Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence (CATE)

The Innovative Placements and Capacity Expansion (IPCE) team at ARU

We support teams to develop proposals for the Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence (CATE).

The Higher Education Academy established a team-based award scheme, the Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence (CATE), funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland.

The Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence (CATE) recognise that positive student experience depends on the innovation and creativity of the whole team. ARU’s Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care (HEMS) team won a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence in 2022. The Innovative Placements and Capacity Expansion (IPCE) team from HEMS won their Collaborative Award by developing innovative and different approaches and models for student placement provision across health and social care settings. Working closely and collaboratively with external stakeholders across the NHS and private, independent and voluntary sector in the East of England, the knowledge, skills and values of the team enabled them to respond to national and local challenges in a rapidly changing placement landscape caused by Covid.

Their innovative approaches and models for placement provision included developing a menu of short ‘spoke’ placements, reviewing alternative models for calculating placement capacity, expanding placements in the private, independent and voluntary organisations and developing virtual placements. It was imperative to the team to enhance the quality of educational experience for our healthcare students, whilst safeguarding and protecting the public and securing a future workforce. 

Awards criteria

The criteria for the awards are as follows:

  • Criterion 1: Excellence in the team's collaborative approach – evidence of excellence in the team’s approach to working collaboratively; commensurate with their context and the opportunities afforded by it.
  • Criterion 2: Excellence in the impact of collaborative working – evidence of the team having a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning beyond their immediate academic or professional area.

Key dates 2022/23

  • Wednesday 5 October 2022 – Distribution of Call for Expressions of Interest by AL&T
  • Friday 4 November 2022 (12pm) – Deadline for candidates to send Expressions of Interest to AL&T: [email protected]
  • Wednesday 16 November 2022 – Prospective candidates notified of this year’s selection decisions
  • Monday 21 November 2022 – Initial meeting with institutional mentor for teaching excellence for selected team
  • Friday 17 February 2023 – Deadline for nominated team to send Final Internal Submission to AL&T
  • Monday 27 February 2023 – AL&T to send Final Internal Submission to Vice Chancellor for signing
  • Wednesday 15 March 2023 – University submission to AdvanceHE

Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence Guidance Document (PDF)

Expression of Interest for Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence form (Word doc)

Please contact Anglia Learning & Teaching with any queries: [email protected]