Hertford Lecture Nominated For Vice-Chancellor’s Award
9 May 2025
We are thrilled to announce that Dr Delia O’Rourke, a lecturer at Hertford College, has been shortlisted for a Vice-Chancellor’s Award in the Innovative Teaching and Assessment category. The nomination recognises her contribution to a cross-departmental project titled Building AI Confidence Across MSc Programmes.
A summary of the project, as listed in the award shortlist, is as follows:
“The Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Academic Writing Skills induction provided Oxford postgraduate taught students with structured, practical training on ethical AI use in academic writing. This first-of-its-kind initiative integrated a ChatGPT tool into Canvas for equitable access. Evaluation showed increased student confidence, reduced uncertainty, and strong engagement with AI-supported academic skills development.”
The Vice-Chancellor’s Awards recognise the achievements and celebrate the success of staff across the University. We warmly invite everyone to attend the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards Showcase on Tuesday 13 May, from 9:30am to 4:00pm at the Weston Library. This University-wide exhibition offers a chance to explore the shortlisted projects, meet the nominees, view their work, attend flash talks, and ask questions. The Award Ceremony will follow on Thursday.
Delia holds an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and a PhD in Virology from the University of London. Following a Research Fellowship at Harvard Medical School, where she studied Saccharomyces cerevisiae, she took a postdoctoral position with Professor Doug Higgs at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford. There, she investigated the role of the ATR-X protein in regulating alpha-globin gene expression. She later collaborated with Professor Jonathan Hodgkin in the Department of Biochemistry, researching host–pathogen interactions in the nematode C. elegans.
Since 2017, Delia has transitioned her focus from laboratory research to educational development. She served as an Educational Development Consultant at the University, designing both online and in-person training programmes for educators in STEM higher education. In 2022, she was appointed Co-director of the MSc in Genomic Medicine at the Nuffield Department of Medicine.
At Hertford, Delia teaches undergraduate tutorials in Biochemistry, covering Data Handling, Genomics, and Cell Signalling. She also supports undergraduate Human Scientists with their dissertations and supervises tutorials in Molecular Biochemistry, Human Genetics, and Genomics.
Congratulations, Delia! We look forward to seeing where this ground-breaking work takes you next!