New National Teaching Fellow, Diana De, Cardiff University, reflects on her journey, the impact of the award on her professional practice and the lessons learned along the way. 

Being awarded a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) is an immense personal achievement. I’d set my sights on this goal a very long time ago and it was only last year that I decided, with lots of encouragement from my TEAL and fellow Cardiff University NTFs, to take the plunge. I’m therefore thrilled to receive this favourable outcome!  

Transformative, strategic and effective  

Professionally, attaining an NTF, alongside achieving my Principal Fellowship, proves my ability to be transformative, strategic and effective in what I do. It elevates my standing within higher education and demonstrates the broad contributions I have made to nurse education and clinical care, alongside improvements to student and patient outcomes here within the UK and beyond. I’m exceptionally proud of my NTF award. I think it will be something I will always reflect fondly upon, even beyond my academic career. 

Maximising impact 

I hope to share my fellowship journey and experience to inspire others to consider going for theirs. I envisage that disseminating my scholarship as an NTF comes with high expectations, as the National Teaching Fellowship is synonymous with pedagogical excellence. I cannot become complacent.  It is important for me to remain open and inquisitive, to learn from others about new technologies and evidence informed approaches. Sharing best practice, remaining visible as a role model and supporting others in their fellowship journey is important to continue to raise the standard of teaching quality across my institution and beyond.  

The rapid pace at which education is changing means that for me to remain contemporaneous, I will continue to reflect on my teaching to stay attuned to my learners needs, so I can keep co-creating fit for purpose curricula.  

Advice for prospective NTFs  

Remember, every journey is unique. I didn’t navigate a traditional academic route. I carved my own way. I did this by ensuring the projects I aligned with were hugely enriching and the people I continue to link are not only highly driven, but flexible to try new things. This keeps me motivated to do more and to make a difference to engage students in learning.  

For those who want to find out more, I would recommend you watch the Advance HE short NTF videos and attend any online NTF talks in the lead up to the submission point. These aided my understanding of the process and helped me to generate ideas to include in my claim.  

Lastly, don’t be put off by people telling you that if you aren’t successful, you can always go for it again. In my case, I threw almost everything into my first application and was daunted by not having enough for another. Lucky for me, it didn’t have to to come to that!

Diana De is a Registered Nurse, Reader and Global-Civic Lead in the School of Healthcare Sciences at Cardiff University. Diana is a Principal Fellow of Advance HE who is recognised for her leadership, cultural safety and the creative use of drama-based pedagogy to enhance learning, social justice and health equity.