Meet Dr Mathilde Roger, Assistant Professor (Teaching) in the Department of Biosciences, online learning expert, champion of students and mum! 

Dr Roger first joined Durham University in 2011. After an extended maternity break following the birth of her first child, Mathilde returned to research within the University before becoming a Teaching Fellow; a role that supported her work/life balance and enabled her to spend more time with her family. 

For Dr Roger, student support is key – to delivering both academic excellence, a first class student experience and to ensure the wellbeing of students. This was even more apparent as Covid-19 began to impact on the ability to tech in-person. 

The impact of home schooling  

During the pandemic, Mathilde was at home, working as an academic teaching, whilst home schooling a young family. From early on, she recognised that the quality of learning materials for her own children needed improving to reflect this new situation. She also understood how isolating it could be to be away from friends, family and peers.  

This was her lightbulb moment for continuing her work with student support – how could she ensure that students were still accessing the very best educational experience from her, and her department? 

Championing Change 

Mathilde embraced the challenges of Covid-19 and used these to help form and deliver practical solutions for her students in Biosciences. Ensuring access for students to reach out and talk – often with the addition of a ‘junior’ member of the team, giving an insight into family life – she was able to provide much needed guidance and support. 

As a Biologist, Dr Roger knew that Covid-19 was a long-term challenge and quickly moved to e-learning from her home schooling experiences and how she could change the way students were taught too. In a very short space of time, Mathilde became an online learning expert and champion, providing training to all team members in the Department of Biosciences, designing all online learning assets and being a lead in the pilot for a new University-wide online learning platform – Learn Ultra. 

Benefits and Recognition  

Working tirelessly, Dr Roger secured buy in from her whole department along with support from across the University and this has had a real positive impact on students.  

She has a mantra - ensure we all try to be better. For Mathilde, this involved being available for students; for those that needed academic support and for those needing to talk and help with their wellbeing. She worked with her department to ensure the skills they had mirrored the skills of students, to ensure support on a level playing field, and now ensures that our full return to in-person teaching continues to deliver excellence. 

Personally, the pandemic has helped Mathilde:  

“As a woman, I am not ashamed to have my children at home when working.  

“I feel empowered to work, teach and support students whilst being able to positively balance my work/life”.  

Mathilde has also received recognition of her exceptional work in an exceptional year, as a result of the profound impact her work has had across all faculties and within her department. Judges at our DCAD Teaching and Learning Awards stated that Dr Roger had made an amazing contribution moving the University online and adapting to Learn Ultra both within her department, within her faculty and across the institution.