National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE)

The call for nominations for the 2024 National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) is now open and the deadline for nominations is 12 noon on Friday 3 November 2023.


The logo for the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) is a highly prestigious award which celebrates excellent practice and outstanding achievement in learning and teaching in higher education.

The awards support individuals’ professional development in learning and teaching and provides a national focus for institutional teaching and learning excellence schemes.


The Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence (CATE) celebrate collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning.

The logo for the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence

For more information about the awards, including eligibility and the application criteria, please visit the information pages on the Learning and Teaching website:

Nominations must be a maximum of 1000 words, addressing the relevant criteria and should be sent electronically to ltds@ncl.ac.uk no later than 12 noon on 3 November 2023.

Want to know more? Sign up for our Webinar

If you would like to find out more about NTFS and CATE, please book a place on the webinar taking place on 10 August 2023.

2023 National Teaching Fellowship and Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence Scheme: Internal application process now open

We are pleased to announce the launch of the University process to determine our nominees for the 2023 National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) Scheme.

​The NTF Scheme is a highly prestigious award celebrating excellent practice and outstanding achievement in learning and teaching in higher education. The awards support professional development in learning and teaching and provide a national focus for institutional teaching and learning excellence schemes. The CATE awards celebrate collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning.

In previous years, Newcastle University has had 16 NTFs awarded and three CATE award winning teams. Read more from previous year’s National Teaching Fellows and CATE award winners.

Nominations are welcomed from all members of staff who feel their/their team’s work has a major, positive impact on student teaching and learning. Staff and teams who would like to be considered need to submit a maximum of 1000 words which address the following criteria:

  • Your personal practice/Your team’s practice and why this should be recognised as outstanding
  • Your/your team’s impact on colleagues, both internally and externally
  • Your reflection on the above.

Nominations should be sent electronically to ltds@ncl.ac.uk by 12pm on Friday 11 November 2022.

Find out more
Full information is available on the Learning and Teaching @ Newcastle website. You can also sign up to a webinar for more information and the opportunity to ask questions about the scheme. For any questions, please get in touch with ltds@newcastle.ac.uk.

Teaching Excellence Awards 2021/22 Advance HE CATE and NTFS Roadshows

Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence and National Teaching Fellowship logos

Advance HE, in collaboration with the Association of National Teaching Fellows (ANTF) and the CATE Winners’ Network (CATE-Net) will be again presenting a series of virtual roadshows to support those interested in applying for the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) or the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS). Each webinar will focus exclusively on either the NTFS or CATE.

More information on our Teaching Excellence Awards can be found on the Advance HE website. Please sign up to any of these roadshows events via the specific booking links below.

The University process to determine the institutional nominees to the 2021/22 Advance HE National Teaching Fellowship Scheme and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence is open and the deadline for applications is Wednesday 10 November 2021 at 12 noon. For information on the University application process please visit this Learning and Teaching blog post.

NTFS Roadshows

Facilitated by ANTF Committee Events co-ordinator, Professor Debbie Holley and Advance HE Fellowship and Awards Adviser Dr Holly Earl, these webinars will offer insights and guidance through the NTFS application process.

Webinar One: Thinking about a NTFS application, Wednesday 3 November 2021, 12.00-13:00

This first webinar will cover the new guidance for institutes and individuals, highlight useful Advance HE resources, and include new award winners and ‘old’ hands sharing their journey to NTF.

Webinar Two: A conversation with successful NTFs, Tuesday 7 December 2021, 13.00 -14:00

This second webinar will offer a brief re-cap of the scheme and highlight updates. It will also feature some personal journeys from existing National Teaching Fellows. There will be plenty of time to ask our panel questions.

Webinar Three: Polishing your application: Institutional/Individual perspectives, Tuesday 18 January 2022 12:00-13:00

This third webinar will briefly re-cap the previous two sessions, and the panel will include a representative responsible for staff development in our institutions, to offer the institutional viewpoint about the scheme, as well as successful NTFs happy to share their experiences.

CATE Roadshows


Facilitated by CATE-Net Lead, Professor Mark O’Hara and Advance HE Fellowship and Awards Adviser Dr Holly Earl, each webinar will offer an overview of the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) and guidance on the application process for those interested in applying.

The CATE webinar will be repeated on three dates. Each session will include a brief introduction to CATE and an overview of the professional and institutional benefits. The CATE 2021-22 application process will be outlined and there will be practical guidance and suggestions from previous CATE winners, plus time for question and answers.


Tuesday 2 November 2021, 13.00-14.00
Wednesday 8 December 2021, 11.00-12.00
Tuesday 11 January 2022, 12.00-13.00

National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) : University application process

Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence and National Teaching Fellowship logos

The internal call for 2022 NTF and CATE nominations has now ended (deadline for nominations was Wednesday 10 November 2021 at 12.00 noon).

Application to be an institutional NTF nominee

Nominations will be considered at a panel meeting in November, chaired by the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education and consisting of current Newcastle NTFs and members of the Learning and Teaching Development Service. All higher education providers are eligible to enter three nominations to NTF. Following this panel meeting the 3 successful nominees will work with NTF mentors to develop their full claim submitted to Advance HE in March 2022.

Application to be an institutional CATE nominee

Nominations will be considered at a panel meeting in November, chaired by the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education and consisting of current Newcastle NTF/CATE winners and members of the Learning and Teaching Development Service. All higher education providers are eligible to enter one team that can clearly demonstrate having an impact on teaching and learning through collaboration. Following this panel meeting the successful team will work with CATE mentors to develop their full claim submitted to Advance HE in March 2022.

For further information get in touch with LTDS@ncl.ac.uk

National Teaching Awards from Advance HE

National Teaching Fellow 2021 and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence 2021

Congratulations to Dr Paul Fleet, School of Arts and Cultures, who has been awarded a National Teaching Fellowship and to the Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) Faculty PGCert in Research Training team who have received the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE).

Both awards recognise exceptional colleagues who are committed to teaching, learning and student outcomes.

Dr Paul Fleet
Dr Paul Fleet, National Teaching Fellow
HaSS PGCert in Research Training Team
HaSS PGCert in Research Training Team

You can hear from this year’s winners on the Newcastle University website and find out more about both awards on the Advance HE website.

If you are interested in becoming an institutional nominee for the 2022 awards we’ll be sharing information about both the NTFS scheme and CATE in the new academic year.

Aspiring NTF Event

The Committee for the Association of National Teaching Fellows (CANTF) shall be hosting another NTFS Roadshow, on Thursday 25th February from 13:00pm to 14:00pm.

Aspiring NTF Event: “New Year, New Network” – enhance your networking to promote your public profile

Facilitated by Professor Debbie Holley (NTF 2014) on behalf of AdvanceHE and The Association of National Teaching Fellows (ANTF)

This workshop is for those considering applying for the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) in 2022 or beyond, and will offer information that will help potential nominees consider future applications. In addition to this, the roadshow will offer insights and thoughts from an interdisciplinary panel about using existing networks. CANTF ran a session about successful networking for impact at the Association of National Teaching Fellows symposium last year and will build upon this work.

The three roadshows toward the end of last year were a great success, and very popular, and we expect this next one to be too. Please share the details of this event widely with colleagues.

Details of how to book can be found here under the “NTFS Roadshow” section.

National Teaching Fellowship Scheme

The Advance HE National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) celebrates excellent practice and outstanding achievement in learning and teaching in higher education. The awards support individuals’ professional development in learning and teaching and provide a national focus for institutional teaching and learning excellence schemes.

LTDS support applications to the NTFS, and work with the National Teaching Fellows in the University to promote their work and teaching excellence. Each institution can nominate three colleagues to each round of the scheme. In 2019 and 2020 the University was very successful with all six candidates successful in achieving their NTF status.

More details about the scheme can be found on the Advance HE website.

Advance HE have created some guidance for participants and institutions for their 2021 scheme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir84mLWTWUA

2021 National Teaching Fellowship Scheme

Application to be an institutional nominee

Nominations are welcomed from all members of staff who feel their work has a major, positive impact on student teaching and learning. Staff who would like to be considered should provide a reflective submission, with a maximum of 1000 words, which addresses the following criteria:

  • Your personal practice and why this should be recognised as outstanding,
  • Your impact on colleagues, both internally and externally,
  • Your commitment to your ongoing professional development.

All UK higher education providers are eligible to enter up to three members of staff that teach and/or support learning in higher education. Your submission should be sent to LTDS@newcastle.ac.uk by 12 noon on the 16th November 2020.

The Advance HE Criteria

Eligibility- Nominees need to be a Fellow of the HEA (any category)

1. Individual excellence: evidence of enhancing and transforming the student learning experience commensurate with the individual’s context and the opportunities afforded by it.

This may, for example, be demonstrated by providing evidence of: 

  • stimulating students’ curiosity and interest in ways which inspire a commitment to learning;
  • organising and presenting high quality resources in accessible, coherent and imaginative ways which in turn clearly enhance students’ learning;
  • recognising and actively supporting the full diversity of student learning needs;
  • drawing upon the results of relevant research, scholarship and professional practice in ways which add value to teaching and students’ learning;
  • engaging with and contributing to the established literature or to the nominee’s own evidence base for teaching and learning.

2. Raising the profile of excellence: evidence of supporting colleagues and influencing support for student learning; demonstrating impact and engagement beyond the nominee’s immediate academic or professional role.

This may, for example, be demonstrated by providing evidence of:

  • making outstanding contributions to colleagues’ professional development in relation to promoting and enhancing student learning;
  • contributing to departmental/faculty/institutional/national initiatives to facilitate student learning;
  • contributing to and/or supporting meaningful and positive change with respect to pedagogic practice, policy and/or procedure.

3. Developing excellence: evidence of the nominee’s commitment to her/his ongoing professional development with regard to teaching and learning and/or learning support.

This may, for example, be demonstrated by providing evidence of:

  • on-going review and enhancement of individual professional practice;
  • engaging in professional development activities which enhance the nominee’s expertise in teaching and learning support;
  • engaging in the review and enhancement of one’s own professional and/or academic practice;
  • specific contributions to significant improvements in the student learning experience.

How LTDS can help:

We can provide support and advice on the NTFS scheme and the application process. For all queries please contact LTDS@newcastle.ac.uk

National recognition for Newcastle University’s teaching excellence

For the second year in a row, three Newcastle academics have been elected as National Teaching Fellows. 

Awarded by Advance HE, the fellowships recognise excellence in enhancing and transforming student outcomes and teaching. Newcastle University’s Dr Clare Guilding, Professor Simon Tate and Dr Iain Keenan are among this year’s 56 new National Teaching Fellows.  

In 2017, Dr Guilding took up the position of Dean of Academic Affairs in Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed), leading the development and implementation of Newcastle’s new MBBS curriculum there. She also played a key role in developing the British Pharmacological Society’s (BPS) new undergraduate pharmacology curriculum, now used to develop pharmacology curricula nationally and internationally.  

Continue reading “National recognition for Newcastle University’s teaching excellence”

National Teaching Fellows

The Advance HE National Teaching Fellowship scheme is a prestigious, national competition where nominees submit a reflective account of their approach as an educator, hoping to be one of the 55 NTF’s created annually. The University is delighted to announce that all three of the institution’s nominees have been awarded National Teaching Fellowship.

Dr Lindsey Ferrie, School of Biomedical Sciences

Dr Lee Fawcett, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics

‘I feel lucky to be part of an institution that promotes the development of excellent teaching practice.   I’m now excited about joining a community of National Teaching Fellows across a range of disciplines, to share examples of good practice and to further develop the impact of my teaching.’ Dr Lee Fawcett, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics

Dr Helen Webster, Writing Development Centre

‘Learning Development is an exciting new field, and I’m very proud that this award demonstrates how Newcastle is leading best practice nationally and internationally.’ Dr Helen Webster, Writing Development Centre

Find out more from the winners on the Newcastle University website.

National Teaching Fellowship / Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence 2019

The Higher Education Academy’s National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) celebrates excellent practice and outstanding achievement in learning and teaching in higher education. The awards support individuals’ professional development in learning and teaching and provides a national focus for institutional teaching and learning excellence schemes.

The Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence Awards recognising outstanding collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching.

More details about the scheme can be found on the HEA’s website.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the University process to determine the institutional nominees to the 2019 National Teaching Fellowship Scheme / Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence scheme.

Application to be an institutional nominee

Nominations are welcomed from all members of staff who feel their work has a major, positive impact on student teaching and learning. Staff who would like to be considered should provide a maximum of 1000 words which address the following criteria.

    • Your personal practice and why this should be recognised as outstanding,
    • Your impact on colleagues, both internally and externally,
    • Your reflection on the above.

Nominations should be sent electronically to ltds@ncl.ac.uk by 12 noon on Friday the 9th of November 2018.

LTDS has developed a workshop that outlines the scheme and helps you consider whether you are ready to apply for the National Teaching Fellowship scheme. The workshop will take place on 17 October 2018, 12:30- 1:30 pm. Book your place now.

View the LTDS website for more information.