship, Dr Randall said: “I have always tried to encourage a safe space where students can feel seen and understood and allow themselves to be vulnerable to learning and changing.

“The huge range of emotions that define a life of teaching are what makes me know that this is what I was born to do. I am incredibly proud to receive this recognition of my efforts and the difference I hope I have made to students’ lives.”

Dr Louise Younie is a Clinical Reader in Medical Education, a practicing General Practitioner, and a Queen Mary Academy Fellow. Dr Younie has more than 20 years’ experience in education, and has been instrumental in the establishment of the Student Enhanced Engagement and Development (SEED) Award  at Queen Mary, which was set up to recognise students for their involvement in co-creation.

She combines her role as co-lead for the SEED Award with strategic oversight work within the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, as well as her own front-line teaching. This has allowed Dr Younie to achieve transformative results putting compassion and creativity at the forefront of medical education.

Dr Younie said: “I am thrilled to receive this Fellowship and am excited to build on my work engaging students in compassionate understanding as part of their learning, putting students and their needs at the heart of teaching.

“Human relationships and compassion are the golden thread through my work educating the medical practitioners of tomorrow. I am still just as passionate about this now as the day I started, and I would like to thank all my students and collaborators for making teaching so rewarding.”

Queen Mary has a strong record of its educators being awarded NTFs. Since the scheme’s inception, 14 other Queen Mary academics have been appointed.

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme is designed for individuals who can clearly demonstrate having an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession. Becoming a National Teaching Fellow is widely recognised in higher education as a mark of quality, both in the UK and internationally.

Professor Stephanie Marshall, Vice-Principal (Education) at Queen Mary University of London, said: “I am delighted for both Dr Randall and Dr Younie for their richly-deserved Fellowships. They both perfectly encapsulate what we believe outstanding teaching should look like.

“These awards are among the most prestigious within higher education. It is a proud moment for Queen Mary that we continue to add to our number of educators who are deemed as the very best in class within the sector.”