Dr. Ngo Tuyet Mai, Associate Professor in TESOL and Applied Linguistics at Flinders University, was among 60 individuals and teams honored in the AAUT Citation Award category, which recognizes significant contributions to student learning, according to results announced Tuesday.
“I was surprised and deeply moved when I heard the news. This recognition reflects 32 years of continuous effort and strengthens my confidence in the university teaching path I have chosen,” she told Read.
The citations acknowledge the diverse ways individuals and teams enhance the quality of student learning. They are awarded to academic, professional, sessional, and institutional staff who have made sustained contributions within a specific area of responsibility, according to Universities Australia, which administers the awards.
To receive the honor, candidates undergo a five-month, three-stage evaluation involving 128 experts. The assessment is based on four core criteria: demonstrated positive impact on student learning outcomes over at least three years; broad recognition from peers and the academic community; innovative and creative teaching approaches; and initiatives grounded in scholarly research.
According to Flinders University’s nomination dossier, Mai has enhanced both learning outcomes and employability among undergraduate and postgraduate students through engaging teaching strategies designed to strengthen academic reading skills and deepen comprehension.
In practice, nearly 80% of students struggle with academic reading. Mai has integrated technology and artificial intelligence to monitor engagement with assigned readings, identify challenging passages for targeted explanation, and implement a “Collaborative Reading” approach that fosters interaction, enabling students to read more effectively and achieve deeper understanding.
Mai said her teaching philosophy is grounded in empathy, emphasizing the importance of viewing learning from students’ perspectives. She also prioritizes learning experiences over grades, believing this encourages students to invest greater time and effort, ultimately improving academic performance and learning quality.
“I hope this award will inspire my students, many of whom will become teachers themselves in the future,” she added.
Mai graduated from Hanoi University, which is formerly Hanoi Foreign Languages University, in 1994. More than five years later, she received an Australian Government scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in English language teaching at the University of Sydney, followed by doctoral (2010) and postdoctoral (2016) scholarships at the University of New South Wales.
In Vietnam, she previously served as head of the General Education Faculty, which now the English for Specific Purposes Faculty, from 2005 to 2009, and later as director of the International Education Center at Hanoi University between 2014 and 2015.
Seeking new challenges in an international academic environment, Mai secured a lecturing position at Flinders University in 2017. She is currently an associate professor of English language education in the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
Australia’s national university teaching awards were established by the Australian government in 1997 to recognize excellence in higher education teaching.
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