The University of Newcastle's Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, in collaboration with the NSW Department of Education and the Paul Ramsay Foundation, has won the Engagement Australia 2022 Excellence Award for Outstanding Engagement for Research Impact.

The Centre was recognised for its notable professional development programme, Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR), which has impacted over 3,500 teachers and 400,000 students since 2018.

Laureate Professor Jenny Gore, Director of Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, said that receiving the award was an honour.

“We are in a fortunate position to be strongly supported by the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the NSW Department of Education so that our work can deliver a positive impact for teachers and students on a large scale,” Professor Gore said. “We look forward to continuing this work with our partners and making a difference for education in Australia.”

QTR emerged from a 20-year collaboration with the NSW Department of Education, which has been a strong supporter of the Centre's research on quality teaching and teacher development. According to research on QTR, it improves comprehension of effective teaching, alters teaching practice, and results in considerable improvements in student success, especially in schools serving underprivileged areas.

In 2018, the philanthropic Paul Ramsay Foundation teamed up with the University and the Department to sponsor a $17.2 million, five-year systematic programme of research and scaling to strengthen the evidence base and enable access to QTR for teachers across Australia. This was done in recognition of the QTR's powerful effects on teaching and learning.

Engagement Australia is the main partnership of universities in Australia and New Zealand devoted to the advancement of the engagement agenda in higher education. 

The Engagement Australia Excellence Awards, sponsored by UniBank and the Department of Industry, Science, and Resources, focus on outstanding nation-building initiatives, demonstrating far-reaching impact and innovation, in all sectors and aspects of the Australian economy and community.