Dr Chamith Wijenayake from UQ’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science has been awarded a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning at the Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT).
The national citation recognises Dr Wijenayake’s evidence based, student centred approach to teaching large Electrical and Computer Engineering courses, with a strong focus on hands on learning and authentic practical experience.
Over his academic career, Dr Wijenayake has taught more than 5,000 undergraduate students, and in the past five years at UQ has coordinated and lectured in some of the School’s largest and most technically demanding courses, including Introduction to Computer Systems and Digital System Design.
He has transformed traditional lecture delivery by integrating interactive polling, live annotations, video experiments and in class demonstrations, making abstract engineering concepts clearer and more engaging. During the COVID 19 pandemic, he introduced at home laboratory kits to maintain hands on learning while teaching online. His teaching innovations have been supported by Scholarship of Teaching and Learning grants from Echo360 and MathWorks, and he contributes to research publications in both engineering and engineering education.
Dr Wijenayake’s career achievements have been recognised across UQ, including a School Teaching Award (2020), Faculty Citation for Excellence in Teaching (2022), Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (2023), UQ Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2024) and multiple Dean’s commendations.
Reflecting on the award, Dr Wijenayake said he was honoured to receive national recognition:
“I’ve always been inspired by the moment when theory becomes real for students, when circuits turn abstract ideas into something they can see and build. My goal is to create learning experiences that engage, motivate and ultimately empower students to become confident engineers"
"I’m also grateful for the strong support from the School of EECS, the EAIT Faculty and the University, which helps us deliver a world class learning experience for UQ students.”
Dr Wijenayake is one of six UQ academics recognised nationally at this year’s AAUT, underscoring the University’s longstanding leadership in teaching excellence.
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