Today [Wednesday 9 June 2021], CDN is delighted to welcome Helena Good as the fifth inductee of the CDN College Hall of Fame.
Helena, who is a graphic design lecturer at Edinburgh College, was presented with her award by Jamie Hepburn MSP, Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training, at CDN’s Virtual College Expo21.
Throughout her 26 years of teaching, Helena has sought to develop how employers and educators work together to create the workforce of the future. In January 2017, Helena launched the Daydream Believers initiative, a unique open-source online platform which supports educators, employers, and designers to create resources that put creativity at the heart of education. Daydream Believers is supported by global brands, universities, and colleges.
Helena is also part of a collective working on the Creative Bravery Festival. This online learning festival celebrates acts of creative bravery and uses them to transform and rethink the way we educate.
In May 2018, Helena was recognized by BIMA in their BIMA Top 100 Awards. And in November 2020, she was awarded the TES FE Teacher Of The Year award, becoming the first ever winner from a Scottish college. Helena is currently on a 12-month secondment with Skills Development Scotland.
On being inducted into the CDN College Hall of Fame, Helena said:
“Being inducted into the CDN Hall of Fame is a great and very unexpected honour for me. This award is also a real recognition of all the inspiring people at Edinburgh College who have supported and encouraged me throughout my time as a College Lecturer. I have been very fortunate to have worked with amazing students throughout my career. They have called me to be the best I could be for them and in return they have excelled in so many areas.
From the beginning of my career as a lecturer I have sought to develop how employers and educators can collaborate to develop the workforce of the future. My work on the Daydream Believers programme bears witness to this and I am very grateful for this further recognition from CDN which confirms the validity of the programme which TES called ‘The most important educational initiative in Scotland at the moment’.”
Jim Metcalfe, Chief Executive of College Development Network (CDN) said:
“The CDN College Hall of Fame is a way of highlighting and recognising the positive impact that colleges have for students and their communities. Helena has been lecturing for over two decades and her passion is undeniable – it’s evident when you hear her speak about the subject and comes across in her teaching. She is a wonderful role model, and we are absolutely delighted to induct Helena Good into the Hall of Fame.”
Audrey Cumberford, Edinburgh College Principal said:
“It is wonderful to see Helena being inducted into the CDN College Hall of Fame this year. She works tirelessly to not only inspire students and her colleagues, but young people across Scotland and beyond, through projects including the Daydream Believers programme which brings students, school pupils and industry together to innovate. Helena was one of the first members of staff I met when I began my career in the College sector over 20 years ago. Her energy, enthusiasm, and commitment for inspiring and encouraging creativity was as infectious then as it is today. She is a very well-deserved inductee and epitomises the best of what the College sector has to offer.”
