Following the success of the inaugural Higher Education Awards last year, The Australian Financial Review has announced the Higher Education Awards 2016, presented by UniSuper.

This initiative has been created to recognise outstanding achievement in Higher Education and to highlight at a national level the tremendous contribution that the Higher Education sector makes to Australian prosperity and quality of life. All winners will be profiled in The Australian Financial Review, with the potential for further commentary and follow-up throughout the year.

 The 2016 Awards recognise outstanding achievements in the following categories:

1. Community Engagement Award
2. Perrett Laver Emerging Leader Award
3. Pearson Employability Award
4. YourTutor Equity & Opportunity Award
5. Facilities Innovation Award
6. Technology One Industry Engagement Award
7. International Education Award
8. Learning Experience Award
9. UniSuper Lifetime Achievement Award

For more information on these categories, visit AFR Higher Education Awards and select from the drop-down Categories menu.

The judging panel will look for evidence of innovation, impact, value/efficiency and clear improvement in outcomes related to the sector’s core educational goals. The most outstanding initiatives may not be the largest or most high-profile: the judges will take into account wherever possible the specific scale, resources, and challenges of the applying institution.

A shortlist of finalists for each category, and the winner of the Unisuper Lifetime Achievement Award, will be announced in The Australian Financial Review on 31 October. Awards will then be presented to the winners at a Gala Dinner on 16 November at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins. Shortlisted finalists are strongly encouraged to book a table and attend.

We look forward to celebrating the best the Australian Higher Education sector has to offer.

Nominations to HR are due by 5 September. See Nomination instructions below – please do not apply directly through the Australian Financial Review website.

How to Nominate & Enter

The following information must be submitted to HR.

• The name of the institution, department, and the leader of the nominated project/strategy
• Contact details for the person submitting/organising the Awards entry.
• A title for your nominated initiative/strategy/individual. This is how the entry will be referred to by judges, organisers and the AFR.
• A 50-word summary of the initiative/strategy/individual
• A 500-word entry addressing the specific selection criteria for the relevant award, attached as a Word Document
• Up to four (4) A4 pages of supporting documentation, attached as a single PDF or Word Document. File must be less than 5MB.

The four (4) A4 pages of supporting documentation should evidence any claims made in your response to the selection criteria. It may contain, for example, statistics, graphs, research or evaluation reports, photographs, press cuttings or testimonials, with relevant sections highlighted as need be. Please do not, however, rely on these supporting materials to make your case; they will not necessarily be considered unless your application is shortlisted. Videos or PowerPoint presentations will NOT be accepted.

Applications will be judged on core achievements that have taken place in the period 1 January 2015 to 1 July 2016. Naturally, projects that have had sufficient time to produce results and show real impact are more likely to be successful than projects still in their preliminary stages.

Please direct enquiries to Ruth Bartlett-Taylor (ruth.bt@une.edu.au).