Twenty-seven universities from around the world are in the running for a new global teaching award.

The Global Teaching Excellence Award, run by the Higher Education Academy in partnership with Times Higher Education, recognises universities with strong institution-wide approaches to driving up educational standards.

British universities make up more than half of the shortlist, with 16 UK-based institutions vying for the award, while Australia has five shortlisted entries. Universities from the Netherlands, Norway, Hong Kong, South Africa and Switzerland also make the list.

Svava Bjarnason, chair of the GTEA judging panel and a former member of the World Bank Education Sector Board, said that there had been some ¡°fantastic entries¡±.

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¡°Our panel was looking for robust evidence of excellence in three areas: leadership, teaching and in student support,¡± Ms Bjarnason said. ¡°We found a great deal of outstanding practice in these submissions, and I believe this presents a superb opportunity for others to consider these lessons for their own institutional teaching strategies.¡±

The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on 4 September, coinciding with the É«ºÐÖ±²¥ .

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John Gill, É«ºÐÖ±²¥ editor and a member of the judging panel, said: ¡°Teaching is top of the agenda for universities across the world, with increasing acknowledgement that there is work to be done if higher education is to deliver on its fundamental mission to transform the lives of students whatever their background.

¡°That¡¯s why this award is so important, and why É«ºÐÖ±²¥ is delighted to support it. It is only by understanding what the best are doing that standards can be driven up across the spectrum of higher education institutions globally, and that¡¯s what the GTEA aims to do.¡±

The full list of finalists is:

• University of Adelaide
• Aston University
• University of Bath
• University of Birmingham
• University of Bristol
• University of Derby
• Edith Cowan University
• University of Essex
• University of Exeter
• Falmouth University
• Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• University of Huddersfield
• University of Johannesburg
• University of Law
• Leeds Beckett University
• McMaster University
• Monash University
• Norwegian Academy of Music
• The Open University
• Plymouth University
• Queensland University of Technology
• University of Salford
• Swiss Hotel Management School
• Teesside University
• University College London
• Utrecht University
• University of Wollongong

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com