Associate Professor in the School of Economics is awarded for teaching excellence

Associate Professor in the School of Economics, Gigi Foster, is one of four UNSW educators to be celebrated for teaching excellence in the nationwide 2017 Australian Awards for University Teaching.

Dr Foster was the only recipient to be recognised for contributions to higher education teaching and learning within economics in the 2017 awards. She was commended for “invigorating economics education and informing higher education policy through national leadership on academic standards, widespread community engagement, innovations in teaching and rigorous policy-relevant research.”

Her work and research areas include international student performance, higher education politics, grading standards, classroom peer effects, evaluation technology and threshold concepts in economics. She actively feeds her research back into her teaching and encourages public engagement in these fields through commentary in national media and presentation at conferences.

She was one of 89 academics from 32 universities awarded Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning – recognising both individuals and teams who have demonstrated distinction in their ability to innovate, inspire and deliver a richer learning experience for students. The fields of teaching innovation represented in the awards span a broad range of subjects, including psychology, engineering and Indigenous health.

On receiving her 2017 Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, Dr Foster said she was “very honoured. It’s fantastic to be selected amongst a community of such outstanding contributors to student learning.” She received the award on Thursday at a Presentation Ceremony held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.