Dr Nirmani Wijenayake, Academic Mentor, Science

Nirmani has been an Education Focussed academic at the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABS) for three years where she coordinates large second-year courses with up to 300 students. She is known as a leader in my school for developing and integrating online resources and technology into teaching to enhance student experience, increase engagement and provide students with a personalised education.

Nirmani has experimented with and adapted many different technology and platforms such as Smart Sparrow, H5P, LabArchives in her teaching over the last few years. Her main drive as an Education Focussed Academic is to ensure that students learn and understand what is taught in class rather than just getting by to pass the exams; that they feel like what they are learning is relevant, and that academics care about their learning. She wants the students to become inspired by what they learn and be driven to learn more on their own because they find it fascinating. 

Nirmani's contribution to teaching has been acknowledged by the BABS teaching awards she has won as well as the adoption by other academics of resources she has created due to their innovative and sustainable nature. She has been part of teams that received internal funding from SEF and SEIF grants for the development of virtual laboratories and professional development of sessional staff.

Nirmani has also taken a leadership role in her School by conducting numerous outreach activities for High School students, mentoring others around online learning, and developing resources for sessional staff. 

Email [email protected] to enquire if Nirmani is available to mentor you.

Conditions for mentoring facilitation

• one-on-one mentoring
• group mentoring
• 1-2 mentees at any stage