Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence
Each year we support staff to apply for national recognition through the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence, which recognises and celebrates collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning.
Internal process
The Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) was introduced to highlight the key role of teamwork in higher education. Queen Mary University of London is able to nominate one team for an Award each year.
The process is highly competitive, with 15 teams from around the UK receiving awards in 2023. Nominations are reviewed by members of the wider higher education community, with the review and awards process coordinated by Advance HE.
The deadline for applications to Advance HE is normally early March each year and there are strict criteria for submission. If you are interested in applying for a CATE, you should first review the Advance HE website, including the videos providing insight into the award criteria. We recommend that you also review the profiles of successful teams to find out more about the value, reach and impact which have been evidenced in successful submissions.
Criteria
Teams must demonstrate evidence of:
- Excellence in the team’s collaborative approach: Evidence of excellence in the team’s approach to working collaboratively, commensurate with their context and the opportunities afforded by it.
- Excellence in the impact of collaborative working: Evidence of the team having a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning, including beyond their immediate academic or professional area.
Eligibility
It is normally a pre-requisite that at least one of team should:
- have received a Queen Mary Education Excellence Award and/or President and Principal’s Prize
- hold Fellowship from Advance HE
Each team should demonstrate direct engagement with students. Although there is no requirement for students to be members of the team, a team should clearly demonstrate how students are directly engaged in their work. The team should normally comprise between three and 15 key members.
Expressions of interest
The call for expressions of interest for nomination in 2026 is now open.
The deadline for submission of expressions of interest is Friday 29 August 2025, and these should be submitted using this online form.
Information Session
The slides from the Information Session which took place on 25 June 2025 can be accessed using this link CATE and NTF Info Session 25 June 25 [PDF 509KB]
If you would like to access the session recording please email qma.trp@qmul.ac.uk
CATE Awards at Queen Mary
In 2025 the Queen Mary Peer-Led Team Learning (QM-PLTL) team were awarded a CATE. Led by Professor Tony Michael, Deputy Vice-Principal for Education, the QM-PLTL team is a diverse, interdisciplinary group of student peer leaders, academics and professional services staff from across the University’s three faculties, in conjunction with the Queen Mary Academy. You can read more about their award in this news story.
In 2020 the Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre was awarded a CATE, and you can find out more about their work on the Advance HE website.
