Australian Awards for University Teaching

Welcome to 2024 AAUT!

I welcome you to another year of the AAUT Awards. As a recipient and the Director of the Australian Awards for University Teaching, I am honoured to lead this initiative dedicated to recognising and celebrating the exceptional contributions of educators who inspire and empower their students every day.

This award program honours a range of university educators – from early career academics to those who have devoted a lifetime to teaching and learning. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to be recognised and discover where this award could lead you as an educator. I encourage institutions to talk with their top educators to apply for this year’s round of AAUT Awards.

Lastly, thank you to all institutions and DVCAs for your ongoing support of this award. We look forward to receiving your nominations and celebrating the achievement together.

Warm regards,

Professor Angela Carbone
AAUT Awards Director
ADVC LTQ STEM College, RMIT University

About 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 and enhance learning. They promote excellence in learning and teaching in all aspects of higher education. Recipients, with the support of their institutions, contribute to systemic change in learning and teaching through the ongoing sharing and dissemination of knowledge.

This year, there are five award types promoting and recognising excellence in learning and teaching.

Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning
Awards for Teaching Excellence
Award for Australian University Teacher of the Year
Career Achievement Award

2024 AAUT Key Dates

2024 Nomination Packs released: 6 May 2024
Professional development sessions for nominees: May – June
Nominee registration & submission: 12 August – 1 September
Assessment: September to December
Career Achievement Award nominations: 28 October to 15 November
2024 award recipients announced: February 2025

Contact Details

AAUT Awards Team [email protected]

Ms. Angeline Sim, AAUT Awards Manager +61 3 9925 3815

Ms. Daniele Patterson, AAUT Awards Coordinator +61 3 9925 1834

Award Types

Citations for outstanding contributions to student learning (Citations)

Citations recognise and reward the diversity of contributions made by individuals and teams to the quality of student learning. They are awarded to individuals or teams who have contributed to the quality of student learning in a specific area of responsibility over a sustained period, whether they are academic staff, general staff, sessional staff or institutional associates.

In 2024, up to 100 citations will be awarded across the categories below:

Discipline categories

Natural and Physical Science, Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies
Engineering, Information Technology, Architecture and Building
Health
Education
Business, Management and Commence
Society and Culture
Creative Arts
Multi-disciplinary

Nomination categories

Early Career (For academics with less than five years teaching experience in higher education institutions)
Neville Bonner Award for Indigenous Education (For Indigenous teaching staff only)
Sessional staff

Maximum of six Citation submissions per institution.

Awards for programs that enhance learning (Program Awards)

Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning recognise learning and teaching programs and services that make innovative and outstanding contributions to student learning outcomes and the quality of the student experience. They are awarded to programs and services that have set high standards for learning and teaching activities in Australian higher education institutions. Program awards are now open to individual and team nominations.

In 2024, up to four awards will be granted across the categories below:

Student experience that supports diversity and inclusive practices.
Collaborative educational partnerships in learning and teaching.
Curriculum transformation and innovative pedagogy.
Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programs that value and enhance student employability.

Maximum of two Program Awards submissions per institution across all categories.

Awards for teaching excellence (Teaching Awards)

Awards for Teaching Excellence recognise Australia’s most outstanding university teachers who have demonstrated excellent leadership through sustained commitment to innovation, delivery of quality teaching and sustained dedication to improving the student experience and learning outcomes.

In 2024, up to nine awards will be granted across the categories below:

Discipline categories

Natural and Physical Science, Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies
Engineering, Information Technology, Architecture and Building
Health
Education
Business, Management and Commence
Society and Culture
Creative Arts

Nomination categories

Early Career (For academics with less than five years teaching experience in higher education institutions)
Neville Bonner Award for Indigenous Education (For Indigenous teaching staff only)

Maximum of three Teaching Awards submissions per institution across all categories.

Award for Australian University Teacher of the Year

The Award for Australian University Teacher of the Year (AAUTY) is the premier university teaching award. Among the Teaching Award recipients, one individual with an exceptional record of advancing student learning, educational leadership and scholarly contribution to learning and teaching will be awarded the Award for Australian University Teacher of the Year.

Career Achievement Award

In 2020, Universities Australia has reinstated the Career Achievement Award that occasionally awarded to one or more individuals who have met the following criteria:

Made an outstanding contribution to learning and teaching.
Recognised for the impact they have had on the higher education sector.
Achievements had a major influence and left an enduring legacy.
Served in higher education capacity for at least 25 years.

How to Nominate

Each nominee is required to prepare a submission consisting of a written statement, and relevant supporting documents. This submission is referred to as a “nomination” Once completed, the Institutional Contact Officer (ICO) is responsible for the online submission of all nominations for their institution. The ICO will be notified of the award outcomes via email.

Eligible Institutions and ICOs

Only teachers from Universities Australia’s member universities are eligible to apply for an Award or Citation. Nomination is open to academic, general and sessional staff (full-time or fractional, continuing or contract) from an eligible institution.

All nominations must be submitted by your Institutional Contact Officer (ICO). The ICO is the central point of contact for all AAUT related matters.

2024 AAUT Nomination information packs

CITATIONS

PROGRAM AWARDS

TEACHING AWARDS

ASSESSMENT MATRICES

AAUT Assessment Matrix– For Citations, Program and Teaching Awards
AAUT Neville Bonner Award Assessment Matrix – For Neville Bonner Award category only

Resources for Nominees

2024

2023

Other resources

Insights from Nation Program Award Winners 2023 Passcode: tCId7^f@.
Enhancing students’ work readiness: Insights from research in work-integrated learning employability by A/Prof Bonnie Dean (2023 AAUT Citation recipient)
Delivering transformative, immersive, and authentic work-integrated learning on-campus: experiences of the Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative (BOHII) RMIT by Professor Michele Ruyters from RMIT (2023 Program Award recipient)
Why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is important in business curriculum by Associate Professor Kerry Bodle from Griffith University (2023 Neville Bonner Teaching Excellence Award recipient)
How do we create effective hybrid learning environments through innovations in technology and inclusive practices? by Dr Nathan Boase from QUT (2023 Citation recipient)
2022 The ASCILITE Wavelength Podcast
Recording: Professor Angela Carbone Read the Transcript
2022 OECD: AAUT-Recognising Education Excellence and Innovation.
2021 QUT Teaching Excellence Showcase
Australian Awarded University Teachers’ Network (AAUTN)
Learning & Teaching Repository

News and Events

2024 AAUT NEWSLETTERS

2018 to 2023 Archive AAUT Newsletters

AAUT Promotional Resources

AAUT Brochures

We encourage universities to widely promote these awards in their institution by utilising the range of resources listed below.

2024 AAUT Program Overview
2024 AAUT Quick Reference
2024 AAUT Citations
2024 AAUT Program Awards
2024 AAUT Teaching Awards
2024 AAUT Neville Bonner Award for Indigenous Education
2024 AAUT Early Career Awards
2024 AAUT Career Achievement Award

Video Series

Briefing/Professional development sessions

2024 AAUT Briefing/Professional Development Sessions Recording

Writing a successful Citation application (60 min). Read the slides.
Writing a successful Program Award application (60 min). Read the slides.
Writing a successful Teaching Award application (50 min). Read the slides.
Writing a successful Early Career Award application (46 min). Read the slides.
Writing a successful Neville Bonner Award application (50 min). Read the slides.

2021 to 2022 Archive AAUT Briefing/Professional Development Sessions

Past Award Recipients

2020 to 2023 AAUT Video Series

We are delighted to have the recipients of the 2020 to 2023 Australian Awards for University Teacher of the Year (AAUTY), sharing their journey of winning the awards and some encouragement to the aspiring applicants.

2023 AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY TEACHER OF THE YEAR