Australian Awards for University Teaching 2018

The Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) are a national scheme that recognises teaching excellence and reward the diverse contributions made by individuals and teams to the quality of student learning. The AAUT are back for 2018 (albeit slightly delayed), with a slightly pared-back scheme and later due date.

Award types

There are three award types for which teaching staff (academic, general, and sessional) can apply.

1: Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (“Citations”)

Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning recognise and reward the diverse contributions made by individuals and teams to the quality of student learning.

• Number of awards available: 60 (15 per category)
• Number of categories: 4
  • Approaches to teaching and the support of learning that influence, motivate and inspire students to learn
  • Development of curricula, resources or services that reflect a command of the field
  • Evaluation practices that bring about improvements in teaching and learning
  • Innovation, leadership or scholarship that has influenced and enhanced learning and teaching and/or student experience
• Maximum submissions per institution: 6 (maximum 3 Citations can be awarded per institution)
• Prize money: none
• Ceremony: none
• Recognition: certificate

2: Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning (“Program Awards”)

Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning recognise learning and teaching support programs and services that make an outstanding contribution to the quality of student learning and the quality of the student experience of higher education.

• Number of awards available: 6 (1 per category)
• Number of categories: 6
  • Widening participation
  • Educational partnerships and collaborations with other organisations
  • Innovation in curriculum design and pedagogy practice
  • Postgraduate education
  • Student experiences and learning support services
  • Global citizenship and internationalisation
• Maximum submissions per institution: 2
• Prize money: none
• Ceremony: none
• Recognition: certificate

3: Awards for Teaching Excellence (“Teaching Awards”)

Teaching Awards celebrate a group of the nation’s most outstanding university teachers in their fields. Teaching Awards give recognition to teachers (individuals and teams) renowned for the excellence of their teaching, who have outstanding presentation skills and who have made a broad and deep contribution to enhancing the quality of learning and teaching in higher education.

• Number of awards available: 7 (1 per category)
• Number of categories: 7
  • Biological Sciences, Health and Related Studies (including Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Medical Sciences and Nursing, etc.)
  • Early Career (for teachers less than five years cumulative experience teaching in higher education institutions)
  • Humanities and the Arts
  • Law, Economics, Business and Related Studies
  • Neville Bonner Award for Indigenous Education (individuals who must demonstrate their contribution to Indigenous education; Indigenous and non-Indigenous teaches may nominate)
  • Physical Sciences and Related Studies (including Architecture, Building and Planning, Engineering, Computing and Information Science)
  • Social and Behavioural Sciences (including Psychology and Education)
• Maximum submissions per institution: 3
• Prize money: to be confirmed
• Ceremony and recognition: announced at the UA Higher Education Conference (27 February – 1 March 2019)

Application guidelines

UPDATED: Universities Australia has released information about the 2018 round of AAUT. All the information is available on the AAUT website:

All University of Sydney applications must be submitted through the Education Portfolio:

1. Intending applicants write their application according to the information pack instructions available on the AAUT website. Some support will be available from the Education Portfolio (advice, peer feedback, and hard copy view-only examples of applications from previous years). Some other support resources are available: Possible sources of evidence for teaching awards, structuring the argument for a teaching award, and features of successful applications.
2. Completed applications to be submitted to the Education Portfolio by Monday 29 October 23:59 via the online portal: Submit application
3. The Education Portfolio will convene an internal assessment panel to select the applications to submit to the national scheme.
4. Selected applicants will improve upon their application with support from the Education Portfolio and panel feedback.
5. Selected applicants will submit their final application to the Education Portfolio by late November for sign-off by DVC Education and submission to the national scheme. The national scheme submission deadline is Monday 10 December 2018.

Please get in touch with Karen Hayward from Educational Innovation with any questions.