Global Teaching Excellence Award - 2017

In 2017 the award attracted more than 300 firm expressions of interest from institutions across 47 countries with entries received from all six populated continents. The achievements of the 27 finalists and overall winner were celebrated at a prestigious award ceremony on 4 September 2017.

Congratulations to our 2017 finalists

The Global Teaching Excellence Award is the first global award to recognise and celebrate institutional commitment to the pursuit of teaching and learning excellence. All 27 finalists deserve to be recognised - and celebrated! 

• Aston University - UK
• Edith Cowan University - Australia
• Falmouth University - UK
• Hong Kong Polytechnic University - Hong Kong
• Leeds Beckett University - UK
• McMaster University - Canada
• Monash University - Australia
• Norwegian Academy of Music - Norway
• University of Plymouth - UK
• Queensland University of Technology - Australia
• Swiss Hotel Management School - Switzerland
• Teesside University - UK
• The Open University - UK
• The University of Adelaide - Australia
• The University of Law - UK
• University College London - UK
• University of Bath - UK
• University of Birmingham - UK
• University of Bristol - UK
• University of Derby - UK
• University of Essex - UK
• University of Exeter - UK
• University of Huddersfield - UK
• University of Johannesburg - South Africa
• University of Salford - UK
• University of Wollongong - Australia
• Utrecht University - Netherlands

The judging process

The judging process was comprehensive and rigorous. In the first stage, all applications were assessed by two external peer reviewers – specialists in learning and teaching drawn from across the world. They judged against the stated criteria: excellence in the leadership of teaching and learning, excellence in teaching, and excellence in student support. 

Each of these applications was then reviewed by two members of the panel and a number of the panel read all of the submissions to ensure a breadth of perspective.  All applications were ranked quantitatively based on both reviewer and judges’ scores, while considering the qualitative comments.  

The panel then deliberated over the evidence and identified those institutions to be shortlisted as finalists as well as the overall winner for GTEA 2017. 

Judging Panel

Read the profiles of the 2017 judging panel below:

Svava Bjarnason

Chair of the GTEA Panel

Svava Bjarnason is the former Principal Education Specialist at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. In this capacity, she was a member of the World Bank Education Sector Board from 2007 to 2010.

Prior to joining the IFC in 2007, Svava Bjarnason was the founding Director of the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education and held a dual post as Director of Research and Strategy at the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) based in London. Before joining the ACU in 1998, Svava was a consultant in higher education in the United Kingdom. She has served on numerous expert groups for the OECD and UNESCO.

Christine Alveberg

Member of the board of The Student Association in Agder (SiA)

Member of the board of the University of Agder (UiA)

Member of the central board in the National Union of Students in Norway (NSO)

Christine Alveberg is currently undertaking a Masters degree in Political Science and Leadership at the University of Agder (UiA). Christine was the Student Representative on the NOKUT (the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education) expert panel in 2016 for the Centres for Excellence in Education Initiative (SFU).

Assistant Professor Astrid Elbek

Head of Development, Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium (The Royal Academy of Music), Denmark

Astrid Elbek is the Head of Development at The Royal Academy of Music, Denmark.  Astrid was a member of the NOKUT (the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education) expert panel in 2016 for the Centres for Excellence in Education Initiative (SFU).

Professor Darrell Evans

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, The University of Newcastle, Australia      

As the incoming Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and leader of the Academic Division, Darrell Evans is responsible for providing strategic and innovative leadership to ensure the university delivers on its NeW Futures goals. He designed the Education Performance Standards at Monash University to measure teaching quality, innovation and leadership. He has assessed teacher award applications at local and national levels and currently chairs the university teaching awards panel and the Monash panel for the Australian Awards for University Teaching.

John Gill

Editor, Times Higher Education

John Gill has been editor of Times Higher Education since 2012. He joined THE as a reporter in 2007 and was news editor for four years before taking on his current role. John has been closely involved in the development of THE’s World University Rankings portfolio over the last eight years, and was called to give evidence to the recent parliamentary inquiry into teaching metrics.

Mary Taylor Huber

The Carnegie Foundation (Scholar Emerita)

Mary Taylor Huber is a senior scholar with the Bay View Alliance, a network of research universities in the US and Canada exploring ways to strengthen departmental and institutional cultures of teaching and learning.

A senior scholar emerita at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, she has directed the Cultures of Teaching project, as well as the Foundation’s roles in the Integrative Learning Project and the US Professors of the Year Award.

Janusz Janczukowicz

Head of the Centre for Medical Education, Medical University of Lodz, Poland

Janusz is the head of Centre for Medical Education and the Chair of the Best Evidence Medical Education Collaborating Centre in Lodz. His main professional interests include interprofessional education, teaching, learning and assessing medical and academic professionalism, social, and cultural competence.

Dr Tashmin Khamis

Director, Network of Quality Assurance and Improvement and Network of Teaching and Learning Office of the Provost, Aga Khan University South-Central Asia, East Africa & UK

Dr Tashmin Khamis is currently the founding Director of both the Aga Khan University’s Networks of Quality Assurance and Improvement and Teaching and Learning. Tashmin is the immediate Past President of The East African Higher Education Quality Assurance Network (EAQAN) a network of Higher Education Quality Assurance Practioners from 80 universities across the East African Community (EAC). She is currently a Board Director of The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education.

Prior to joining AKU Tashmin has worked for over 20 years in academia, management and development settings in the UK and Europe, South and Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Professor Duncan Lawson

Pro-Vice Chancellor Duncan Lawson, Newman University, United Kingdom

NOKUT Centre for Excellence Chair (round 2) (2013), Centre for Excellence Evaluation (round 1) Chair (2015), Centre for Excellence panellist (round 3) (2016)

Professor Duncan Lawson is the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Formative Education at Newman University, Birmingham. Lawson chaired both the international expert panel that assessed the applications for SFU status in 2013 and the panel conducting the mid-term evaluation of Norway’s first Centre for Excellence, ProTed. He is now part of the SFU MatRIC’s international advisory board.

Professor Philippa Levy

Pro-Vice Chancellor, The University of Adelaide, Australia

Professor Philippa Levy is the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Student Learning) at The University of Adelaide, Australia, where she is responsible for quality assurance, enhancement and innovation in learning and teaching for the University. Adelaide is one of the eight research-intensive institutions in Australia.

Helen Lomax

Deputy Director of Sector Services, Ako Aotearoa - National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence

Helen Lomax (Te Aitanga-ā-Māhaki) was appointed to the new position of Deputy Director of Sector Services for Ako Aotearoa, the National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence, in 2015. Ako Aotearoa hosts New Zealand’s national Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards. Helen has been a panellist for these awards, and is involved in international benchmarking on peer review assessment with universities from New Zealand, Australia and Pacific countries (Samoa, Fiji and Papa New Guinea).

Dr Alexander C. McCormick, PhD

Director, National Survey of Student Engagement

Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Indiana University

Alexander C. McCormick has been the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) director since January 2008. He also holds a faculty appointment in the Indiana University School of Education’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies department, where he teaches in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program.

Dr Som Naidu

Pro Vice-Chancellor, The University of the South Pacific, Fiji Islands

Professor Som Naidu is currently Pro Vice-Chancellor Flexible Learning, and Director of the Centre for Flexible Learning at the The University of the South Pacific. Most recently he served as Associate Professor (Learning Transformations) at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Associate Professor and Director of Teaching and Learning Quality Enhancement and Evaluation of Learning and Teaching at Charles Sturt University, NSW Australia, and Associate Professor of Educational Technology and Multimedia Education as well as Head of Research and Evaluation in the field at the University of Melbourne.  

Dr Joanna Newman

Secretary General of The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)

Joanna Newman is responsible for fostering and promoting the aims of the ACU, as defined by its membership, in developing inter-Commonwealth relations in the field of higher education. Joanna joined the ACU from King’s College London where she was the Vice-Principal (International). In previous positions, Joanna represented the UK higher education sector as Director of the UK Higher Education International Unit (now known as Universities UK International) and before this, she was Head of Higher Education at the British Library. In 2014, she was honoured as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of her work promoting British higher education internationally.

Professor Isabella Poon Wai-yin

Recipient of the 2011 inaugural University Grants Committee Award for Teaching Excellence at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and current Pro-Vice Chancellor/ Vice President, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Professor Isabella WY Poon is a Professor at the Statistics Department of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and is the Pro-Vice Chancellor/ Vice President of the University, responsible for the strategic development of the University in the area of education. Professor Poon has a passionate interest in enhancing teaching and learning, and has designed and taken the lead in implementing many large-scale teaching-related projects and institutional researches that support the development as well as quality enhancement of teaching and learning in higher education.

Venka Purushothaman

Vice-President (Academic) and Provost, LASALLE College of the Arts

Venka Purushothaman is an academic, arts and cultural manager and writer/researcher with a distinctive career in the cultural and creative industries.

As an arts and cultural manager, he has worked with various not-for-profit and for profit arts organisations including the Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay and the National Arts Council; and on arts events such as WOMAD Singapore. Venka is highly regarded for his research and insights in the cultural and creative industries in Asia with special emphasis on visual and performing arts management, festival cultures and cultural policy in Asia.

Professor Lothar Zechlin

Former Rector and Professor Emeritus, The University of Duisburg-Essen

Professor Lothar Zechlin was the founding Rector of the University of Duisburg-Essen, where he was also a Professor for Public Law at the Institute for Political Science. Since retiring, he is also a Guest Professor at the University of Witten-Herdecke (Germany) and the University of Tehran (Iran).

Lothar chaired the Steering Committee of the Institutional Evaluation Program of the European University Association (EUA) by 2015.