Five University of the Sunshine Coast experts in nursing, Indigenous studies, entrepreneurship, education leadership and town planning have won prestigious national awards for their outstanding contributions to the quality of student learning.

USC has gained five of the highly competitive annual citations for teaching excellence, presented by the Australian Government’s Office for Learning and Teaching. Each has a prize value of $10,000.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Birgit Lohmann said USC had done exceptionally well in winning the national citations over a sustained period, receiving 36 awards since 2009. This success rate is commensurate with the best in the nation and outstanding for a young and growing university such as USC.

The USC recipients to be presented with their awards this week at a special ceremony at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art are:

Associate Professor of Nursing Patrea Andersen for sustained leadership in the development, implementation and dissemination of innovative simulation pedagogy that enhances student engagement and learning in nursing and health disciplines;

Senior Lecturer in Indigenous Studies Adjunct Professor David Hollinsworth for inspirational teaching that challenges and supports social science students to critically examine racism, social justice and positionality, transforming their personal and professional lives;

Lecturer in Entrepreneurship Dr Retha De Villiers Scheepers for inspiring entrepreneurship students to create their future by crafting authentic learning opportunities that motivate, engage and empower;

Senior Lecturer in Education Dr Susan Simon for inspiring and mentoring postgraduate education students to become effective leaders through professional expertise, guidance, collegiality, collaboration and promoting critical reflection;

Lecturer in Regional and Urban Planning Dr Nicholas Stevens for establishing applied curricula and digital resources which prioritise student access to town planning principles, practice and projects, enabling them to ‘plan for great places’.

The citations reflect USC’s consistent five-star rating for teaching quality in the independent Hobsons’ Good Universities Guide.

— Julie Schomberg