The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education is pleased to announce the 2014 Alan Blizzard Award for distinguished collaboration in Canadian university teaching and learning. Congratulations to the team from the University of Toronto for their collaborative project, “Curricular and Co-Curricular Leadership Learning for Engineering Students.” This exemplary project involves a large, collaborative team from Engineering, Social Science, Education, Student Life, Corporate, Research and Academic Administration.
Motivated by the belief that leadership education enables engineering graduates to contribute more effectively in the workplace and society, this year’s winning team introduced the Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (ILead) in 2010. The ILead engineering leadership program offers engineering students intentional, structured and meaningful leadership development opportunities that integrate leadership theory and application. The program addresses the four realms of leadership (self, team, organization and society) through curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular experiences including presentations in large classes, seminars, certificate programs, retreats and courses. To date, the program has reached thousands of students.
The Alan Blizzard Award was established by the Society for Teaching and Learning to encourage, identify, and publicly recognize those whose exemplary collaboration in university teaching enhances student learning. The concept for the Alan Blizzard Award was developed by a committee including Chris Knapper (President, 1982-1987), Alan Blizzard (President, 1987-1995), Pat Rogers (President, 1995-2000), and Dale Roy (Coordinator, 3M National Teaching Fellowship). The Award honours Alan Blizzard in promoting the vision and practice of collaborative teaching for deep learning.