Statistics PhD candidates Kenny Chiu and Naitong Chen were honoured with the Statistics Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards for 2024. Kenny and Naitong have been recognized for their exceptional contributions to teaching.
Since 2021, Kenny has served as the department's TA Trainer, designing and updating training modules, creating resources for TAs, and leading a mini-project to improve statistical consulting skills through the "StatEngage" platform. He also revamped STAT 306 materials and taught the course in 2024. Recently, he also won the Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award (https://www.stat.ubc.ca/kenny-chiu-awarded-killam-graduate-teaching-assistant-award).
Naitong, during his TA role for STAT 406 in Fall 2023/2024, redesigned lecture materials and delivered a guest lecture to 100 students. His clear explanation of neural networks was praised by students for making a complex topic accessible. Since January 2024, he has also served as a TA Trainer, leading orientations, conducting evaluations, and mentoring new TAs.
We know that many department members contribute to undergraduate education, and we want to take the opportunity to not only honour these two, but also to thank everyone. Thank you to all of our dedicated teaching assistants, faculty and staff who enthusiastically support our teaching. And congratulations to Naitong and Kenny!
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The financial component of this award is supported by the donor-funded Statistics Fund for Excellence (https://www.stat.ubc.ca/statistics-fund-excellence).
To see previous GTA Award winners, see: https://www.stat.ubc.ca/statistics-graduate-teaching-assistant-award.