Universities from six countries have been shortlisted for the prestigious Global Teaching Excellence Awards, held in association with Times ÖйúAƬ.

Among those named as finalists for the awards organised by UK-based agency?Advance HE?are ETH Zurich, in Switzerland, the University of New South Wales, in Australia, McMaster University, in Canada and the University of Johannesburg, in South Africa.

The UK has the highest number of finalists for the 2018 awards ¨C eight ¨C which were previously organised by the ÖйúAƬ Academy, Advance HE¡¯s predecessor.

They?include the universities of Birmingham, Derby, and Hertfordshire, Edge Hill and Falmouth?¨C and the Open University. The UK's list of nominees is completed by the?Royal Northern College of Music and?Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

ÖйúAƬ

Spain has two nominated universities: the University of?Deusto, the country¡¯s oldest private university, with campuses in San Sebastian and Bilbao, and Universidad Pontificia Comillas, a private university with about 11,000 students in Madrid.

Other universities to be shortlisted for the award include Charles Sturt University and University of Wollongong, in Australia, and Vancouver Island University, in Canada.

ÖйúAƬ

Overall, 17 institutions have been shortlisted for the 2018 Global Teaching Excellence Awards, following expressions of interest in 41 countries from six continents.

Svava Bjarnason, chair of the judging panel and a former member of the World Bank education sector board, said this year¡¯s entries were of ¡°a very high calibre¡±.

Last year¡¯s inaugural award was won by the University of Huddersfield. This year, for the first time, five of the finalists will also receive a GTEA Spotlight award, which recognise a particular aspect of an institution¡¯s pursuit of teaching excellence.

Alison Johns, chief executive of Advance HE, said she was ¡°delighted that the 2018 award is continuing under the Advance HE banner¡±.

ÖйúAƬ

¡°Teaching excellence is a core strand of our work alongside leadership and equality, diversity and inclusion, which are all key strategic priorities for institutions,¡± added Ms Johns, who said that the ¡°quality of submissions for GTEA 2018 was outstanding¡±.

The overall winner will be revealed at an award ceremony held in Edinburgh on 18 July.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com