Tab Betts

Professor Claire Smith who leads the winning anatomy team

• The anatomy team at Brighton and Sussex Medical School wins a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence 
• Award also recognises the team’s co-creation of Channel 4’s My Dead Body dissection documentary
• Tab Betts wins a National Teaching Fellowship for international collaboration in Higher Education learning and teaching 

The University of Sussex is celebrating today (Thursday 3 August) after it was announced that its staff will be the recipients of two national Teaching Excellence Awards. 

The University is recognised in two separate categories at the annual Advance HE awards – national awards that celebrate the impact of teaching in the UK higher education sector.

The anatomy team at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, which is co-led by the University of Sussex, won the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence and Tab Betts, a lecturer from the University’s School of Education and Social Work, won a National Teaching Fellowship.   

The awards recognise both winners’ responses to the challenges presented by the Covid pandemic, as well as the anatomy team’s role in Channel 4’s My Dead Body documentary, which was aired to great critical acclaim in December last year, and which was shortlisted for a National Television Award.  

Professor Sasha Roseneil, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sussex, said: 

“I extend my warm congratulations to Professor Claire Smith and her team, and to Tab Betts for these prestigious Advance HE awards, which rightly recognise their inspirational and pioneering work. The awards spotlight examples of sector-leading innovation in teaching, and represent a beacon of aspiration for all of us who are committed to excellence in education.”

The anatomy team’s award celebrates collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning. The last several years have seen the anatomy team, led by Professor Claire Smith, contribute to the Brighton and Hove community, and engage in bold public education projects.  

In 2020, the Anatomy Department received its first ever whole body donor who gave permission for her body to be dissected for ‘public display’. She was Toni Crews, a mother in her 30s from Kent who died from a rare form of cancer and had campaigned to raise awareness of her illness.  To ensure her donation could benefit the most people, with Toni’s permission, the anatomy team delivered dissection workshops for 800 students, made long-lasting learning resources, and co-created the bold Channel 4 documentary My Dead Body, which told Toni’s story, and broadcasted elements of the dissection workshops. It was the first time such a procedure had taken place on national television.

At the height of the Covid pandemic, alongside teaching, the anatomy team supported local NHS services by managing an extra mortuary on the University of Sussex site, caring for over 400 deceased individuals.   

The pandemic presented significant challenges for the teaching of anatomy too. Working with technical experts, the team live-streamed dissections and created dozens of videos, ensuring hundreds of students did not lose the opportunity to learn from real donors.  

Professor Claire Smith, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, and Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education and Innovation) at the University of Sussex, said:

“This award celebrates our incredible team of anatomists, clinicians, support colleagues, technical experts and professional service staff. We wanted to break down the walls of Brighton and Sussex Medical School to deliver high quality anatomy education both within the building and outside it too.  

“The thread that binds everyone on this journey is the desire to educate individuals, to ensure safe medical practice, and to use the outstanding generosity of donors to make a difference to millions.”  

Tab Betts, an expert in Higher Education pedagogy, was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship, which celebrates and recognises individuals who have made an outstanding impact on the teaching profession and student outcomes in Higher Education. This scheme is highly competitive and is recognised both nationally and internationally for excellent contributions to learning and teaching in Higher Education from institutions across the UK.    

The body of work which led to Tab’s award centred on developing international collaborations, building inclusive communities and co-founding the Active Learning Network with Dr Wendy Garnham from the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex. The Active Learning Network is a global community of practice working to make learning more engaging, inclusive, accessible and experiential.  Since 2016, this community has grown from a small group at the University of Sussex, to a large-scale network with over 600 members. It has satellite groups in the UK, the USA, China, India, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Nigeria, Singapore and Cambodia.  

The Fellowship also recognises work Tab did on international projects to promote scholarship of teaching and learning in Higher Education. He created the world’s first Global Festival of Active Learning to support lecturers teaching during lockdowns, co-edited 100 Ideas for Active Learning, a book on Higher Education teaching containing 100 chapters by 109 authors, and led a collaborative podcasting event called a Podblast, which taught academics around the world to create a podcast series in a single afternoon.  

Tab Betts, Lecturer in Higher Education Pedagogy in the School of Education and Social Work, said: 

“This award recognises the importance of engaging, inclusive education. It foregrounds the power of community, collaboration and innovation. I’d like to thank colleagues and students who have helped me on this journey and everyone around the world who is working to create a more inclusive environment for their learners.” 

The Sussex winners will join others recognised across the UK higher education sector at an awards ceremony at the Library of Birmingham on 28 September.  The full list of anatomy team members is Professor Claire Smith Deputy, Dr Aiden Jayanth, Dr Catherine Hennessy, Danya Stone, Dominic O’Brien, Camilla Ingram, Laura Arnold and Hollie Cartwright.

View the full list of 2023 winners.