We are pleased to announce that Thomas Elston, Associate Professor in Public Administration, is the recipient of the Early Career Teaching Practitioner award in the British Academy of Management Education Practice Awards 2019. The British Academy of Management is the UK’s leading authority in the academic field of management, and the award aims to recognise initiatives that enhance management learning and education.

Thomas received the award for his work developing a teaching programme that incorporates the use of fly-on-the-wall television documentaries as a complement to the traditional case study method. The judging panel, which consisted of business school deans, highlighted the engaging and innovative nature of the programme, which was developed for Thomas’ public sector management class on our Master of Public Policy programme.

The case study teaching method is a common approach across business schools, but less so in the world of public policy; however, it forms a core part of teaching at the Blavatnik School, where our award-winning team in the Case Centre on Public Leadership are always working to develop interesting new cases to aid learning. Using real-life examples is invaluable in allowing students to apply what they learn in the classroom, and Thomas’ approach allows teachers to add an extra dimension to the traditional case teaching method with videos of real-life management situations.

Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government, said, “The Education Practice Award recognises outstanding and innovative teaching. As a School striving to excel in teaching as well as research and impact, we are delighted to see a faculty member, Thomas Elston, recognised in this way.”

The award serves as recognition of the potential contribution of Thomas’ work to the development of management pedagogy and we would like to congratulate him on this excellent achievement.