QUT receives accreditation for specialist recognition of AFHEA (Indigenous)

The Associate Fellow of the HEA (Indigenous) will enable QUT staff to be recognised for demonstrating an emerging engagement with Indigenous perspectives in learning and teaching.

QUT Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Margaret Sheil said QUT was well-placed to be the first university in Australia to be accredited for a specialist award.

“By working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, QUT plans to address challenges not only faced by Indigenous Australians, but all Australians,” Professor Sheil said.

“We are committed to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders through our professional accountability and leadership, curriculum, physical environment, community engagement, research and employment,” Professor Sheil said. 

Advance HE Director of Membership and Accreditation, Kathryn Harrison-Graves SFHEA, visited QUT this week to congratulate the team on this achievement.

“I would like to commend QUT on proposing a pilot for the first-ever specialist designation award of Associate Fellow of the HEA (Indigenous). The proposal aligns well with the Australian context and national policy focus on embedding Indigenous perspectives in learning and teaching,” she said.

 

The online learning module, Indigenous Perspectives in Learning and Teaching, was developed in partnership between QUT Academy of Learning and Teaching and the Indigenous Research and Engagement Unit.

It will equip educators with additional research and strategies for embedding Indigenous perspectives in their teaching. Participants will then be invited to apply for specialist recognition as an Associate Fellow of the HEA (Indigenous), the first specialist award under the established HEA Fellowship scheme.

Applications will be assessed by at least one Indigenous staff member who is a Fellow of the HEA, under the guidance of Professor Peter Anderson SFHEA, Director of QUT’s Indigenous Research and Engagement Unit.

In its decision to accredit the program, Advance HE commended QUT for making a strong statement about the importance of national cultures and perspectives of First Nations people.  

The accreditation panel also commented that QUT’s institutional commitment to promoting excellence in teaching and learning, and to the professional development of all staff, shines throughout the accreditation submission.