24 November 2006
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Monash University's fully interactive, large scale digital teaching laboratory for effective learning of microscopy skills has won a major prize at this year's Business-Higher Education Round Table Awards.
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Monash University has received one of the five main prizes at the Business-Higher Education Round Table Awards.
The Best Education and Training Collaboration award for 2006 went to a project involving Associate Professor Gordon Sanson, Head of the School of Biological Sciences, Chinese optics company Motic Ltd and Australian Instrument Services Pty Ltd.
The collaboration, begun in 2004, has produced what is believed to be the world's first fully interactive, large scale digital teaching laboratory for effective learning of microscopy skills.
The facility consists of 56 student work stations that are linked by digital cameras to microscopes, PCs and teaching computers so that multimedia information can be fed throughout the entire laboratory to enable total class interactive engagement in real time.
Dr Sanson said microscopy proficiency was a vital skill set in biology. "Yet for most students, acquiring the skills to set up and use a microscope properly is an isolating, frustrating experience," he said.
"Much of the frustration arises from the inability of both student and teacher to view and interact with the subject matter simultaneously. This not only restricts the complexity of knowledge transfer, it substantially increases the amount of time required to demonstrate and instruct each student," Dr Sanson said.
Monash Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard Larkins congratulated all those involved, saying the B-HERT award was appropriate recognition for the effort and innovation involved.
It is the second B-HERT award for Monash -- in 2001 the university's Centre for Environmental Management received an award for Outstanding Collaboration in Research and Development for its research partnership with Westpac Investment Management and the Health Employees Superannuation Trust of Australia.
The annual B-HERT awards, for projects or programs that have produced new products or services, recognise outstanding achievement in an area of activity vital to the future of Australia.
Photographs of the laboratory are available.
For more information contact Ms Robyn Anns, Media Communications, on +61 3 9905 9317 or 0417 568 781.
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