Back in April, we were very honoured to attend the PQ Awards 2023 with nominations in several categories. The evening was held at Proud Embankment in London, where several attendees from across the country in the accounting industry gathered to celebrate and recognise each other’s success.
This year, we are honoured to say that Kaplan is home to an award-winning tutor, Matt Dean. After being nominated for the Lecturer of the Year award, Matt Dean took home the trophy, making himself, his learners, and all of his colleagues at Kaplan very proud.
Kaplan’s nominations
We were very happy to be shortlisted for six awards from learners and tutors to individual projects. This year's nominees were:
Lecturer of the Year
Matt Dean
Penelope Merison
Innovation in Accountancy
CIMA FLP Skills Premium project
Accountancy personality
Neil Da Costa
Podcast of the Year
Kaplan Learn Better Podcast
Distance Learning Student of the Year
Daniel Salas
And we give a huge congratulations to Matt Dean who won the Lecturer of the Year award.
Matt Dean - Lecturer of the Year
After the ceremony, we caught up with Matt to hear his thoughts after receiving such a commendable award:
"We had the most incredible evening. Every time I step into a classroom my main goal is simply not to embarrass myself too much, so I felt shocked and humbled to even be nominated. Thank you to Andrew Mower and Jenny Pelling for the nomination and helping to make me a better tutor."
To add to his success, quotes from some of Matt’s learners were highlighted, showing their appreciation of him as a tutor:
“An absolutely fantastic tutor. Interesting, funny, approachable. He made me enjoy tax.”
“I really enjoyed the course and thought the tutor was outstanding. Matthew genuinely made the course 1000 times more enjoyable and interesting than I ever thought possible based on the textbook alone. I want him to tutor me for all my courses please!”
“As he has studied ACA relatively recently, he is able to give good advice and understand what areas we may struggle with.”
“Matthew is a great tutor who is approachable, knowledgeable, and who always conveys the information of his teaching in a thorough, complete but also concise manner.”
Going above and beyond
Not only was Matt recognised for his exceptional teaching skills, but he is a Wellbeing Champion at Kaplan and has supported our mental health initiatives with dedication and empathy.
In 2022, he co-chaired a session on suicide prevention awareness with the charity, Papyrus, and also hosted a session to mark International Men’s Day in November 2021 on mental health with Andy’s Man Club.
Kaplan’s Director of Apprenticeship Development and Diversity, Jenny Pelling, said:
“Matt’s involvement in Kaplan’s wellbeing initiatives has been a game changer. He is one of my ‘go-to’ tutors for any additional videos we might create to reassure apprentices, or talks we provide on mental health.
He has a tremendous impact on so many learners, but is never self-aggrandising. Quite simply, he makes the workplace a better place and enriches the lives of those who get to work alongside him or be taught by him.”
Congratulations, Matt
We are very proud to offer accountancy and tax courses led by tutors as exceptional as Matt, and we would love to congratulate him for this incredible award.
If you are interested in starting your studies and working towards an exciting career in accountancy and tax, browse our courses, or get in touch with our team at studentservices@kaplan.co.uk or on 0161 259 7400.