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Applicant Guidance for Early Career Citations

The Citation for Outstanding Early Career Contribution to Engineering Education recognises and rewards the diverse contributions made by individuals working within the Australasian context to the quality of engineering student learning and teaching at the early stages of their career, preferably sustained over a period of 12 months minimum or equivalent.

Successful applications will be posted on the AAEE website as a way of disseminating the work that has been recognised by an award. Examples of previously successful applications are available on the AAEE website here. Award winners will be invited to produce a video presentation and/or present at the AAEE Awards Roadshow to showcase their work to the AAEE community.

Eligibility

This award is intended to encourage early career academics (defined as working toward or within 5 years of gaining PhD or equivalent) and/or academics new to engineering education (defined as less than 5 years in engineering education) to pursue a sustained interest in engineering education research and/or scholarship. The five years can be non-sequential and must be counted on a semester basis backwards from January 1 in the year of application. Activities from the year of application can also be included as evidence in the application.

Nominees must be members of AAEE at the time of application and preferably should attend the Annual AAEE Conference, but this is not mandatory. Instructions to check your membership status or to join are here (note that staff and students of Australian and New Zealand universities can become members at no cost). Applications must be based on work mostly conducted in Australia or New Zealand.

Application Details

Applications should be submitted via the form linked below by 5pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time), September 15, 2023.

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Criteria for Framing Application

To apply, nominees must select ONE (1) of the following criteria for assessment, as appropriate to their particular contribution. Nominations will be assessed on evidence provided in relation to the selected criterion (adapted from the Australian Awards for University Teaching – Citations).

Criterion 1 - Approaches to teaching and the support of learning that influence, motivate and inspire engineering students to learn

This may include

  • Fostering student development by stimulating curiosity and independence in learning.
  • Assisting students from equity and other demographic subgroups to participate and achieve success in their courses.
  • Inspiring and motivating students through effective educational design and delivery.
  • Enabling others to enhance their approaches to learning and teaching.
  • Developing and/or integrating assessment strategies to enhance student learning
Criterion 2 - Development of engineering curricula, resources or services that reflect a command of the field

This may include

  • Developing and presenting coherent and imaginative resources for student learning.
  • Implementing research-led approaches to learning and teaching.
  • Demonstrating up-to-date knowledge of the field of study in the design of the curriculum and the creation of resources for learning.
  • Providing support to those involved in the development of curricula and resources.
  • Contributing professional expertise to enhance curriculum or resources.
Criterion 3 - Evaluation practices that bring about improvements in engineering teaching and learning. Evaluation comprises making judgements about the quality of programs and activities that are part of the academic, cultural and social experience of higher education.

This may include

  • Showing advanced skills in evaluation and reflective practice.
  • Using a variety of evaluation strategies to bring about change.
  • Adapting evaluation methods to different contexts and diverse student needs and learning styles.
  • Contributing professional expertise to the field of evaluation in order to improve program design and delivery. 
  • Dissemination and embedding of good practice identified through evaluation. 
Criterion 4 - Innovation or leadership that has influenced and enhanced engineering learning and teaching and/or the engineering student experience

This may include

  • Innovations in service and support for students
  • Innovations in coordination, management and leadership of courses and the student learning experience.
  • Demonstrating leadership through activities that have broad influence on the profession.
  • Providing innovative learning and teaching for different contexts, including technology enhanced environments, for large and small class sizes and/or to meet the needs of a diverse student cohort.
  • Influencing the overall academic, social and cultural experience of higher education.
Criterion 5 - Engineering education research/scholarship of learning and teaching, that has contributed to student learning, the engineering education community, and the research literature

This may include

  • Evidence of novel contributions to the research literature based on sound research design
  • Quality of research processes, analysis, and publication
  • Relevance of this research to student learning and the broader engineering education community
  • Impact on student learning, the broader engineering education community, and the research literature
  • Dissemination within the AAEE community, and beyond
  • Research collaborations beyond discipline, institutional, or national boundaries
  • Enabling others to enhance their approaches to engineering education research 
  • Using research to bring about educational change

 Submission Requirements

Submissions are limited to THREE (3) A4 pages (minimum 12 point font and 2 cm margins) and must describe the nominee’s contribution to student learning in line with the selected criterion, providing evidence to support claims. It should comprise the following elements presented in order.

  1. State the citation criterion addressed by the application.
  2. Overview of the contribution and its context.
  3. Statement addressing the selected assessment criterion and providing evidence of the contribution and resulting impact.
  4. Reference list: nominees should use their preferred recognised reference style throughout and include a reference list within the three (3) pages. Links to reference lists online will not be reviewed by assessors.

 

Judging Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated according to the following:

  1. Focus and relevance – state clearly the initiatives addressed and the outcomes achieved, focusing on the significance of the work.
  2. Context – situate the work within relevant bodies of knowledge and describe how it draws on this to address our understanding of teaching and learning in your context.
  3. Evidence of impact and/or outcomes. Evidence should be compelling and supported by clear reasoning.
  4. Clarity and readability – exhibit clear, concise, and precise exposition of engineering education research and/or scholarship, and provide tables and figures, as needed, that meaningfully add to the narrative (useful illustrations).

 

Prize

$1,000 plus a framed certificate (up to 3 citations will be awarded).