A year-long teaching and learning collaboration between Queensland and Chinese universities has been hailed a resounding success and resulted in the sharing of new ideas for teaching practice.
The success of the Global Partnerships for Academic Teaching Excellence program, led by Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Professor Abby Cathcart, was celebrated at a Higher Education Academy Fellowship Forum held on 28 June 2018 at The University of Queensland.
The global partnerships program was funded by Trade and Investment Queensland, the UK Higher Education Academy, and QUT, with support from every Queensland-based university.
Professor Cathcart said the program saw all 10 Queensland universities work together to promote quality teaching and learning internationally.
She said more than 180 academics from 49 Chinese universities participated in three showcases of innovative university teaching practice presented by award-winning academics from Queensland universities.
“We know that teaching excellence flows from a culture of continuing professional development and is underpinned by strong learning and teaching research,” Professor Cathcart said.
“The Global Partnerships for Academic Teaching Excellence program has created new communities of practice between Chinese and Queensland academics, and we look forward to some exciting research collaborations with our Chinese partners.”
Professor Cathcart said Queensland universities have dominated national university teaching awards for the past ten years, making them ideally suited to a collaboration designed to share quality teaching and active learning pedagogies.
“We have promoted Queensland as a place of excellence for learning and teaching, with award-winning academics showcasing Queensland teaching innovations to academics from Chinese universities and increasing our reach to prospective international students.”
Professor Cathcart said the fellowship forum enabled participants from both countries to reflect on their experiences and learnings from the program.
“I was delighted to hear of the mutual gains participants from both China and Queensland reported from the program. They have forged deep connections based on a shared commitment to improving the academic experience for students,” she said.
Professor Cathcart said the Global Partnerships Program highlighted the benefits of HEA Fellowship in benchmarking teaching quality and rewarding those leading, delivering and supporting teaching.
“More than 60 Chinese university educators were mentored by Queensland academics to apply for HEA Fellowship, with 32 so far joining the global community of HEA Fellows committed to best practice in teaching and learning.
“This mentoring was valuable for participants from both China and Australia, with all benefiting from exchanging knowledge about higher education contexts and sharing some new ideas for teaching practice,” Professor Cathcart said.
This program is co-funded with the support of the Queensland Government's International Education and Training Partnership Fund, managed by the International Education and Training Unit (IETU) within in Trade and Investment Queensland.
Media contact: Rose Trapnell, QUT Media team leader, rose.trapnell@qut.edu.au or media@qut.edu.au, 07 3138 2361 or 0407 585 901.
