JISC

The 2010 Times Higher Education (THE) awards are now open for entries and JISC is sponsoring the Outstanding ICT Initiative of the Year category.

THE Awards look to recognise the talent and achievement of universities and colleges in their pursuit of excellence in teaching and research.

Ann Mroz, THE editor, said: “THE awards represent a unique and high profile opportunity to celebrate the excellence and amazing achievements of UK higher education institutions, and reaffirm our commitment to the two core pursuits of higher education: teaching and research.

“There are eighteen categories for 2010. We're looking forward to a wealth of strong contenders again this year, displaying the talent and imagination that make UK higher education the best in the world.”

For the third year running, JISC is supporting the awards and looking for colleges and universities to enter the Outstanding ICT Initiative of the Year category. This category looks to recognise how a scheme or project based on digital technologies has made a difference to learners, academics and researchers.

St George’s University of London won the JISC category in 2009 for their use of virtual learning environments. St George’s wanted to recreate paramedic work situations which are impossible to simulate realistically in the classroom and their solution allowed students to work together as a paramedic team on different emergency scenes.

David Baker, JISC deputy chair, said: “The project at St George’s is impressive for what you might call its ‘horizontal scalability’ – the possibility for this use of technology to have an impact on teaching and learning in other universities in the future. Testing out practical work in virtual research environments is an innovative way of approaching medical scenarios that could be replicated across the academic spectrum.”

If you think you are using digital technologies innovatively at your college or university to make a real difference to your teaching and research, you have until 7 June 2010 to enter the awards.

Enter the JISC Outstanding ICT Initiative of the Year category

View the other 17 award categories