Teaching with purpose: Alumni shine among Teaching Excellence Award recipients

April 15, 2026

by Advancement & Alumni Engagement

Angelica Lim, Nienke van Houten, Andrew Perkins, & Tamara O'Doherty

Each year, 51社区黑料recognizes outstanding educators with its Awards for Excellence in Teaching.

The 2025 recipients were just announced, and the honourees include four 51社区黑料alumni. These educators exemplify what it means to teach with purpose, inspiring and supporting student learning in ways that create a lasting, meaningful impact on how students think, engage, and act in the world.

Learn about our amazing alumni鈥�Angelica Lim, Nienke van Houten, Andrew Perkins, and Tamara O'Doherty鈥攚ho are making meaningful impacts in student learning.

Angelica Lim, associate professor, School of Computing Science, Faculty of Applied Sciences

Angelica Lim creates inclusive, hands-on learning environments that connect computing science to real-world applications and diverse experiences. In her courses, learners engage in active, practice-based work鈥攃oding in class, tackling real-world AI problems and building skills in communication, ethics and interdisciplinary thinking. She takes a holistic, integrative approach to technology education, bringing together computing, ethics and human-centred design to highlight the broader impact of this work.

Lim has led significant curriculum redesign, including transforming introductory and upper-level courses to be more relevant to today鈥檚 technological landscape. As well, she expands access to computing education through outreach programs that support underrepresented students in building confidence and pathways into STEM. She created the SFU CS Teaching Toolkit and authored Python Practice Lab (Princeton University Press), extending her impact beyond SFU, and is a recipient of the 51社区黑料Computing Science Excellence in Teaching Award. Her AI research has been featured by the BBC and TEDx, and she is recognized as one of Forbes鈥� "20 Leading Women in AI."

Learn more about Angelica

Nienke van Houten, university lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences

Nienke van Houten creates innovative, evidence-based pedagogy and cultivates student-centred learning environments. In her courses, students develop advanced skills in analyzing primary scientific literature, interpreting data and learning collaboratively through peer teaching. She uses midterm feedback to create an active dialogue with students, shaping her courses in real time and fostering a responsive, shared learning space.

van Houten鈥檚 teaching is informed by her work in decolonizing science education and her experience as an Instructional Skills Workshop facilitator. As undergraduate programs director in the Faculty of Health Sciences, she leads curriculum development and fosters a culture of teaching excellence across her unit. Her research on how students engage with primary literature continues to inform and advance evidence-based teaching practices in higher education.

Learn more about Nienke

Andrew Perkins, senior lecturer, Department of Geography, Faculty of Environment

Andrew Perkins creates immersive, field-based learning environments that connect classroom concepts to real-world landscapes and challenges. In his courses, students engage in hands-on learning through field trips and field schools, applying theory in situ while building skills in observation, analysis and environmental interpretation. Students take an active role in shaping their learning鈥攄esigning investigations, working in teams and tackling complex problems. His teaching is thoughtfully scaffolded to support student learning in unfamiliar environments, reducing barriers while fostering confidence, independence and meaningful engagement with place.

Perkins also enhances students鈥� hands-on field learning by creating easy-to-use digital tools鈥攍ike quick-reference resources, virtual field experiences and a fieldwork app鈥攖hat support them before and during their work. Perkins is a field-based geomorphologist specializing in paleo-landscape reconstruction in south-central BC.

Learn more about Andrew

Tamara O'Doherty, senior lecturer, School of Criminology, Faculty of Arts and Social

Tamara O鈥橠oherty creates dynamic, inclusive and critically informed online learning environments that centre law, human rights and social justice. In her classes, students explore complex socio-legal issues and connect theory to real-world contexts. She designs creative, flexible courses that engage diverse learners by incorporating digital tools and interactive media.

O鈥橠oherty鈥檚 teaching excellence is also reflected in her leadership in innovative pedagogy and online course design. She has played a key role in developing and teaching online and blended courses at scale, while mentoring colleagues and contributing to broader teaching practices across her unit. She has co-led multiple SFU-funded grants on innovative teaching practices in areas such as TA support, decolonizing pedagogies and advancing Indigenous student experiences in post-secondary education. Beyond the classroom, she contributes to research on human trafficking and sex work, publishing work that informs both scholarship and practice.

Learn more about Tamara

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