11 September 2009

Enterprising educator receives national commendation

An enterprising senior lecturer from the University of Sheffield´s Department of Mechanical Engineering, has received national acclaim at the first ever enterprise educators awards.

Elena Rodriguez-Falcon has become one of the first people to get the `educator highly commended´ award from the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE) and Enterprise Educators UK (EEUK) at last week´s annual award ceremony, which recognised excellence within enterprise education.

Elena´s prestigious commendation recognises her as a trail-blazer for entrepreneurial education in at the University of Sheffield and for the city itself. She has worked with students on a number of enterprising projects and focuses on working directly with disadvantaged individuals with specific needs that can be improved by engineering and enterprise solutions. In particular, Elena and students from the University have worked with staff and patients at Sheffield Children´s Hospital to develop a special walking frame for children with brittle bones. In addition, Elena and her students have collaborated with St Luke´s Hospice to design a BlinkLink device that could help patients alert their carers by blinking in different rhythms to signify if they needed help, as well as a writing aiding device to help people with rheumatic conditions.


Since joining the University in 2001, Elena has also already achieved two University Senate Awards for learning and teaching, the Higher Education Academy Teaching Award in 2004 and two learning and teaching awards from the Royal Academy of Engineering, including a highly prestigious award from ExxonMobil. Most recently, Elena became the first person at the University of Sheffield to gain Senior Fellow status at the Higher Education Academy and has also just been made an ambassador for the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Elena Rodriguez-Falcon, senior lecturer at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield, said: "Being recognised as a 'highly commended enterprise educator' is very rewarding to me as enterprise has been the major focus of my career in higher education and I am very grateful to the NCGE and EEUK for their support."

Professor Paul White, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching at the University, said: "The University of Sheffield is building a strong reputation in encouraging its students in enterprise activities. Elena has played a significant role through her innovative work in her own department of Mechanical Engineering, and through her wider contribution to the University's Enterprise Zone.

"She enthuses students to think how their ideas could be turned into viable business projects, and inspires everyone around her with her commitment, good humour and drive."

Alison Price, Director of Educator Development for the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship, said: "This is the first year that the achievement of enterprise educators working in the UK has been nationally acknowledged and celebrated.

"The category of enterprise educator was hotly contested with submissions from all subjects and disciplines – and we were moved to the unprecedented step of creating a "highly commended" award because of the strength of the field.

"Elena is a well deserving winner and this important national award is further testament to the ground breaking achievements that Elena is driving in her work at the University of Sheffield. She is a true champion, working to develop entrepreneurial mindsets in engineers, as well as supporting institutional and regional enterprise activity."