Community Engagement Excellence Awards (CEEA)

Deputy-Vice Chancellor (Academic) Community Engagement Excellence Awards (CEEA)

Celebrating excellence in engaged scholarship that transforms society

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Community Engagement (CE) Excellence Awards honour the outstanding contributions of UWC staff and students who are transforming lives through engaged scholarship. These awards celebrate innovative partnerships that strengthen communities, advance national priorities, and bring UWC’s vision of societal impact to life.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Community Engagement Excellence Awards (CEEA) celebrate the transformative work of UWC staff and students who embody the university’s commitment to scholarship in service of society. These awards shine a spotlight on individuals and teams who integrate teaching, learning, and research with community priorities, demonstrating how academic excellence can translate into meaningful societal impact. Following our adaptation of Boyer’s (1990) model, the Scholarship of Engagement (SoE) is the integrative institutionalisation of community engagement emanating from engaged scholarship types. SoE is present when Higher Education staff reflect on, interrogate, study, write about, disseminate, and ultimately incorporate scholarship into all their activities and at all levels of the institution. Rooted in UWC’s mission of engagement, the awards recognise UWC staff and students who have engaged in initiatives that foster collaboration, inclusion, and co-creation with communities.

Our Community Engagement Excellence Awards (CEEA) are about acknowledging projects that advance social justice and sustainability. The Community Engagement Excellence Awards honour initiatives that effectively transfer, apply, integrate, and share knowledge and resources with communities. Recipients must have demonstrated a significant impact on community success, supported by evidence of measurable contributions that promote positive societal change.

Excellence is also demonstrated by showcasing best practices and innovations in the scholarship of engagement, providing exemplary models for others. The awards emphasise engagement through research and scholarship, highlighting projects that create new knowledge relevant and beneficial to communities. Awardees are those who have exhibited sustained leadership and commitment to community engagement, fostering practices that strengthen and expand meaningful engagement initiatives. CEEA illustrates an additional layer of UWC’s commitment to advancing engaged scholarship that strengthens communities and drives societal transformation.