In 2005, the Higher Education Funding Council for England established 74 Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs). These are aimed at rewarding excellence in teaching and learning across all subjects in HE.

Coventry University was one of only a handful of UK universities that was awarded funding for not one, but three such prestigious Centres. In total, over £9.5million was awarded for the three CETLs over five years. The three Centres are:

• Centre for Inter-Professional e-Learning (CIPeL)
• Product & Automotive Design (CEPAD)
• Centre for Excellence in Mathematics and Statistics Support (SIGMA)

Coventry University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Madeleine Atkins, responded to the award by stating: 'This is an outstanding achievement for the University and reinforces our reputation for excellence and innovation in teaching. All three of our CETLs focus on using leading edge technologies to enhance the learning experience of students and we are looking forward to working with our partners on some exciting agendas over the next five years.'

The Centre for Inter-Professional e-Learning is a collaborative CETL involving Coventry University (lead) and the Sheffield Hallam University.

Our aim is to develop and disseminate solutions to the barriers to inter-professional learning amongst students of health and social care professions, through the use of innovative e-approaches. We intend to act as a ‘beacon of best practice’ to promote inter-professional e-learning nationally and internationally through several, interwoven strands of activity.

For more details, please see the CIPeL showcase.

Coventry University's School of Art and Design has been awarded over £2.5 million funding to develop a prestigious national Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). The School of Art and Design was selected for the award because of its innovative work and international reputation in transport and product design. The project will bring together the expertise of some of the most renowned car companies and leading universities in the world.

Further details can be seen on the Centre's showcase page.

The funding will be used by the University to develop the most advanced IT based design modelling facilities for students. They will support an international network of project partners, and collaborative work with multi-national companies. To make this effective there will be fundamental research to develop new teaching approaches in three dimensional thinking and design studio practice.

The Centre will be based in the University's acclaimed Design Institute, and located in its unique design facilities in the new Bugatti Building. The core partner network includes seven international car companies, and five universities in USA, Canada, Holland and Hong Kong, as well as two in the UK.

'I am extremely pleased that we have been successful with this bid,' says Dean of School, Professor Mike Tovey. 'The quality of our design teaching is based on three attributes which reinforce each other. We create a learning experience for our students which relates directly to real world needs. This is re-enforced by a high level of industrial engagement in project work. And importantly our staff bring highly relevant professional experience to their teaching.'

For further information on the work of the Centre of Excellence for Product and Automotive Design, visit the CEPAD website.

Mathematics Support has a long and distinguished pedigree at Coventry University. In 1991 we received funding from BP to set up the BP Mathematics Centre. For the last 15 years this Centre and its successor, the Mathematics Support Centre have provided help to thousands of Coventry students.

In recognition of the quality of provision, SIGMA, a collaboration between the Mathematics Support Centre at Coventry University and the Mathematics Learning Support Centre at Loughborough Universities, has been designated by HEFCE as a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). This prestigious status brings with it funding of £4.5 million over 5 years.

SIGMA provides support to students of all disciplines and at all stages (i.e university-wide) in mathematics and statistics. This support is delivered in a number of ways including a heavily used drop-in centre and several small group teaching sessions. We are particularly keen to explore the potential of new technology in supporting students and are currently exploring the use of mobile technologies such as PDAs, video iPods and PSPs.

For more deatils, please see the SIGMA website.