UOW logo
UOW logo

Explore opportunities to record, innovate and reflect upon your teaching practice through grants & awards.

Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT)

The Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) were established in 1997 by the Australian Government to celebrate and reward excellence in university teaching. Since then, the Awards have become a valued form of recognition for university educators Australia-wide.

The AAUT recognise the impact that educators have on the learning and teaching experiences and outcomes of university students. They celebrate and reward programs and practices that support students, enhance learning and promote excellence in learning and teaching. Supported by Learning, Teaching & Curriculum (LTC), nominees/recipients contribute to transformation in learning and teaching through the ongoing sharing and dissemination of knowledge. 

AAUT Information for Staff

In the following video, 2021 AAUT recipient Associate Professor Troy Heffernan shares his experience and provides advice regarding applying for an AAUT. 

 
The AAUT or the Australian Award for University Teaching is a national award for quality in tertiary education. And the reason I applied was, there's a couple of reasons, there's a pragmatic reason. One was for going for promotion and for recognition, maybe a little bit of ego chucked in there, but, but some, but what I got from it from the application process was really getting a good understanding of what my strengths were as an educator and what areas that I needed to improve and that type of thing. We are definitely entering a new world of tertiary education and we need creative educators. So I think an award like the AAUT is really good to ground yourself in what skills you have and how you can develop your skillset to become the best educator you can be.

So winning the citation last year was great recognition for the efforts I've put in. A million years ago, back in, I think 2002, I won the Australia New Zealand Marketing Educator of the Year award. And I have always had at my core quality education, how can we get the best outcomes for the students?

So the process of going for an AAUT award at the University of Wollongong was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I could not speak higher of LTC. They were fantastic. I worked with a, a great group of people down there. They helped me, they guided me. I went without getting, going for an OCTAL award, which I say, don't do. I say, go get the OCTAL award first. And then, because of the way they've structured, it is very much in line. Well, I think it's definitely in line with the AAUT awards.

So once you've got the OCTAL it's actually quite simple to jump across to the AAUT awards. So I would say work with them. They're just a fantastic crew down there, and I've enjoyed every minute of working with them and learnt a lot too from them.

Yeah, so there's a few tips I could give you on, actually going and trying to put one of these, these awards in, and one of them is to consider your referees. So consider who you're going to use and how they can add to your case. And that takes a lot of thinking and a lot of time and a lot of approaching people and big favours on their part. So think about that. The other thing is collect evidence. Now this is the same for promotion, too. Collect evidence from students, qualitative and quantitative evidence from awards you have won.

What I do is I have a separate folder in my emails, and I just, any awards that any emails that I can use as evidence I put into that. The crew down at LTC are very good with information about how to wordsmith and how to develop to put your best foot forward. So if you're not great, which I wasn't in that area, there's some real expertise down there that can help you.

So if you've got a passion for teaching and you've got a passion for really enhancing student learning outcomes, I would strongly suggest you go for one of these national awards. I think there really there's a range of different awards you can go for. There's citations there's program awards, there's the teacher, and then there's a big kahuna, the big Teacher of Australia Award.

I would suggest you talk to LTC and, and go for one of those awards. Because as I've said, we are, we need creative academics that have at their heart, their core value of quality education in a creative way that delivers learning outcomes for the students. And I think by undertaking one of these, these awards, or at least putting the process in it really puts you in a good position to improve and enhance your own practice. So go for it.





Learning & Teaching Innovation Grants (LTIG)

The Learning & Teaching Innovation Grants initiative was established in 2021 by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Student Life) to support learning and teaching projects. It is an investment that seeks to advance our goal of empowering students for their future.

The University commits funds to support projects that will further innovate how we teach, and provide students with the skills, knowledge and experience to be career and life-ready.

LTIG information for staff

Previous recipients

 


Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning (OCTAL)

The Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning (OCTAL) are presented each year to current staff members who have made major contributions to teaching and learning excellence within the University of Wollongong. 

Alongside the overall OCTAL award, a series of specific category awards for teaching and learning are also presented that recognise staff commitment, achievement and contribution to the University's exceptional learning and student experience. 

OCTAL information for Staff

Previous recipients

Contact Learning, Teaching & Curriculum

Request support

Contribute to the Hub

Provide feedback

UOW logo
Aboriginal flagTorres Strait Islander flag
On the lands that we study, we walk, and we live, we acknowledge and respect the traditional custodians and cultural knowledge holders of these lands.
Copyright © 2024 University of Wollongong
CRICOS Provider No: 00102E | Privacy & cookie usage | Copyright & disclaimer