UNSW’s Education Focussed success recognised overseas

A recent visit to NUS focused on collaboration and knowledge exchange supporting teaching excellence. 

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has introduced an education focussed pathway to recognise and develop its most talented educators and, in February, Associate Professor Louise Lutze-Mann visited NUS to discuss the Education Focussed (EF) program at UNSW.  

Associate Professor Lutze-Mann met with the NUS Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education and the Director of the Centre for Development of Teaching & Learning (CDTL). 

“The NUS educator track career pathway takes a strength-based approach to career progression,” said Associate Professor Johan Geertsema, Director of the CDTL.  

“We want to recognise the diverse strengths our educators bring to university teaching and empower them.”  

As part of its pathway, the CDTL has been granted funding for its own career development funding program, based on the model we have here at UNSW.  

“With the Educator Development Fund, NUS will provide monetary support for engagement in initiatives that can generate evidence for career development focussed on education, with the aim of enhancing the practices of our academics,” said Associate Professor Geertsema. 

The delegation discussed common challenges such as measuring and providing evidence for teaching excellence, supporting EF roles, how such roles engage with the scholarship of teaching and learning, and balancing teaching workloads with the imperative for educational innovation.  

“What teachers do has a direct bearing on how students learn, and for this reason, good teaching is extremely important to the student learning experience,” said Associate Professor Huang Hoon Chng, NUS Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education. 

“It is an absolute pleasure to learn that UNSW, like NUS, also champions education leadership, values our educators and actively promotes distinct career pathways. There is so much that we can learn from one another, and I look forward to more conversations with institutions like UNSW on this and other matters.” 

Recognising the significance of these mutual interests, Associate Professor Lutze-Mann was encouraged by the respect the UNSW program has garnered. 

“This represents the beginning of what we hope is an ongoing, collaborative relationship with NUS,” she said.  

"It was encouraging to be at the forefront of the conversation on EF roles with colleagues internationally, and to have recognition from outside the University of the work we are doing to support our educators at UNSW.” 

The EF career model program was introduced at UNSW in 2017 and is a critical component of the 2025 Strategy. The initiative has grown in numbers and reputation since its inception, with more than 300 UNSW academics now recruited into EF roles. The program is supported by the UNSW EF Career Development team and led by Associate Professor Lutze-Mann as the Director.  

To learn more about the EF program, please visit EF Central. 

Header image (from left to right): The CDTL team comprising Dr Mark Gan, Associate Professor Adrian Lee and Associate Professor Johan Geertseema, the Director of the CTDL with UNSW’s Associate Professor Louise Lutze-Mann