Associate Professor Nicolas Suzor, Law and Digital Media Researcher, is the 2016 winner of the esteemed QUT David Gardiner Teacher of the Year Award.
The QUT Teacher of the Year Award recognises excellence in creating engaging classrooms and a sustained positive impact on students’ learning.
The late Professor David Gardiner AM, former Dean of the Faculty of Law and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor saw the potential for the improvement of the learning environment through multimedia technology.
Associate Professor Suzor’s commitment and passion for learning is undisputable, and students consistently praise his engaging and inspiring classes, infectious enthusiasm, and genuine care for student wellbeing. His dedication to the success of his students is displayed through the extensive mentoring he provides to help students develop the skills they need to launch into their own careers.
Associate Professor Suzor is a leader in teaching innovation. He is deeply committed to the principles of open education, and works collaboratively with students and other educators to develop rich multimedia educational resources that are freely available to the world.
In addition to his teaching, Associate Professor Suzor is heavily engaged in research and public policy. He is a Chief Investigator of QUT’s Digital Media Research Centre, where he leads a program of research on the regulation and governance of the internet and social media. He is also an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) research fellow, and is studying the regulation of internet intermediaries and social media platforms.
His research examines the peer economy, the governance of social networks, digital copyright and knowledge commons. Associate Professor Suzor is also the Legal Lead of the Creative Commons Australia project and the deputy chair of Digital Rights Watch, an Australian non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that Australian citizens are equipped, empowered and enabled to uphold their digital rights.
When asked what motivated him in his commitment to this area of teaching and research, Associate Professor Suzor admitted it took him a while to find his passion, but now believes that he has one of the greatest jobs in the world.
“I spend my time on new and interesting research questions, for example, how we can increase access to knowledge around the world, how we can protect human rights online, or how new sharing economy firms are disrupting existing businesses,” said Associate Professor Suzor.
“In this job I get to teach bright, enthusiastic students about cutting-edge issues in law and technology. Our students are dedicated to changing the world, and there is nothing I enjoy more than helping them achieve their goals.”