Dr Vicky Papachristou receives award for her presentation at the University of York Annual Learning and Teaching Conference

We are extremely happy to announce that Dr Vicky Papachristou, Assistant Professor in the English Studies Department, received the Poster Session Runner-up award for her presentation at the 2021 Annual Learning and Teaching Conference "The Changing University", organised by the University of York on Friday, July 2nd 2021. The award was made by the University of York Learning and Teaching Forum Committee. More specifically, Dr Vicky Papachristou delivered a poster presentation through a screencast titled "Reconnecting with society: The Public Engagement Scheme", which focused on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion values that educational institutions have started adopting in Europe, showcasing the turning point for change. Drawing on the notion of Service Learning, Dr Papachristou demonstrated how civic engagement has been promoted and successfully implemented in the “Practice in English Language Teaching” Stage-3 module and curriculum of the English Studies Department at CITY College, University of York Europe Campus, by designing and offering language lessons to learners coming from financially vulnerable groups. As the aforementioned module combines public engagement with credit award and employability, teacher-trainees are engaged with real teaching of English in a foreign language context applying the knowledge they have acquired throughout their studies. At the same time, teacher-trainees are assessed via portfolios and observed teaching. What is of pivotal importance is that teacher-trainees offer back to society by teaching learners who come from financially weak social groups and who otherwise would not have the means to learn English. We would like to congratulate Dr Papachristou on the award and the great work she has done in organising and supervising the Public Engagement Scheme.