What makes an excellent teacher?

This paper focuses on the question of how students conceptualise excellence in teaching. Drawing on the factors cited by students in the context of an award for teaching excellence at Vienna University of Economics and Business, five types were derived, which show how students conceive of excellence and what criteria they use to assess it. After a detailed description of each type, the paper critically examines the potential recommendations for practice that could be derived from the material and discusses why such recommendations are limited.