Awardee of the UWI/Guardian General Premium Teaching Award 2007, Dr Paul Walcott (right), receiving his prize from John Jones, vice-president of Guardian General Limited, Barbados. (GP)

DR. PAUL WALCOTT, computer information engineering expert, is the recipient of the 2007 UWI/Guardian General Premium Teaching Award.

He was one of three nominees from the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, and chief judge Dr Joy Mighty, professor and director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning, Queen's University, said the judges were unanimous in their decision to award the prize to Walcott as they were impressed with his passion for teaching.

The presentation of the award, which had the theme Dynamic Teaching In A Heterogeneous Learning Environment, was presented at the Errol Barrow Centre For Creative Imagination last Monday.

Mighty said she had seen hundreds of portfolios in her career and those of the Barbadian three were excellent. She called on deans of faculties to play a critical role in nominating faculty members for the award.

The award aims to enhance the teaching process at UWI and offer recognition for outstanding accomplishment of the academic staff.

Deputy principal of UWI Cave Hill, Professor Leo Moseley, said Walcott was one of three young outstanding research workers and teachers.

Moseley commended Guardian General for using its resources to contribute to the academic exercise. He said gaining the award added to the prestige of an especially small campus like Cave Hill. He noted teaching today was not the same
as it was, and learning was not achieved in the same way. He commended the nominees for taking the "high road" of finding new technologies to teach.

Walcott, of the Department of Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics, was responsible for creating the MSc e-commerce programme launched at Cave Hill in 2006.

"This award will bring teaching and learning into the forefront and this is extremely important," Walcott told the DAILY NATION, adding he was happy for the recognition of his efforts in teaching.

"I really have to give credit to my family because they actually sacrificed the time. The process is very time-consuming. At the university level it is about research and contribution to university life," he said. (AK)