You're Valued Award Winners

One of the ways that we celebrate the excellent work of staff across the University is with our annual You’re Valued awards!

Over the last academic year, we have been asking for submissions from the staff who have gone above and beyond to make your experience at Royal Holloway the best it can possibly be. These staff promote and embody the values of the SU and the University and we appreciate all members of staff who have a positive impact on the student experience. Please join us in celebrating the winners of the You’re Valued award for the 2023/24 academic year!

Dr Elton Xhetani

Senior Lecturer in the School of Business and Management

Elton is consistently praised for being a fantastic lecturer and received a whopping 18 nominations this academic year. His passion and patience allow students to build confidence in their studies and he is always more than happy to spend extra time explaining the content to students and welcoming questions in his classes.

Don Thompson

Senior Lecturer in Geography

Don has been a key figure in the Geography department for 30 years and has been responsible for organising the field trip to Spain for first-year students. He is described as a loving and enthusiastic lecturer with a passion for helping his students and supporting them to pursue a career in the field.

Dr Enrique Lopez

Reader in Plant Development

Enrique is described as a great lecturer who puts his students first. He is praised for taking in student feedback and using his initiative to act upon it. Students state that the content is thoroughly explained, and he goes out of his way to provide extra resources to make sure that the content is understandable.

Dr Helen McKee

Visiting Tutor in English

Helen’s teaching is of high quality, and she has a real student-focused attitude, making sure that she always puts her students first. She is timely when responding to queries and ensures that she makes time to speak to students.

Dr Lucy Gill-Simmen

Vice-Dean for Education & Student Experience in the School of Business and Management & Senior Lecturer in Marketing

Lucy is an incredibly student-focused lecturer and supervisor who always does her best to ensure that students excel both within the university environment and in the job sector. She makes her students feel welcome and is passionate about supporting students to do their best.

Jenny Chivers

Student Counselling Caseworker

Jenny’s support has helped many students to deal with the pressures and anxieties that they are feeling. She is highly commended for her work as she takes additional time to research student issues, which allows her to offer better support. Jenny is the first person from the Wellbeing team to be nominated for this award.

Dr. Yu Zheng

Reader in Human Resource Management and Organisational Studies

Dr Zheng is praised for being a kind, patient and inclusive lecturer. She is a great listener and goes above and beyond to help her students. She will go the extra mile to make her students feel supported.

Carlos Matos

Head of Department for Computer Science

Carlos creates a delightful learning atmosphere, and students love the way their course is structured. He is described as compassionate and is highly recommended for this award.

Dr Emilio Zucchetti

Lecturer and Community and Inclusion Lead in Classics

Emilio has been recognised by Classics Course Reps for excelling in his role as Community and Inclusion Lead and for having a massive impact on students in the department. He has also been praised for actively looking out for neurodivergent students and making efforts to improve the sense of inclusivity as well as being an overall supportive and engaging teacher in his modules.