Learning and Teaching Awards

University Teaching Excellence Awards

The University Teaching Excellence Awards are awarded in four categories, they are;

• Early career excellence in learning and teaching – designed for direct student facing staff in the first five years of their career in higher education who can demonstrate excellence in learning and teaching.
• Sustained excellence in learning and teaching – designed for experienced direct student facing staff who can demonstrate sustained excellence in learning and teaching.
• Collaborative excellence in learning and teaching – designed as a team award of two or more staff who can demonstrate excellence in collaborative learning and teaching (examples such as co-design with students, across disciplines, across cohorts and year groups, across academic and professional services, across departments or schools or faculties)
• Supporting higher education excellence award – designed for those who support learning and teaching who can demonstrate excellence in their practice of supporting the delivery of excellent learning and teaching. This can be an individual or team award.

A nomination can be made by the individual or team themselves or be made on their behalf, you will need to complete the form following the guidance below and submit it by the deadline to LTE-admin@canterbury.ac.uk

The nominations will be reviewed by a panel of your peers with a final decision of the winners being made within six weeks of the nominations closing. Following the announcement of the winners in each category they will be invited to a celebration of their award hosted by the Pro Vice Chancellor (Education and Student Experience) and selected guests in May. All winners will also receive a certificate and bestowed the title of ‘University Teaching Excellence Fellow’. They will also receive access to a professional development bursary of up to £750 for an individual and £1500 for a team to be used to help meet identified professional development goals.

Guidance for nomination

Nominations will need to be completed using the nomination form provided here and returned to LTE-admin@canterbury.ac.uk by the closing date stated on the form.

Nominations are expected to demonstrate excellence in learning and teaching or supporting excellence in learning and teaching and how this aligns to the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy and Vision 2030.

• Sustainable
• Ethical
• Innovative
• Courageous
• Compassionate
• Inclusive
• Collaborative
• Creative

Nominations should be no more than 1000 words to articulate how excellence in learning and teaching is being demonstrated and how this aligns to Vision 2030 and the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy. There is opportunity to add a bibliography and any relevant appendices which are not included in the 1000 word nomination.  

You will then need to obtain support from your Head of School / Service or Department by way of a short (200-400 words) supportive statement from them before you can submit your nomination.

Nominations will also ask what professional development goals you, your team or your nominee have and what funding would be needed (up to a maximum of £750 for an individual and £1500 for a team) to meet this goal. Some examples of what the funding might cover are below;

• Subscription to professional journal
• Membership to specific organisation relevant to your work
• Professional CV writing
• Professional coaching and career development
• Conference attendance
• Discipline specific artifacts such as books, models, materials etc
• CPD support through for example Advance HE
• Professional development course fees
• Team based project support

All winners will receive a certificate and the title of ‘University Teaching Excellence Fellow’ As a Fellow member of Learning, Teaching Enhancement there is an expectation that winners maintain their standing as a University Teaching Excellence Fellow by continuing to develop excellence in learning and teaching, share their successes and support others to develop excellence in learning and teaching. University Teaching Excellence Fellows will be the champions of excellence in learning and teaching in their roles. Winners will be invited to a celebration as outlined above.

Find out the recent winners of the UTEAs here.

National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE)

The NTFS is run by Advance HE and recognises, rewards and celebrates individuals who have made an outstanding impact on student learning and the teaching profession. 

The awards support individuals’ professional development in learning and teaching. Success depends only on excellence, not what stage you are at in your career. The awards are presented at a prestigious ceremony, attracting national and regional media interest.  

National Teaching Fellows raise the reputation of a university and contribute to the enhancement of learning and teaching.  There are also significant benefits to the recipient.

Benefits of NTFS to individuals include:

• widely recognised in HE in the UK and internationally
• opening doors – past NTFs have used the award as a springboard to progress their careers
• joining a national community of like-minded professionals who are passionate about teaching

For further information please visit the NTFS Webpage

Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE)

The CATE award recognises and rewards collaborative work that demonstrates impact on learning and teaching.  Introduced in 2016, the scheme highlights the key role of the teamwork in Higher Education.  

For further information please visit the CATE website

In 2020, our Sustainability Team, led by Dr Peter Rands, won the CATE Award in recognition for their successful contribution to placing Education for Sustainability at the core of programme design, delivery, informal and subliminal curricula.

Each University can only nominate a limited number of applicants for the NTFS (3) and CATE (1 team) each year. LTE manage the process of nomination, and put a call out for expressions of interest (via Staffnet) which closes around November-December (a StaffNet notice will be published with the exact deadline each year), to allow sufficient time for the preparation of the full submission in March. If you are interested in any of these awards, please contact LTE-ADMIN@canterbury.ac.uk

If you are interested, please return the completed form by email to LTE-ADMIN@canterbury.ac.uk by 5pm on Monday 28th November 2021 at the very latest.

You should also inform your Head of School/line manager that you are expressing an interest in the scheme/s. You will be informed of the outcome of the internal review panel in early December.