UTS continues to reimagine education with second global award

UTS has made its second appearance in the "Oscars of higher education", winning a bronze award at the third annual Reimagine Education Awards, a year-long global competition designed to uncover transformative initiatives across the educational sector.

UTS's unique Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation (BCII) combined degree was jointly awarded the bronze award in Presence Learning with Falmouth University in the UK.

It's a category for innovative classroom-based pedagogy resulting in enhanced student learning, recognising that "reimagining education involves more than devising ingenious technological solutions to problems."

The BCII combines knowledge cultures from 25 degrees and 7 university faculties, in collaboration with industry, public sector organisations and communities, to prepare students who can lead innovation in a rapidly changing world. In its first year (2014), 2660 applications were recorded for 150 places, increasing to 3547 in its third year.

Its success has led to the launch for next year of a stand-alone three-year undergraduate degree based on the same principles, the Bachelor of Technology and Innovation (BTi).

Last year UTS won the Hybrid Learning Innovation category for its learning.futures initiative.

This year the Head of Creative Intelligence and Innovation and Dean of the new Faculty of Transdisciplinary Innovation Professor Louise McWhinnie was in Philadelphia on 6 December to undertake a presentation of the BCII and to accept the Presence Learning award.

"To be not only shortlisted from such a wide range of international applicants, but then invited to Philadelphia to present for this prestigious award, is a reflection of what UTS has invested into the BCII and transdisciplinarity," Professor McWhinnie said.

"The award must be regarded as not only an award for the core team and the broad team of staff and industry who have so wholeheartedly developed and built the degree, but also an award for the students who have made the BCII what it has so quickly become."

The 2016 Reimagine Education competition attracted 807 submissions from 56 countries. A total of 527 entries were accepted and 140 shortlisted.

The international panel of judges consisted of 40 experts who evaluated the projects based on three main criteria: innovation, impact, depth or scalability.

The Reimagine Education Awards are joint initiative of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Quacquarelli Symonds, publisher of the QS World University Rankings.