Professor Katie Willis from the Department of Geography at Royal Holloway has been awarded The Royal Geographical Society’s Taylor & Francis Award for excellence in the promotion and practice of teaching and learning in higher education.
Professor Katie Willis from the Department of Geography.
Professor Katie Willis has been awarded The Royal Geographical Society’s Taylor & Francis Award for excellence in the promotion and practice of teaching and learning in higher education.
On hearing of her award, Professor Willis said, “I am really honoured to receive this award. Communicating geography’s insights into understanding our world and supporting students to develop their own perspectives and skills is a real privilege.
“Teaching and learning are collaborative endeavours, and I have been so fortunate to work with wonderful academic and technical colleagues, as well as thousands of students, all of whom have informed and improved my approach to and style of teaching. I am very grateful to them and to the Society for this award.”
Being a Professor of Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, Professor Willis has extensive teaching experience at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She was Head of Department of Geography from January 2015 to July 2018, and is currently the Undergraduate Education Lead in Geography at the University.
In addition to her teaching role, Professor Willis is a dedicated researcher focused on gender, class, employment and social networks. She has long-standing research interests in the role of gender in migration, and has been keen to understand the experiences of unaccompanied and separated children seeking asylum.
Professor Simon Blockley, Head of Department of Geography at Royal Holloway congratulated Professor Willis on her achievement: “This award is a testament to Katie's amazing teaching and absolute dedication to delivering the best for our students. The award is richly deserved. Katie works hard to deliver fantastic teaching as both an individual teacher and as our departmental education lead.”
The Royal Geographical Society was founded in 1830 to advance geographical science, and this remains its core purpose. The Society achieves this through supporting geographical research, education, fieldwork and expeditions, as well as by advocating on behalf of the discipline, supporting geographers in professional practice, and promoting geography to public audiences.
