Education and Training Foundation and Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 award Exeter College’s Stephen Mariadas a Technical Teaching Fellowship

Today at an event held at The Royal Society, Stephen Mariadas was awarded a Technical Teaching Fellowship from the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) in partnership with the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.

Fellowships are awarded to outstanding practitioners who are recognised for their high impact teaching practice and the delivery of effective outcomes for learners.

Stephen Mariadas, Deputy Head of Maths & Science and Data Analytics at Exeter College, was one of three individuals awarded the fellowship. The three new Technical Teaching Fellows are all expected to share their learning and expertise across the sector as part of the award.

The ETF and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 launched the Technical Teaching Fellowship programme in June 2018 with the aim to celebrate, develop and disseminate exceptional practice in technical teaching. This is to support and empower the industrial and technical expertise of individuals, who support the progression of learners to higher levels of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) study and employment.

David Russell, Chief Executive Officer at the Education and Training Foundation, said:

“Everyone at the Education and Training Foundation would like to congratulate the expert teachers on being awarded their Fellowships.

“The Fellows will be a great benefit to the Further Education and Training Sector by being at the forefront of improving technical education in the sector. Through encouraging collaborations between industry and further education providers and assisting learner advancement, the Fellows will develop scope for further improvement in technical education and training.”

John Laramy, Exeter College Principal and Chief Executive said:

“I am delighted that Stephen’s talent as an exceptional teacher has been recognised by the award of a technical teaching fellowship. As a college, teaching and learning is at the heart of our success.

“We also aim to have a ‘line of sight’ to industry in all of our technical provision – so this technical teaching fellowship recognises both teaching and learning, and our passion for relevant, impactful and industry facing delivery. This award follows national recognition for our STEM provision, as the college was named STEM College of the Year by Enthuse.

“Many congratulations to Stephen and thank you to the ETF and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 for raising the profile of highly effective technical teaching and learning.”

Cerian Ayres, Head of Technical Education at the Education and Training Foundation, said:

“It is fantastic to see the work of three outstanding technical teachers being recognised. I am sure that through their Fellowships they will continue to share their knowledge, skills and experience with colleagues and consequently contribute to ensuring positive learner experiences and outcomes, supporting individuals to progress to higher levels of technical, STEM study and employment.’’

Nigel Williams, Secretary of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, said:

“The young scientists and engineers that form the future of Britain’s science and technology rely on the excellence of those who train them. We hope that, by helping to improve the quality of technical teaching at further education colleges, students will be inspired to pursue careers that enrich British industry”

The Technical Teaching Fellowship is a prestigious award only granted to applicants who have met the high standards required by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 selection panel.

As a new Technical Teaching Fellow, Mr Mariadas will:

• receive an award of £5,000 – £15,000 to support knowledge transfer activity and to ensure remission time is guaranteed
• develop “Pathways to Impact”- knowledge transfer activity action plans, to maximise the benefit of their Fellowships
• attend two one-day developmental workshops over the academic year 2019/2020
• be allocated a programme mentor to support them for the duration of the programme
• be expected to disseminate their work at national conferences in January and July 2020
• contribute to the delivery of a final report, written to engage and motivate technical education in their area of practice.

The Fellowships will commence in the 2019/20 academic year. The three awardees will also be made Fellows of the Society for Education and Training and will be awarded a year’s free membership during their participation in the programme.

To find out more about the programme visit the Education and Training Foundation website.