Mr Felipe Schuery awarded Pilkington Prize for excellence in teaching

Congratulations to Magdalene Fellow Mr Felipe Schuery (2018), one of thirteen Cambridge academics awarded the 2023 Pilkington Prize for their outstanding approach to teaching. The Pilkington Prize is awarded to individuals who make a substantial contribution to the teaching programme of a Department, Faculty or the University as a whole.

Since joining Modern & Medieval Languages & Linguistics (MMLL) in 2014, Felipe Schuery has been teaching the Portuguese language across the entire Tripos. He has rebuilt the whole language programme with creativity and dynamism. His classes, both remote and face-to-face, are described by colleagues as an ideal mix of sound pedagogy and imaginative thinking, and by students as engaging and enjoyable. They respond to his charismatic style with enthusiasm, praising not only his ability to create a comfortable and productive learning environment, but also his sensitivity to individual students' needs. He was nominated for the Cambridge Students' Union Student-Led Teaching Awards in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Felipe's outstanding contribution goes beyond the classroom. As Director of Computer-Assisted Language Learning, he supports colleagues in the use of digital platforms and encourage students to develop their linguistic competence whilst also becoming autonomous creators of digital content. He is a collegial force in outreach and widening participation, offering taster sessions in Summer Schools, presenting talks in Open Days and co-organising the MMLL events in the Cambridge Festival. His vision and generosity rose to the challenge presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, when he co-created the Cambridge-UERJ Virtual Exchange, which paired students of Portuguese with university students in Brazil to further their oral skills and engage in intercultural experiences.

The full list of 2023 Pilkington Prize winners can be seen at Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning - Pilkington Prize 2023.

Wording from this article first appeared on the University of Cambridge Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning and has been shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.