The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Kathryn Harrison-Graves, Advance HE’s Director of Membership and Accreditation, and Helen Lomax, Director of Ako Aotearoa. They were also attending the annual conference of New Zealand’s Academy of tertiary teaching excellence held at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The collaboration has a particular focus on partnering to align the Professional Standards Framework with the Aotearoa New Zealand Context, growing global Fellowship and Accreditation in New Zealand and collaborating on strategic events and activities on teaching and learning. Advance HE currently has two subscribers in New Zealand, Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and Massey University.
“The PSF will be used as a starting point, interpreting it where necessary to meet the New Zealand context. For example, AUT has already developed Ako Aronui for their staff, whereby the PSF has been contextualised for New Zealand’s Māori cultural context,” says Helen Lomax, Director of Ako Aotearoa. “I’m really pleased that we are working with Advance HE to grow ways to meet the capability development needs of tertiary learning and teaching staff across New Zealand, benefitting both staff and learners of institutions across the country,” says Helen.
Kathryn Harrison-Graves, Advance HE’s Director of Membership and Accreditation said, “I’m excited to connect with institutions and support learning and teaching through continuing our work with Ako Aotearoa. I look forward to seeing staff in New Zealand gain recognition for their skills and experience through Global Fellowship and Accreditation.”
The Professional Standards Framework (PSF) is a framework for benchmarking success within higher education teaching and learning support. It provides a comprehensive set of professional standards and guidelines for everyone involved in teaching and supporting learning in higher education, and it can be applied to personal and professional development programmes at individual or institutional level to improve teaching quality.
Find out more about International Collaboration with Advance HE