The University of Queensland will have six finalists in this year's Australian Awards for University Teaching, which will be announced at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday, December 2.
Federal Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs Dr Brendan Nelson today announced the list of finalists for the prestigious awards.
UQ has won Australian Awards for University Teaching in each of the six years since the national awards were introduced in 1997.
Dr Peter O'Donoghue, an Associate Professor in the University's School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences, was joint winner of the 2002 Prime Minister's Australian Award for Individual University Teacher of the Year.
Dr O'Donoghue shared the honour with Associate Professor Lynne Hunt from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. Dr O'Donoghue also won the category: Biological Sciences, Health and Related Studies.
In 2000, a Professor of Information Systems at UQ, Ron Weber, also won the Prime Minister's Australian Award for Individual University Teacher of the Year.
Individual UQ category finalists in this year's national awards are:
* Biological Sciences, Health and Related Studies: Dr Judith Murray.
* Physical Sciences and Related Studies: Associate Professor Ian Cameron.
* Social Sciences: Dr Nan Bahr.
* Neville Bonner Award for Indigenous Teacher of the Year: Associate Professor Cindy Shannon.
The University also has two finalists in the Institutional section of the national awards.
* Innovative and practical approach to team teaching in large, first-year classes: First Year Biology Teaching.
* Innovative and practical approach to the provision of education services to the local and/or regional community category: Graduate Certificate in Social Science (Inter Professional Leadership).
The awards carry $35,000 in prize money for the Prime Minister's Award for University of Teacher of the Year, with $40,000 for the winner of each of six categories. Institutional awards carry prizes of $50,000 each.
The award presentation is a highlight of the Australian Universities Teaching Committee (AUTC) seventh National Teaching Forum on Internationalisation and Cultural Diversity, being held from December 1-3 at Rydges Lakeside Hotel, Canberra.
The theme of this year's forum is e-learning.
As part of it's Visiting Scholar Program the AUTC has invited Professor Robin Mason, Professor of Education Technology at The Open University, UK to be the keynote speaker.
Further details of the Australian Awards for University Teaching and the forum can be accessed at the Australian Universities Teaching Committee website at www.autc.gov.au
Media: Further information; contact Brad Turner at UQ Communications (phone 07 3365 2659).
