Colin O'Hare, a senior teaching fellow at Queen's University Management School and programme director for the BSc Actuarial Science and Risk Management, has been nominated for the Times Higher Education Awards 2011 Most Innovative Teacher of the Year.
The Times Higher Education Innovative Teacher of the year award is open to all lecturers in the UK and each year receives hundreds of entries. This is the first time that a lecturer in actuarial science has been shortlisted for this prize.
Mr O'Hare said that he was "delighted to be shortlisted for this prestigious award. To be named as one of the top six innovative educators in the UK is a significant honour for me and the School. It is very exciting to have my work recognised at the highest level."
A testimony to Mr O'Hare's efforts comes from Bro McFerran, Managing Director of Allstate Northern Ireland, former president of the Chamber of Commerce who said:
"Allstate NI has been working with Colin and with Queen's University Management School regarding the Actuarial degree programme for over three years. In that time we have been extremely pleased with the course content and delivery, its focus on industry and the innovative methods being used.
"Through our internship and placement programme we have been able to benchmark the output from QUB against the best of what's available in the US and the results have been very impressive. If you combine that quality with the flexibility and willingness to collaborate and engage, the overall partnership has proved to be mutually very profitable. A true win-win."
The winner of the Most Innovative Teacher of the Year award will be announced at a gala dinner in London on 24 November to be held in the Grosvenor House Hotel.