2021 ABDC Network Awards

Now in their second year, the ABDC Network Awards recognise and reward innovation and excellence across all areas of activity within ABDC member business schools — professional management, international education, teaching and learning, and research.

Each award will be judged by a panel comprising members of the relevant ABDC Network and at least one external judge (either an academic or industry practitioner).

Applications for the 2021 awards have now closed. Award winners will be announced at the ABDC meeting in November.

Who can apply?

• Individuals or teams may apply for an award. For team nominations a maximum of ten (10) people can be included, and teams can be made up of people from multiple institutions.
• The awards will be open to permanent or fixed-term professional and academic staff who have been employed in the Business School for at least 12 months. Casual staff are not eligible to apply.
• Nominations must be endorsed by the applicant’s PVC/Dean. This is by declaration on the online application form.

Submitting an application

The adjudicating panels for each of the awards will assess applications made via an online form that asks for:

• Applicant details
• A short description of the initiative or research (250 words max)
• An outline of how the initiative or research was implemented, including an explanation of how it met the award criteria (250 words max)
• Evidence of the measurable outcomes that have resulted from the initiative or research (250 words max)
• A declaration that your PVC/Dean of School supports your application

This award is for initiatives in ABDC member business schools that have enhanced outcomes or improved practice in inbound, outbound or collaborative international education. They may relate to student recruitment, student mobility and research/teaching and learning partnerships with institutions overseas.

Award criteria

1. Demonstrable positive impact: How has the initiative positively impacted students and/or staff?
2. Innovation: How innovative is the initiative in terms of its objectives, design, approach, delivery and/or content?
3. Sustainability/scalability: How sustainable/scalable is the initiative?
4. Institutional support: To what extent has your institution/business school demonstrated commitment to the initiative through the provision of support or recognition of its value?
5. Value for money: Has the initiative led to efficiency gains on previous practice and provided a return on investment?

This award is for research in business, management, economics, and related fields of research that has had a demonstrable impact on scholarship and/or practice among non-academic stakeholders.

Award criteria

1. Impact: How has the research positively impacted scholarship in the field and/or contributed to improvement of practices in industry, government, or the not-for-profit sectors?
2. Innovation: How innovative is the research in terms of its aims, design, approach, and delivery?
3. Excellence: What evidence can be provided regarding the underlying excellence of the research (e.g. quality of peer reviewed outlets, industry testimonials, etc.)?
4. Collaboration: Is there evidence of partnership with academics and non-academic stakeholders outside the individual’s institution?

The ABDC Award for Teaching and Learning recognises Australia’s most outstanding university teachers in ABDC member business schools who have demonstrated leadership through sustained commitment to L&T innovation, quality teaching, and sustained dedication to improve the student experience and learning outcomes in higher education.

Award criteria

1. Impact: How has the individual (or team), learning program or innovation in course/program transformed the student experience and graduate outcomes in higher education?
2. Innovation: How has the individual (or team), learning program or course/program demonstrated innovation in terms of curricula and resources, evaluative practices and delivery that influences, motivate and inspire students to learn?
3. Excellence: What evidence can be provided regarding the underlying excellence of the individual (or team) or learning program including scholarship activities?
4. Scalability: What evidence is there that the teaching innovation or learning program can be deployed to other disciplines in the business school or university or across business schools?
5. Collaboration: Is there evidence of partnership with academics and non-academic stakeholders outside the individual’s institution?

Evidence of contribution

In addressing each of the criteria applicants are required to make a case that they have:

1. Impacted on student learning, student engagement or the overall student experience and outcomes for a period of no less than three years.
2. Gained recognition from colleagues, the institution, and/or the broader community.
3. Shown creativity, imagination or innovation, irrespective of whether the approach involves traditional learning environments or technology-based developments.
4. Drawn on the scholarly literature on teaching and learning to inform the development of initiatives, programs and/or practice.

The case needs to be strongly supported by a range of evidence in the form of qualitative and quantitative data.  This may include formal and informal evaluation, student data, institutional student surveys, references and selected teaching materials.

This award recognises initiatives that demonstrably improve the efficient management of ABDC member business schools.

Award criteria

1. Impact: How has this initiative improved management practices in your school? This could be through delivery of cost savings, removing frictions in processes, or contributing to staff and student experience.
2. Innovation: How innovative is the initiative in its aims, design and implementation?
3. Scalability: Can this initiative be deployed in other areas of the university? For example, beyond the business school there may be evidence of broader institutional support for the initiative.