Prof Cathcart is a Principal Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and Advance HE’s Global Strategic Advisor (Australasia).  She is the recipient of multiple awards including QUT Teacher of the Year, three national Australian Awards for University Teaching (Citation, Teaching Excellence Award, and Program Award) and the QS Wharton Nurturing Employability Silver Award in 2019. She developed the world first specialist award of Associate Fellow (Indigenous) of the HEA which recognizes educators who successfully integrate Indigenous perspectives into their teaching or support for learning. She has been a national Tertiary Education and Quality Standards (TEQSA) Expert for more than 10 years reviewing provision at institutions across Australia. Abby has partnered with institutions in China, Taiwan, Australia, USA and Thailand in designing professional development programs and promoting teaching quality, including pathways to HEA fellowship.

Professor Cathcart is the Director of Student Success and Teaching Advancement at Queensland University of Technology in Australia where her portfolio includes leadership of Educator Development, Student Evaluations, Language and STEM Learning Support, Careers and Employability, HEA fellowship, Awards, Retention, and Expert Peer Review. Her current research projects include Social Justice and Learning Technology, Indigenous Student Success, Student Evaluations of Teaching, and Professionalising University Teaching.