MDHS Education Awards

The MDHS Education Awards recognise outstanding and diverse contributions and achievements to shape the next generation of health professionals. All nominations should demonstrate alignment with key University and Faculty strategies that present directions for learning and teaching, including the University of Melbourne Advancing Students and Education Strategy and Advancing Health 2030. For further guidance, please see the MDHS guide for applying for learning and teaching awards.

Education Awards

  • Award for Sustained Excellence in Learning and Teaching

    This award is open to continuing, fixed-term and sessional academic staff (both teams and individuals) in the Faculty. The award is for staff who demonstrate sustained excellence in learning and teaching of 4+ years with reference to all criteria (see below). The award provides holistic recognition of excellence in learning and teaching, aligned with the University’s leading award for learning and teaching excellence and informed by the national learning and teaching citations and awards.

  • Award for Learning and Teaching Achievement

    This award is open to continuing, fixed-term and sessional academic staff (both teams and individuals) in the Faculty. Applicants should demonstrate excellence in learning and teaching for 2+ years. The criteria below are the same for those of the Award for Sustained Excellence in Learning and Teaching. However, applicants for the Award for Learning and Teaching must address a selection of three of the five learning and teaching criteria. As such, this award is inclusive of staff who may have less capacity to respond to all five learning and teaching criteria required for applicants for the Sustained Excellence award. Reasons for this may include but are not limited to, relative newness to teaching or to teaching in the Faculty, or employment in a role that does not readily enable performance in relation to all criteria.

  • Award for Education for Collaborative Practice

    This new award recognises excellence in interprofessional education for developing student readiness for collaborative practice. The award recognises contributions that may support collaboration with patients, communities, families and other health professionals. Contributions can be those that enhance role clarification, team functioning, collaborative leadership, interprofessional conflict resolution, interprofessional communication, and person/community-centred care, namely the core competencies of the MDHS Collaborative Practice Readiness Framework. Teams should demonstrate excellence of 2+ years in the design and facilitation of education for collaborative practice. The award is open to teams that may comprise continuing, fixed-term and sessional academic and professional staff in the Faculty; staff of other faculties and institutions; students; patients; community members, and industry partners. Teams are welcome to include members of the MDHS Collaborative Practice Centre, and indeed, engagement with the Centre is encouraged for all seeking to enhance collaborative practice readiness.

  • Award for Program Innovation

    The Award for Program Innovation is intended for programs or services that support and enhance learning and teaching at the MDHS Faculty, School or Department level and are broader in scope than those in one or two subjects. Programs or services may run within or across year levels. They may focus on a particular group of students or MDHS students more broadly and can include collaborative programs involving external partners. Teams should demonstrate excellence of 2+ years in the design and facilitation of programs or services. The award is open to teams that may comprise continuing, fixed-term and sessional academic and professional staff in the Faculty; staff of other faculties and institutions; students; patients; community members, and industry partners. The selection criteria for this award are different from those of the other MDHS Education Awards to maximise the opportunity for diverse programs to be recognised and celebrated (see below).

Nomination criteria for MDHS Education Awards

Nominations for the Award for Sustained Excellence in Learning and Teaching and the Award for Education for Collaborative Practice must address all selection criteria below.

Nominations for the Award for Learning and Teaching Achievement must address a selection of three of the first five selection criteria below and must address the final criterion on Faculty Values.

  • Approaches to learning and teaching that influence, motivate and inspire students to learn.
  • Development of curricula and resources that reflect a command of the field.
  • Approaches to assessment and feedback that foster independent learning.
  • Respect and support for the development of students as individuals.
  • Scholarly activities that have influenced and enhanced learning and teaching.
  • Demonstration and promotion of Advancing Health 2030 and Faculty Values.

Nominations for the Award for Program Innovation must address all criteria below:

  • Distinctiveness, coherence and clarity of purpose.
  • A positive influence on student learning and student engagement.
  • Breadth of impact.
  • Concern for equity and diversity.
  • Demonstration and promotion of Advancing Health 2030 enablers of collaboration, innovation and nurture, and Faculty Values.

How to apply