In order to achieve success in teaching, it is imperative that the credibility of the teacher be demonstrated to students on both personal and professional levels.

That is according to Liz Sidiropoulos from CQU Melbourne International Campus, a recent recipient of the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Early Career Teacher of the Year (as a dual award with David Qian, also from CQU Melbourne).

Vice-Chancellor Professor John Rickard presents the award to Liz Sidiropoulos

For the past 4 years, Liz has been teaching in the Faculty of Business and Informatics.

She has had an extensive career in Australia, Greece and the United Kingdom in a range of professional business activities.

Liz has worked for national and overseas companies such as the Victorian Department of Natural Resources & Environment, the Australian Dairy Corporation, Frank Lynn & Associates, London, Food from Britain, and the UK Meat and Livestock Commission.

She continues to stay connected to her discipline and this helps maintain student motivation.

The Vice-Chancellor's Award For Early Career Teacher of the Year was based on an Ms Sidiropoulos's philosophy which is premised on 2 of the following statements:

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited". Plutarch

I hear, and I forget.  I see, and I remember.  I do, and I understand". Chinese Proverb 

Ms Sidiropoulos's teaching philosophy consists of dimensions that relate to the purpose of education, environmental issues, the pedagogy of teaching and finally her own development/growth as a teacher.

Her approach to teaching practice is to increase levels of student engagement and promote different ways of learning by fostering experiential and contextual learning where the students are engaged and interactive with one another and the content.

As an educator, Ms Sidiropoulos's purpose is to assist students in their journey towards understanding and living successfully in the world.

She notes that today's world is witnessing a change in societal values/views, requiring a new kind of citizen, worker and thinker.

To be successful, each person needs to be IT literate, creative, constructive, cooperative, and a resilient and confident individual.

Ms Sidiropoulos regards it as her responsibility to foster the development of students' critical, creative and reflective thinking skills, enabling them to be adaptive, independent thinkers, able to "do" as well as "think outside the box". Such tools will enable them to make a positive contribution to today's and tomorrow's society, wherever they choose to live. 

Liz has achieved great teaching success, which is evidenced by the many positive commendations from students and the improvement in overall student outcomes in her courses.

She prides herself on being an active teacher who promotes positive learning experiences by relating the material being taught to the students' own lives and as one attests:

"I really wanna say that Liz is the best tutor I have met and she is very inspiring and she knows how to lead us to think.....Thanks for your fantastic teaching!..."