Dr Laura Mills and Dr Roxani Krystalli honoured by the British International Studies Association (BISA)

The School of International Relations is delighted to announce that Dr Laura Mills and Dr Roxani Krystalli have been honoured by the British International Studies Association (BISA) in their list of 2023 prize winners.

Dr Laura Mills won the 2023 Award for Distinguished Excellence in Teaching International Studies.

The judging panel noted:

"Laura’s module focuses on the everyday life of global politics, and encourages students to see how their lives fit into IR. Her module demonstrates an impressive amount of creativity in its forms of assessments, and in how she encourages her students to engage with the module. The module’s encouragement of having students take the mundane seriously while then producing their own notebooks, practicum assignments that encourage students to work through their own methodology, and a curated exhibition offers a masterclass in teaching creativity and innovation. However, more than simply rewarding creativity, what really makes this module stand out is how the non-traditional forms of assessment closely align with the course content. Never has the mundane been so exciting."

Dr Roxani Krystalli won the 2023 Award for Early Career Excellence in Teaching International Studies (jointly with Dr Zoë Jay, University of Helsinki).

The judging panel noted:

“Roxani’s module, “The Politics of Nature and Place” offers an imaginative way to encourage students to address “the political.” What is politics? Where does it happen? How do we experience it? In her module students are given the opportunity to explore these questions in a phenomenological way, by exploring their own senses, and their own encounters in places that seem far removed from where politics (ostensibly) happens. Dr Krystalli invites us to find the sublime in our teaching by seeking out unusual places to explore the themes of our subject, and to encourage our students to do the same. Her module is courageous in that it challenges us all to rethink what, exactly, it is that we teach, and how our students experience their learning.”

These awards were presented on Friday 23rd June at the prize giving ceremony during the 2023 BISA Annual Conference in Glasgow. A video featuring the teaching prize winners can be viewed here and the full list of BISA 2023 prize winners can be found here.