DrHamish Fernando

Dr Hamish Fernando teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate units in Biomedical Engineering, including Anatomy and Physiology for Engineers, Biomedical Product Development, Data AI and Society in Healthcare, and Genetic Engineering. His teaching is underpinned by a strong commitment to student engagement, conceptual understanding, and authentic application of engineering principles to biomedical and healthcare challenges.

He has received multiple Dean’s Awards for Student Engagement, a University of Sydney Education Innovation Award, and holds Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, reflecting a sustained and evidence-based commitment to teaching excellence.

Dr Fernando adopts a Socratic and constructivist approach to teaching, using guided questioning, peer discussion, and structured reflection to support students in actively building their understanding. His lectures and tutorials are highly interactive, encouraging students to articulate reasoning, challenge assumptions, and refine their thinking through dialogue rather than passive content delivery.

He actively experiments with innovative teaching approaches, including the use of AI-enabled learning tools, gamified assessment design, and community-building strategies that foster peer support and shared ownership of learning. These approaches are used deliberately and critically, with a focus on enhancing learning outcomes, inclusivity, and student confidence rather than novelty alone.

Across his units, assessment and feedback are designed to reward understanding, reasoning, and design thinking, while remaining scalable, fair, and robust in large and diverse cohorts.