Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Academic Excellence

Nominations for this award are open from Monday 9 June 2025 and close on Friday 5 September 2025. Please complete the nomination form and email to awards@anu.edu.au by 5pm, Friday 5 September 2025. 

Purpose 

To encourage and recognise the outstanding contributions of individual academics who are excelling in all aspects of their research, teaching and service career, relative to their level and field.

Criteria

Teaching, research and service will be considered in the award case, with an emphasis on leadership. Nominations will be assessed on the basis of written evidence that demonstrates outstanding achievement in one or more of the following areas:

• Leadership & Alignment with ANU Values: Demonstrated leadership that reflects ANU values and strategic priorities.
• Research Contribution & Innovation: Significant advances in knowledge or innovation within the discipline.
• Sustained Research Excellence: Outstanding performance over the past two years, supported by research metrics (e.g., funding, income, publications, awards, patents, student completions).
• Recognition & Impact: National or international recognition and demonstrated impact of research achievements.
• Research Leadership & Mentoring: Leadership in research; effective mentoring of early career researchers and HDR students.
• Collaboration & Interdisciplinarity: Active participation in interdisciplinary or collaborative research projects.
• Publication Record: Strong post-PhD publication profile, including high-ranking journals, citations, and impact factors.
• Honours & Achievements: Awards, prizes, leadership roles, major research grants, or patents.
• Curriculum & Student Engagement: Development of research-informed teaching materials and initiatives that enhance student learning.
• Mentorship & Development: Mentoring that significantly contributes to others’ academic and professional growth.
• Fostering Research Culture: Creating a collaborative, innovative, and research-focused academic environment.
• Inclusive Mentoring: Commitment to mentoring practices that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion

Eligibility

Staff are eligible to be nominated for this award where they meet the following conditions:

• Nominees must be employed by the University (on payroll) in the year of the award.
• Nominees must be an individual academic staff member.

Nomination process

Nomination forms can be downloaded from the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards webpage. Nominations should be submitted as a single PDF document to awards@anu.edu.au, by no later than 5pm on the advertised closing date.

Nominations should be prepared by Sponsors, that is, a supervisor or other person within the University. Sponsors should specifically address the award criteria, provide examples to support their claims, and note that additional references are not permitted, and that additional paperwork will not be considered by the Committee.

Colleges and Service Divisions may choose to set up a committee to ensure that staff who warrant consideration of an award are not overlooked.

Sponsors should note that the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards recognise excellence in achievement and contribution that exceeds the normal expectations of the work undertaken by individuals and teams. The selection committee will consider the academic or professional level and consider their access to opportunity when making their evaluation.

Awards process

Award finalists and sponsors will be contacted once the Committee has made a determination but recipients will not be announced until the awards ceremony. The awards will be presented at the celebratory Vice-Chancellor’s Annual Awards event in the same year and all nominees and sponsors will be invited. All award recipients will be published on the Vice-Chancellor’s Annual Awards webpage.

In the case of team awards, the team will receive one award, presented to the Team Lead (as specified on the nomination form).

Further information

For further information please contact awards@anu.edu.au