Student receives prestigious University teaching honour

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Rania Al-Hammoud is one of three University of Waterloo students to be awarded the 2014 Amit & Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student.

Al-Hammoud completed both her master's and doctoral degrees in civil

Rania Al-Hammoud
engineering at the University of Waterloo. From Fall 2010 to Fall 2013, she taught a total of 10 undergraduate courses in the civil and environmental engineering program including four different core second-year courses and two advanced fourth-year courses on structural systems and structural analysis.

Students describe her as a hard working, caring and intelligent instructor. As one student wrote, “she would not rest until we not only knew how but also why.”

Students praised her extraordinary ability to teach and ensure student engagement and a deep understanding of the course material through various interactive teaching methods, in particular within large classes.

Al-Hammoud recently joined the University of Minnesota-Duluth as a faculty member.

The exceptional teaching winners were announced March 24 at a university senate meeting.