Rahman celebrated for talent in teaching

Western Engineering News | May 29, 2015

By Jason Teakle

A knack for teaching has earned an open and approachable Western Engineering instructor the acknowledgement of his peers.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Quazi Rahman is the recipient of this year’s R. Mohan Mathur Award for Excellence in Teaching.

“I love what I do,” said Rahman. “I love teaching, and receiving this award made me feel excellent.”

The R. Mohan Mathur Award for Excellence in Teaching is presented annually to an outstanding Western Engineering faculty member to recognize his or her exceptional contributions to university teaching and the promotion of academic excellence amongst our students.

Rahman has been a faculty member at Western Engineering since 2005. He provides key teaching roles in a number of disciplines as a versatile faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). Rahman uses an open classroom method for teaching by inviting questions and comments from students, and is known for being easily approachable.

“I constantly push myself to find better ways of teaching lessons,” explained Rahman. “I try to have fun in my work. When I’m teaching, I’m spending time with people who want to learn. I’m always putting myself in my students’ shoes.”

His impressive list of distinctions include the 2013-2014 Award of Excellence in Undegraduate Teaching from Western's University Students' Council, being on the USC Teaching Honour Roll for eight consecutive years and receiving the 2014 Award of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance.

Despite teaching a wide range of subjects, Rahman’s teaching record is consistently above the standard. His range of teaching experiences has allowed him to make significant contributions to the process of re-designing courses in the ECE department.

“I love to be challenged by my students because I don’t know everything,” he said. “I bring some humour and fun to teaching concepts and try to apply my lectures to real-life examples, so that students will understand and recall lessons.”

Rahman will receive the award during the Western Engineering Faculty & Staff Awards Luncheon on June 17.