Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Mark Scott AO also thanked colleagues for their dedication to teaching excellence, which progresses our aspiration to become one of the best universities in the world. 

"I’m thrilled that our educators have been recognised in these prestigious awards, and I thank them for the incredible contributions they’ve made to student learning and outcomes across the University," said Professor Scott. 

"We know the greatest universities today take seriously the importance of having an exceptional student experience. Our university is no different, and we will continue to invest in our educators, as well as colleagues and teams that support teaching and learning, to ensure students’ experience here is transformational."

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Students) Professor Joanne Wright reflected on the lasting impact excellent learning experiences have on students. 

"While brilliant learning experiences start on our campuses, the impact of those experiences reaches far beyond the University’s boundaries," said Professor Wright. 

"Equipped with critical and creative problem-solving skills, deep experience and expertise in their field of study, and meaningful peer connections, our students go on to make invaluable contributions to our society, here and abroad."

The OBL program at the Chau Chak Wing Museum (CCWM), founded in 2020 and run by Jane Thogersen, Dr Eve Guerry, Liam McGeagh (from October 2022-December 2024), and Charlotte Seales (since December 2024), offers bespoke hands-on learning experiences to students through direct engagement with fascinating and unique museum objects, normally kept behind glass or completely hidden from view of museum goers.

Through the program, participants learn to examine evidence with care and curiosity, and develop independent, well-reasoned interpretations, with an appreciation for diverse perspectives. 

Since its inception, the program has enriched learning experiences for almost 90,000 participants and is now embedded within a range of units of study across all eight University faculties and schools. 

Jane Thogersen, Academic Engagement Curator at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, reflected on what it means for the program to be recognised in the AAUT, and the role university museums play in supporting student learning and outcomes. 

"It is such an honour for the OBL program to be recognised within the Australian higher education sector through this prestigious award, and I see it as a real win for university museums across the sector," she said.

"Our small but passionate team really does live and breathes OBL, and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with such dedicated and creative people to get to where we are now. 

"It is also a testament to what can be achieved when universities support their museums and collections to create innovative and impactful programs for student-led learning. We look forward to another great year of programs in 2026."

Charlotte Seales, Assistant Curator, Academic Engagement at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, added it was great to see the program recognised for its work in building students' skills, confidence, and connections with their peers. 

"We are lucky to work with such a diverse and unique collection which provides endless inspiration for curating learning activities," she said. 

"Through close interactions with these fascinating objects, students can not only practice important critical thinking and communication skills but also form connections between each other. We are honoured that Universities Australia has recognised the value of the OBL program to students' academic experience."

Two students reflected on the impact of the program, sharing how the opportunity to directly engage with Museum objects has brought them closer to both their discipline and to the Museum’s role in study. 

"This program has transformed my traditional perception of a museum’s role, making it more dynamic, interactive, and well-integrated with research and study," one student said. 

"This has provided me with an additional source of inspiration for innovation. Studying with the objects at the Chau Chak Wing Museum has been a truly interesting experience for me," wrote another. 

"I never thought I would have the chance to form such an intimate relationship with these objects, and it has deepened my interest [in them]. I believe this hands-on study method is an excellent way for students to connect with their studies."

Dr Alison Wong and Dr Stephen Tierney, academics at the University of Sydney Business School, have been jointly recognised for their invaluable contributions to Business Analytics through two major initiatives that make complex technical content accessible and engaging. 

The first; co-created custom, scalable teaching resources that enabled Business Analytics to consistently deliver high-quality learning experiences to a range of cohorts; some up to 1500 students and others with fewer than 20 enrolments. 

These initiatives afforded personalised feedback, where students receive automated insights to guide their learning, and modelling, where the teacher first shows students how to approach problems before encouraging independent problem solving. 

Dr Wong, Senior Lecturer at the Business School, shared the rationale behind these new teaching initiatives, which have contributed to a more supported and engaged student cohort. 

"We spent a lot of time thinking about what students actually need when they’re learning to program for the first time, and realised they needed something supportive that would help them build both skills and confidence," said Dr Wong. 

"Instead of giving students big, complex tasks, we broke content into small, progressive challenges so learning felt manageable rather than overwhelming."

Dr Tierney, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of Discipline at the Business School, added that the new initiatives not only support learning, but ensure students have the skills and knowledge to succeed beyond the classroom.

"It was absolutely critical to us that students are actively engaged in programming rather than passive recipients of knowledge," said Dr Tierney.

"Achieving this at scale required us to be creative and develop unprecedented methods of automatically analysing student work and giving feedback.

"Equipping our Business Analytics students with strong programming skills uniquely positions them to succeed in their studies and in the work force. 

"Our students can independently implement or apply the latest machine learning, statistics and operations management techniques as soon as they graduate, which is a massive advantage in a competitive hiring environment."

Receiving positive feedback from students off the back of the new programming framework has also been incredibly rewarding and motivating, shared Dr Tierney. 

"We saw a significant increase in positive feedback when we introduced our framework, which we’ve sustained ever since, and students often comment on how much they enjoyed learning using our system and how much confidence they’ve gained in themselves," he said.