The University of Johannesburg (UJ) along with 26 other institutions has been selected by an international panel of judges as finalists for the Higher Education Academy’s (HEA) first Global Teaching Excellence Awards (GTEA).
The award, in partnership with Times Higher Education, is open to all providers of higher education and included entries from around the world. GTEA is awarded to an institution as a whole in recognition of institution-wide approaches to teaching excellence and provides the institution the opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
The overall winner will be announced at the award ceremony and dinner which will take place at Church House Westminster in London on Monday 4 September.
UJ’s Prof Angina Parekh, Deputy Vice Chancellor: Academic, said, ‘’ It is a great honour to be a finalist for the Global Teaching Excellence Awards 2017 which acknowledges our role as a leading University at the forefront of dynamic education and research. The University will continue to strive for transformation, equity and access while ensuring Pan African and global excellence.’’
UJ is now ranked 7th amongst Africa’s universities, 5th in South Africa, and ranked within the top 2.3% of universities in the world as published in the QS World University Rankings 2017/2018.
The GTEA focuses on the assessment of the ‘preconditions for excellence’ and three domains in particular:
- Excellence in the leadership of teaching and learning
- Excellence in teaching
- Excellence in student support
Svava Bjarnason, chair of the GTEA judging panel and a former member of the World Bank Education Sector Board, said, “There were some fantastic entries for GTEA. Our panel was looking for robust evidence of excellence in three areas: leadership, teaching and in student support.
“We found a great deal of outstanding practice in these submissions, and I believe this presents a superb opportunity for others to consider these lessons for their own institutional teaching strategies.”
Professor Stephanie Marshall, HEA Chief Executive Officer, said, “The HEA’s mission is about improving learning outcomes by raising the status and quality of teaching in higher education, and these awards help do that by highlighting outstanding practice wherever it is happening in the world.”
About HEA
The Higher Education Academy (HEA) is an independent non-profit organisation committed to world-class teaching in higher education. The HEA works in partnership with institutions and individuals in higher education supporting student success. The Higher Education Academy brings the sector together to collaborate, and share teaching strategies and practice.
