Our Partners

Dr Cathy Foley was appointed Chief at CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering (CMSE) Division in April 2011. Cathy is nationally known for her interest in science education and was awarded a Public Service Medal on the 2003 Australia Day, won the 2003 Eureka Prize for the promotion of Science, the NSW and National winner of the Telstra Women’s Business Award for Innovation in 2009. In 2011, she and her team were awarded the AUSIMM MIOTA award for LANDTEM[1].

Professor Mick Healey trained as an economic geographer, with a particular interest in local economic development.  In recent years Mick’s main interest has been in learning and teaching in higher education and this is now his main research area.  He has written or edited approx 150 educational papers, chapters and guides.  Mick is a tireless activist promoting the benefits of developing undergraduate curricula that focus on (undergraduate) research and inquiry.

Professor Sue Jones is Head of Zoology at the University of Tasmania (UTas) a dynamic school known for its stimulating teaching approach. Sue’s teaching expertise has been recognised three times with the Teaching Excellence Award , an ALTC Australian Award for Teaching Excellence Australian Award (2008), a fellow of HERDSA (Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australia), a Carrick Citation in 2007 and as a ALTC Discipline Scholar for Science in 2011. Sue, along with Brian Yates of UTas have played key roles in developing Threshold Learning Outcomes that all graduates in science are expected to satisfy before graduating.

Professor John Rice is the Executive Director, Australian Council of Deans of Science, the first holder of this position and honorary professor in mathematics at the University of Sydney and retired Dean of Science at UTS. John continues his long career in promoting and supporting teaching excellence in Science. He was first author of an influential document reviewing laboratory work for undergraduate science students, ‘Tertiary science education in the 21st century’.

Manju is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Institute for Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education at the University of Sydney. She heads the Sydney University Physics Education Research (SUPER) group. Manju’s primary research focus is physics education and she currently supervises Honours and PhD students doing physics education research projects in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney. She has some 70 refereed publications and book chapters in science and mathematics education, and has led projects funded by ALTC and the ASISTM project.

Professor Tasker is at the University of Western Sydney and has primary teaching responsibilities at first-year level. His interests are in how and what students learn in chemistry using interactive multimedia resources. In 2011 Roy was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Australian University Teacher of the Year. In 2008 he received an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for an outstanding contribution to student learning and he has received the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) Chemical Education Division Medal.

The establishment of the OLT was announced by Senator the Hon Chris Evans on 16 November 2011. Media-release

“As part of our commitment to quality, the new Office will continue to strengthen learning and teaching in Australian higher education.” Senator Evans said.

The OLT carries on the outstanding work conducted by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd. (ALTC) in improving the student learning experience by supporting quality teaching and practice.

The OLT works with eligible higher education intuitions as a collaborative and supportive partner in change. The OLT supports and promotes excellence in learning and teaching in universities with funding of $50 million, over three-and-a-half years for awards, fellowships and grants programs.

The new Office has already developed and released detailed program information for 2012 and has established a Strategic Advisory Committee to provide guidance and advice to the Minister on the strategic directions of the OLT and its programs.

The role of the ALTC (predecessor to the OLT)

As noted by Ms Alison Johns in her review into support for higher education learning and teaching:

“The ALTC has engendered a high level of engagement and commitment to learning and teaching excellence in the sector and leaves a strong legacy for the new unit to build on.” Review

 We gratefully acknowledge the ALTC in supporting this fellowship and in the dedication, commitment and the effect the ALTC has had in:

• raising the profile of learning and teaching in higher education
• stimulating strategic change and
• funding and supporting ALTC fellows in their development and implementation of significant programs of activities

We look forward to the continuation and strengthening of this important work through the OLT.

As UTS enters its third decade as a university its mission is to align its vision and culture with the needs of the 21st century.

To achieve this, UTS has developed an educational model built on a holistic, flexible and dynamic concept of learning which is expressed through stimulating teaching, the effective use of technology and an information rich environment. The UTS model of learning is aimed at developing graduate skills and attributes of relevance and empowering UTS students to grow, contribute, challenge and make a difference.

UTS demonstrates its commitment to improving quality teaching and learning through recognition and reward for good teaching practice, academic staff development initiatives and other improvement initiatives informed by regular student feedback surveys and an annual review of course performance.

The planning, reviewing and enhancing of the quality of UTS’s teaching and educational delivery is overseen by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Teaching, Learning and Equity) Professor Shirley Alexander.

We thank Professor Alexander for her support of the ALTC National Teaching Fellowship and for her continued commitment to teaching and learning that equips graduates for life-long learning.

This information has been adapted from the UTS Strategic Plan 2009 – 2018.