Elicia Maine and Lisa Papania earn 2017 TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Awards

Elicia Maine and Lisa Papania are the 2017 TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award winners.

Beedie School of Business faculty members Elicia Maine and Lisa Papania have been named winners of the TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award for 2017. This award is the highest teaching honour of its kind at the Beedie School.

Every year, students, faculty, and alumni of the Beedie School of Business nominate instructors teaching in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs for this prestigious award. Up to two awards are presented each year to instructors based on engagement, distinction, and excellence in teaching.

Maine is a Professor of Technology and Operations Management as well as the Academic Director of the Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization at SFU.

“My teaching goal is to help create more company founders and senior managers in Canada who feel comfortable leading innovation,” says Maine. “In particular, I view it as a success when alumni from our programs view uncertainty­—when managed astutely—as something to embrace, rather than something to avoid.”

“What a wonderful feeling to know that you are making a valued impact on your students’ perspectives,” she adds. “Having been blessed with inspirational teachers, thought-leading supervisors and generous mentors, it is such a pleasure for me to feel that I can pay some of that forward.”

With a passion for understanding the formation and growth of science-based businesses, Maine has presented her research at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Academy of Management (AOM) along with works published in leading technology management journals Nature Nanotechnology, Research Policy, R&D Management, and Technovation.

Lisa Papania is a Lecturer in Marketing and Entrepreneurship as well as the Co-Director of the Business of Design program. With a PhD from SFU and an MBA from Wits Business School in South Africa, Papania’s research focuses on the creation and communication of ideas, particularly in the areas of innovation and sustainability.

“It is a great honour to be named a recipient of the 2017 TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award with Professor Elicia Maine, who is such an inspiring teacher and researcher,” says Papania. “I see teaching as an opportunity to share my passion for innovation with students, and to work with them on co-creating solutions that will affect the world positively. It is hugely rewarding to know that students find this experience meaningful and impactful.”

As a case writer and teacher, Papania focuses on engaging students in developing innovative solutions in consideration of local and broader social and environmental issues. Papania’s research has been featured in publications for the Network for Business Sustainability and the Industrial Marketing Management journal.

Since its inception, 55 different teachers have won the TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award. Winners are asked to assist the Teaching Effectiveness Committee in choosing the following year’s award winners.

For more information on the TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Awards, visit beedie.sfu.ca/teaching/distinguished-teaching-awards/.