Three academic teams have won the inaugural Centre for Higher Education Development's Award for Collaborative Educational Practice after their projects were found to be "excellent examples of collaborative practice".

The CHED Award was launched last year and three groups won a total of R40 000.

The winners are Associate Professor Gay Morris and Liz van Breda for their Learning Through Drama and Theatre project, a second-semester BA course in the Department of Drama, in which student groups devise theatre-in-education programmes to be performed at schools; Dr David Jacobs and Dr Justin O'Riain for their Field Course in Behavioural Ecology, a three-week field camp for innovative teaching methods and collaborations in the three Western Cape universities; and Professor Saalih Allie and Andy Buffler for producing a Student Work Book, materials to support the teaching of practical first-year physics laboratory skills.

Jeff Jawitz of CHED said they were excited about the quality of the applications and the winners proved that their projects were not just "nice ideas" but sustainable and effective teaching practices.