Aston University's Dr Sam Strong wins teaching and learning award

A senior lecturer at Aston University’s school of optometry has been named Greater Birmingham Young Professional of the Year in training and education.

Dr Sam Strong received the accolade in recognition of her “dedication, talent and success within the education and training sectors” from the Future Faces division of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.

This year’s awards took place at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre earlier this month (18 October).

On receiving the award, judges described Strong as having a “can-do attitude with an amazing commitment to young professionals within higher education.”

Within Aston University’s school of optometry, Strong organises skills tutorials to build students’ self-confidence. She also encourages open and honest communication from students and staff, and has created new ways to improve individualised student feedback.

Strong spearheaded the launch of an expert panel where current students answer questions from incoming students in Welcome Week to help foster a sense of community.

She also organised the first hybrid British Congress of Optometry and Vision Science meeting in 2022, and helps her colleagues upskill in Adobe, Microsoft, and Vevox software.

Strong said: “My goal is to promote opportunities for students to be successful and build their confidence in themselves, and to help create safe, supportive, and inclusive environments for them to grow and learn (and make mistakes). I also want my colleagues to feel empowered to be able to provide appropriate support without overburdening their workload, so I spend a lot of time trying to innovate ways to facilitate that.

“I’m lucky to work in a place that encourages me to be innovative and implement new initiatives. I feel that this award acknowledges that the work I’m doing, and the work Aston University is doing, to help support students is recognised at a regional level.”

Pictured left to right are BBC presenter, Amber Sandhu, who hosted the awards, Strong, and Chris Crossan, from award sponsor Arup.