Below is a list of previous Vice Chancellor's Awards winners by year. They received their certificate and lapel pins at our Annual Learning and Teaching conference.
If you would like to apply for a Vice Chancellor's Award, please visit the awards page.
Aimi embodies the values of ARU with her resilience, professionalism and humour and she continually strives to create a welcoming working environment. Her dedication and innovative approach as Head of Pre-Award Research Funding have greatly advanced ARU's research capabilities and ambitions. Notably, she redeveloped ARU's EU research funding strategy post-Brexit, supporting £28.8 million in bids in five months this year.
Aimi's leadership has maintained high service standards, fostering loyalty and cohesion, with colleagues praising her professionalism and positive impact. The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the collaborative, empowering and inspiring nature of the work outlined.
Deb is a highly proficient Events Manager, who each year is responsible for the running and organising of a series of internal and external events, including VC Awards, Friends and Supporters Dinners, and the Teacher Training launch event.
Her achievements with the Chelmsford Science Festival last year included impressive attendance numbers of 15,474, an increase of 38%, plus raising £10,000 in external sponsorship. Deb was instrumental in increased engagement in website and social media traffic and praise from attendees demonstrates the event was a huge success. The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the evidence of teamwork and focus on community engagement and leadership.
As Head of Business Development for Degrees at Work (DAW), Clare is responsible for recruiting students for all of ARU’s Distance Learning (DL) and Apprenticeship (DA) programmes. She works closely with marketing to ensure that business development and marketing activity is aligned and maximises effectiveness, efficiency and impact.
Clare has expanded our DA portfolio while also overseeing a 76% growth in our DL business. In 2023/24, across DL and non-police DA, registrations increased 14% on the previous year and were 429 headcount above METs. Clare also led bids that have won over £680,000 to support our Apprenticeship business development.
The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the outstanding business links and timely development of the work, with financial and interaction elements being recognised.
For Outstanding Industry Engagement. As the secretary of the ARU Business Advisory Board and ARU Legal Advisory Board, Julian spearheaded the design, creation, implementation and successful operation of both. They facilitated strategic partnerships and fostered a collaborative environment, aligning with ARU’s mission to integrate industry insights into our academic framework.
Julian's proactive engagement with board members and success in recruiting influential industry leaders and selecting engaging chairs have led to significant collaborations and enhanced our education portfolio, strengthening ties with the business community. His innovative approach and dedication have greatly impacted ARU’s progress. The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the impactful and innovative nature of the work, including creating new connections and partnerships.
John Mason, Josiane Borges, Ellena Michaelides, Paige Bradley, Kingsley Nzubuogwu, Tania Ruggles, Erfan Shojadalouee, Alifiya Lightwala
For Outstanding Professional Contribution to innovation, efficiency and/or student experience. The Faculty of Business and Law Operations Efficiency Project significantly enhanced operational effectiveness by optimising internal processes, using automation and data visualisation tools to improve workflows.
Launched in 2023/24 with clear goals and KPIs, the project exemplifies the team’s commitment to excellence and continuous improvement. Collaborative efforts across ARU and innovative, user-centric methodologies delivered tangible benefits and set a benchmark for future initiatives. The project empowered colleagues by fostering ownership and responsibility.
The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the significant evidence of impact, collective effort and collaborative leadership. The nomination demonstrated impact and efficiency, delivering strong impact across several student and staff facing processes.
Matt Fossey, Sam Lundrigan, Nick Caddick, Emma Milroy, Richard Mills, Jane Crossley, Graham Illman, Steve Pawsey
The UKRI E3 bid development and inception team is a multi-professional, multi-disciplinary team who contributed towards winning and delivering the largest ever research council bid won by ARU. Their ambitious work aligns with ARU’s civic responsibilities. Despite tight deadlines, they coordinated a compelling proposal, leading to ARU being awarded more than £11 million.
The team’s efforts included developing plans for a social sciences research laboratory and engaging with stakeholders, plus senior Government, industry and delivery colleagues to garner support and endorsement of the proposal. The team’s success required exceptional collaboration, leadership, and determination.
The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the significant impact the work has had and the collaboration between a large number of colleagues across ARU. This included an excellent example of cross organisational cooperation, shared vision and determination.
Vincent Earl, José Neto, Lisa Brailey, Davy Testill, Patrick Williamson, Kay Fix, Rowan James, Jonathan Cassidy-Hinds
For Outstanding Professional Contribution to innovation, efficiency and/or student experience. The ARU App Launch team’s dedication to achieving the best outcomes for students began with UX research to capture user needs before procurement. Understanding student requirements propelled the project, meeting goals on time and within budget.
The impact of the app is evident, with 20,000 downloads in just a few weeks following launch and a daily usage of around 5,000 students a day. The project exemplifies innovation, flexibility, and commitment to students, showcasing best practices in project management and is testament to the team’s ability to overcome challenges.
The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the ambition, impact and innovation of the nomination. The nomination demonstrated an excellent example of student involvement through collecting feedback and incorporating this into the project.
Catherine Foottit, Omkar Singh, Abhinav Mayeekkara, Cristina Ionita, Jo Living, David Bell
For Outstanding Professional Contribution to innovation, efficiency and/or student experience. The AREA team has successfully built an entrepreneurial culture for students, staff, and communities and provides opportunities for enterprise and employability skills for all, not just new ventures.
Over two years, AREA enhanced the provision of Student Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at ARU, creating an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem. Their collaborative approach has transformed work across faculties and campuses. AREA’s efforts improved ARU’s HEBCI returns and rankings, with significant progress in graduate start-ups.
The team are instrumental in realising the University’s ambition to be a driving force for enterprise and entrepreneurship within our region and beyond. The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the impact of the work outlined through data provided.
For Early Career Excellence in Education. Ashim works in the areas of computer vision, medical image processing, machine learning, and intelligent systems. His broader research interests focus on applied artificial intelligence, robotics, and the implementation of AI in immersive technology.
Ashim’s expertise in these areas is put into practice by his students through industry-inspired projects in collaboration with Computer and Data Science companies. This has led to prototype development, research contributions, publications, and excellent employment outcomes.
The external engagement work that Ashim has developed and his contribution to ARU’s graduate capitals is particularly strong. He fosters and inspires the next generation of researchers, equips students with industry-relevant skills and enhances career readiness. The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the strong and valuable industry links and the impact the work described has had on others.
Silvia Cirstea, Marcian Cirstea, Jin Zhang, Erika Sanchez-Velazquez, Oliver Faust, Khaled Benkrid
For Outstanding Education. The team has built a close relationship with Arm, a world-renowned chip manufacturer. The employer engagement collaboration has been developed strategically and consists of multiple touchpoints, including innovative programmes and PhD studentships. The current partnership represents a pioneering and ambitious effort to develop new micro-credential courses, bringing about a change in academic regulations to enable development at ARU.
This team has embraced collaborative working with external partners more widely, rapidly overhauling curricula to include professional practice, placement opportunities and real-life studies, work that is now used as a best-practice template more widely across the University. The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the excellent employment engagement and the innovative work relating to micro credentials which has had a positive impact on student growth.
James Hull, Shelley Nicholas, Alexandra Chappell, Ellen Holmes
For Outstanding Enhancement of the Student Experience. The Digital Learning team has created a high-quality, accessible, and navigable learning environment for ARU students. The team’s work has set a new standard for online provision at ARU, ensuring that all distance learning students have the tools and support they need to achieve their academic goals.
The team worked quickly with Instructure to enhance capabilities within Canvas, and continued to lead the way in innovative learning interactions, sharing expertise and template ideas with the wider ARU teaching community. They have applied learning from student and tutor feedback to deliver ongoing quality enhancement and improvements.
The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the impactful structural work, and how this is strategically in line to join new markets. There was also strong evidence provided, with feedback from students, staff and links to NSS scores.
Alessia Mevoli, Sarvin Hassani
For Outstanding Enhancement of the Student Experience. The initiatives led by CfSS have delivered significant and measurable progress toward ARU’s strategic goal of achieving excellence in student experience and its interventions have contributed to higher continuation rates across FBL.
The CfSS proactively reaches out to low-engaged students, identifies root causes of their disengagement, and addresses these issues. This has positively impacted overall engagement levels. Results for the 2023/24 academic year saw a 9% increase in the coursework submitted on time compared to the previous year. This was due to academic support sessions and contacting those who missed draft submission.
The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the strong application which provided clear evidence of impact through data and tracking activity.
Lauren Spurling, Joanna Dunn, Nicola Milner, Matthew Kay, Daniel Harris, Sandra Cross
For Outstanding Enhancement of the Student Experience. The WRAPP is co-produced by the student, the placement provider and their PDT, and is designed to promote student ownership of what is needed to keep them well in the practice learning environment, allowing them to identify sources of support and interventions that will maximise their chances of success.
The process maps to ARU’s mission to transform lives through inclusive education and the quality of the WRAPP process in supporting students has been commended by both the NMC and the GMC. The panel highly commended the nomination and were particularly impressed by the transformative impact the work has had. This was in relation to the lived, complex experiences in a professional environment, alongside the potential scaling up to regional and national delivery, expanding on the current impact within HeMS.
For Outstanding Civic Impact through Research. Mirna is recognised for her nationally renowned research supporting racially and culturally minoritised survivors of gendered violence. Her pioneering pilot study on domestic abuse vulnerabilities among Asian women led to the creation of a vital, culturally competent, and responsive specialist service delivered by racially and culturally minoritised women for victims-survivors from these communities.
Mirna also leads the MRC-funded UK Prevention Research Partnership project, focusing on the leadership of Black and Asian women in domestic abuse services in the East of England. Her track record and ambition suggest that her contributions to research will continue to transform services for some of the most vulnerable women in the region, and beyond.
For Outstanding Doctoral Supervision. With a background in physiotherapy and a research focus on pain and long-term conditions, Leica has supervised 15 doctoral postgraduate researchers to completion since 2011. Leica is known for her dedication to supporting PGR from a diverse range of backgrounds, including clinicians and international students, often going above and beyond to help them navigate academic and personal challenges.
Leica’s pioneering approach to supervision, and commitment to enabling independent researchers to achieve excellence, has led to significant contributions in health management and numerous peer-reviewed publications. Furthermore, Leica’s supervision of two post-doctoral researchers as part of a collaboration with ESNEFT demonstrates her desire to develop sustainable ongoing partnerships.
For Outstanding Early Career Researcher. As a Senior Research Fellow, Sebastian has demonstrated exceptional research leadership and scholarly impact. Playing a key role in the leadership of the Centre for Access to Justice and Inclusion, his work focuses on human rights, environmental justice, and emerging technologies. Sebastian’s international recognition is highlighted by his Fellowship at the Harvard Carr Centre for Technology and Human Rights and a Visiting Scholarship at the University of Oxford's Latin American Centre.
Sebastian’s research outputs, including influential publications in top-tier journals, have significantly advanced interdisciplinary scholarship and informed global policy frameworks. His research on implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) has played a transformative role in shaping litigation strategies and mandatory due diligence regulations.
His expertise has meant that he is becoming instrumental in the development of judicial and regulatory frameworks in technology sectors, including corporate accountability mechanisms for AI and emerging technologies internationally.
For Outstanding Early Career Researcher. As a Senior Research Fellow in the Fibrosis Research Group at ARU, Alice has made significant strides in identifying novel treatments for fibrotic conditions. Her groundbreaking work on hypertrophic scars has led to the discovery of a novel treatment drug combination, and she is now focusing on more lethal fibrotic disorders such as intra-abdominal adhesions and lung fibrosis.
Alice's research has fostered valuable collaborations with organisations such as AstraZeneca and several NHS Trusts, enhancing the impact and reach of her work. Her innovative research and strong collaborative efforts not only demonstrate her exceptional capabilities but also pave the way for groundbreaking advancements in the treatment of fibrotic conditions which improve patient outcomes.
For Outstanding Established Researcher. As a Professor of Film and Feminist Media Studies, and Research Lead for the Cambridge School of Creative Industries, Tanya has made significant contributions to the study of true crime media and gender-based violence. Her monograph, Justice on Demand: True Crime in the Digital Streaming Era, has defined global approaches to true crime media studies. Her impactful research on youth experiences of sexual violence and educational interventions has advanced understanding and prevention strategies.
Tanya has secured substantial external funding, including UKRI/AHRC grants and British Academy/Leverhulme funding, to support her pioneering work. Her leadership in mentoring early career researchers and organising high-profile events underscores her commitment to collaborative scholarship. Tanya’s innovative research and dedication to social change position her for continued groundbreaking contributions to the field, ensuring future significant academic and societal impact.
For Outstanding Established Researcher. As Professor of Sustainable Production and Consumption and Director of the Centre for Intelligent Supply Chains at ARU, Manoj has made significant contributions to advancing sustainable and resilient food systems. His research, including influential publications on food waste reduction and the integration of AI and blockchain in supply chains, has garnered over 6,000 citations and informed UK policy discussions.
Manoj's leadership in securing major grants and fostering collaborations has driven impactful projects, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded initiative empowering women in rural India. His dedication to sustainability and community engagement not only highlights his exceptional capabilities but also paves the way for continued groundbreaking contributions, ensuring future profound scholarly and social impact internationally.
For Outstanding Established Researcher. As Deputy Director of the Veterans and Families Research Institute, Nick has made significant contributions to the study of veterans' narratives and critical military studies. His monograph, The Cultural Politics of Veterans’ Narratives: Beyond the Wire, is a leading work in the field, and his research has been widely recognised for its impact on understanding veteran identities.
Nick's leadership extends to his role as Co-convenor and Impact Lead for UoA20 (REF2029), where he is supporting colleagues in achieving research excellence. His work has influenced UK government policy on immigration for non-UK citizens and continues to shape discussions on veterans' issues. Nick’s dedication to impactful research and his innovative approach to narrative studies position him for continued groundbreaking academic contributions, and public influence.
For Outstanding Established Researcher. Peter is a world-leading researcher in vision science and has made significant contributions to the fields of myopia and sports vision. Peter’s research on myopia has resulted in his invitation to the International Myopia Institute and his role as ARU lead for the NIHR-EME funded CHAMP-UK trial. His influential research has been widely cited and used as evidence in the field.
Peter’s work on the visibility of cricket balls has led to impactful collaborations with the English Cricket Board and the Manchester Cricket Club, aiming to improve lighting conditions in cricket. Peter has demonstrated exceptional leadership and mentorship in Vision and Hearing Sciences, and has been responsible for attracting almost £2million of funding. His groundbreaking research and dedication to multidisciplinary collaboration will continue to generate wide-reaching academic and public health impact.
For Outstanding Established Researcher. As Professor of Health and Biomedicine and lead of the Fibrosis Research Group at ARU, Selim has made significant contributions to biomedical research. His pioneering work on hypertrophic scars and Peyronie's disease has led to the identification of novel drug combinations, advancing the field of fibrosis research, attracting substantial external funding and now showing the real potential to significantly improve patient outcomes.
Selim has demonstrated exceptional leadership, contributing to establishment of the Medical Technology Research Centre, fostering collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies and NHS Trusts, and in the development of the AO3 submission for ARU in REF 2021. Selim’s dedication to pioneering research and his commitment to advancing medical science will help to secure further quality academic and clinical impact.
In her role as Head of Risk and Insurance, Hayley has strengthened ARU’s approach to risk management. This has been achieved by her review of ARU’s risk management framework, including refreshed risk appetite statements, as well as her constructive challenge of risk scoring and her proactive personal engagement with risk owners across the business.
She is an excellent team player and has led on matters of high strategic importance for ARU, including putting in place insurance arrangements for ARU Peterborough and the Creative Quarter project.
Andrea’s work on a wide set of communications programmes has had clear impact. As Deputy Director of External Relations and Communications, she created and delivered a complex stakeholder programme for the announcement of the merger of ARU and Writtle University College as well as profile-raising campaigns for ARU Peterborough, the TEF Gold Award, UK Social Mobility Awards (SOMO) University of the Year and the Times Higher Education University of the Year awards.
Andrea goes above and beyond, and espouses the values of ARU.
ARU relies on Susie for strategic guidance regarding admissions policy, contextual offer making and required actions in line with Office for Students communications. As Head of UK/ EU Admissions, her expertise has given ARU the edge across recruitment cycles, where Susie leads on operations and delivers improvements annually.
Clearing 2023 was the most successful year in ARU’s history operationally, with innovative AI used for the first time. Having a bot (Sam Ruskin) in Admissions Customer Service responses resulted in improved response times and out of hours contact coverage.
The last 18 months have seen major refurbishments of the main restaurants in Chelmsford and Cambridge towards new food hall concepts. The food offer was overhauled, menus modernised and the ARU community supported by Catering Services during the cost-of-living crisis.
More than 68,000 £1 meals to date have been served and are the most competitive offer in the HE sector. The initiative helps students and staff at a difficult time, and also positively contributes to ARU’s Sustainability Strategy by encouraging plant-based eating.
ARU’s NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme (CEP) is the largest workforce development programme of its kind in the world and supports all NHS staff to develop entrepreneurial skills, knowledge and experience. The programme offers education and learning, mentoring, networking, and access to exclusive opportunities, expertise, and resources to successfully spread innovation for the benefit for patients, the public, and the wider NHS.
Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Scotland are now commissioning CEP to deliver the programme and a sister programme in Australia has been launched.
Through the creation of the sensory rooms in Helmore, Cambridge campus, the nominees from Disability and Dyslexia Services and Estate and Facilities have demonstrated initiative, empathy and commitment to inclusivity, accessibility and student wellbeing at ARU.
Four new sensory rooms, tailored to cater to the diverse needs of autistic students, neurodiverse individuals, and those facing mental health challenges, have meant that the university experience for a range of students has been significantly enhanced. They are spaces that demonstrate ARU’s commitment to support and nurture neurodiverse students and others.
Over the last few years the International Office has managed to double the number of international students in ARU, while ensuring a streamlined and student-friendly admissions process.
Maintaining an ambitious recruitment growth trajectory, while also seeking to diversify geographically and rebalance towards undergraduate courses, has required concerted effort from the team. This includes innovative improvements via the introduction of a new system (Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies Shield portal) and the integration of an AI chat feature into the enquiries service.
Estates and Facilities Services typically carries out around 30-40 projects a year, but over the past 12 months the team carried out 72 projects, varying in scope, complexity and value.
Management of each project, regardless of size, includes stakeholder engagement, procurement for best value, contractor management, contract administration and liaising with the wider Estates team. This impressive coordination and planning resulted in achieving positive impacts on staff and student experience and wellbeing, and for the strategic development of ARU.
The Research Services team, Student and Library Services, operated a complex procurement process for a new repository product, which also made a financial saving for ARU. The impact of the Figshare project on ARU and our open research culture cannot be understated, moving to a new system whereby our research is accessible externally and in a more intuitive way, allowing better dissemination.
The team’s work has allowed research culture and the research environment to progress at ARU, recognised externally with team members being invited to speak at UK-wide conferences.
The team behind the SHoKE project created an innovative platform to engage students who do not normally participate in co-curricular activities. The knowledge exchange programme addresses complex social issues and enhances student self-confidence and soft skills. It offers partners creative solutions to societal challenges.
As well as running an excellent programme for ARU students and staff, the SHoKE team contributed to sector knowledge and good practice on student knowledge exchange by delivering workshop sessions at the KE practitioners’ professional association conference, articles for Times Higher Education, an Office for Students case study, and sharing experiences with the National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education.
The Student Sexual Violence Advocacy Service (SSVA) team provides trauma-informed specialist support and practical advocacy for students subjected to sexual violence, such as reporting sexual violence to ARU and the police, moving accommodation and financial assistance.
Employing people with professional expertise of the relevant issues ensures the service is grounded in best practice and its sector-leading work raises awareness and instigates systemic change through a conference, regular events and campaigns, alongside students in an ethical consultancy role.
For Early Career Excellence in Education. Lindsey created two innovative online midwife training apps as a result of real-world challenges. Both apps train midwives to conduct the Newborn Infant Physical Examination (NIPE).
The first, Eyescreen, dealt with the eye examination – the most difficult area for trainee midwives. In March 2023 a replacement expanded version that covers the entire examination – “NIPE Textbook in a Pocket” was launched.
Both apps have improved the student educational experience by teaching expertise in a difficult-to-acquire skill and are expected to have future societal benefits both in the UK and around the world.
For Excellent Education Collaborative Activities. The ARU Breastfeeding Support Hub offers face-to-face lactation information, support, and education to students, ARU employees and families in the local community and no other universities offer this service. Through a weekly drop-in group, families in the local community can access confidential support and information around breastfeeding.
The Hub demonstrates excellence in pedagogy, by providing an authentic environment for students to develop practical skills which would otherwise be difficult to achieve in standard placement settings and reflects the team’s dedication to civic responsibilities.
For Excellent Education Collaborative Activities. Ruskin Modules have emerged on the national stage as an award-winning, sector-leading approach to engage and develop students’ broadened horizons as they work on wicked problems that stretch out from their own discipline into other fields.
A university-wide interdisciplinary module delivered to all Level 5 students, this level of engagement is unique in the UK and is the result of a huge amount of collegiate and innovative work from the Trailblazers and the Ruskin Module central team.
The drive to provide transformative student experiences and their collaborative and supportive approach as a diverse interdisciplinary community ensures the Ruskin Module approach is not only valuable to our staff, but also for our students and institutional reputation.
For Excellent Education Collaborative Activities. This cross-faculty team tackled a student engagement issue with the development and delivery of a unique online transition module Into ARU, which all new students are required to complete.
This module provides vital information for students to gain institutional knowledge and uses gamification to enhance natural engagement and assessment for learning. It is designed to reduce message duplication in faculty-level welcome activities, contain the educational gain tool to encourage and develop self-reflection, foster a sense of community and belonging, and act as a repository for key academic and pastoral care information.
For Excellent Education Collaborative Activities. The Sustainable Sainji programme is a powerful example of how universities can be a force for good. Sustainable Sainji is about benefitting communities, both at ARU and in India.
This project is unique in that through collaboration with community leaders, it matches volunteers’ discipline-specific skills and knowledge with the community’s development priorities. It also directly addresses several of the Global Sustainability Development Goals and demonstrates clearly ARU’s values of courage, ambition and innovation.
This is not a one-off event, but a programme now in its sixth year, which has evolved and grown. At its core, the programme has inclusivity at its heart, ensuring that all students can apply - regardless of income.
For Outstanding Research Impact. PIER team strategically develops the international child sexual abuse (CSA) research agenda and has an international reputation for impact-focused research.
For example, their Knock project has achieved impressive reach and significance, including lobbying for an amendment for children of CSA material suspects to be included in a new Victims and Prisoners Bill and contributing to the creation of the world’s first-ever Indirect Victims Support Officer. Its Protecting the Protectors research is now included as a module on The National Strategic Command Course, the most senior leadership development programme in policing in the UK and a mandatory requirement for all police officers in England and Wales seeking to gain promotion to assistant chief constable and commander ranks and beyond.
Additionally, their research has reached police officers internationally through their annual international conferences. The 2022 and 2023 conferences were attended by almost 2,000 delegates either in person or virtually.
For Outstanding Research Impact, The Experimental Cancer Therapeutics project was initiated in 2018, its aim to investigate and develop novel anti-cancer reagents in a research partnership with award winning-Scottish pharmaceutical company Medannex.
ARU’s team demonstrated a viable therapeutic strategy for the treatment of a variety of cancers including pancreatic, brain and advanced breast cancer and has taken a novel drug from ‘bench to clinical trial’ in just under five years. Significant industry investment after patents for clinical use were secured is now being used to support phase 1 clinical trials.
Students in the School of Life Sciences have also benefited from student internships and their involvement in research projects have led to positive outcomes for student progression.
For Outstanding Research Impact. The Centre for Military Women’s Research was launched nearly two years ago, and the research team has already delivered impact through the development of policies and practice in the NHS, the Ministry of Defence and internationally.
The centre brings together academic staff from across disciplines and faculties to work on issues that are vital to the improvements of working practices and culture in the UK military, and beyond. These include research projects on sexual violence in the military, female veterans’ access to mental health care, experiences of accessing statutory services, sexual offences and courts martial research and the publication of the We Also Served report, commissioned by NHS England and used to develop its strategy for commissioning research and support for women veterans.
Outstanding Early Career Researcher Elisa works within PIER at ARU. Her research leadership in the domains of extremism and counterterrorism is internationally recognised and has connected academics, practitioners and policymakers. Innovative in its methodological design, her work crosses disciplinary boundaries and is beneficial for agencies beyond criminal justice.
Elisa has achieved impressive real-world impact and contributed significantly to the national and international discussion of radicalisation, such as exploring the shift from vocal non-violent extremists to terror offenders in the UK, online posting behaviour of extremist groups and extremism and gaming.
For Outstanding Business Engagement. Mohammad is the most successful awardee of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP)/KEEP+ projects within the Faculty of Health Medicine and Social Care thanks to his pioneering research in nanotechnologies. He is currently a principal investigator of four externally-funded projects and has developed partnerships with both industry and start-up companies involved with anti-cancer technology.
The collaboration with these companies has meant a change in approach of their R&D, with high-quality products now manufactured in state-of-the-art UK facilities. It has led to better, more stable products and the opportunity to service parts of the world market that were previously inaccessible. In turn this has led to increased turnover and recognition for the KTP participants as world leaders within industry.
For Outstanding Professional Service. Zareen's work on the ARU entries to the Times Higher Impact Awards, which measure our university impact against the Sustainable Development Goals, has had clear impact.
She has worked with colleagues across the institution to collate data and overall strategy, celebrating and seeking recognition for outstanding contributions to the SDGs.
Thanks to her passion and ambition to enter the awards, ARU was ranked first in the UK in the latest Impact Rankings for health and wellbeing, which has supported ARU to become a leading example in the field.
For Outstanding Professional Service. Emily exemplifies professionalism and collegiality and is an outstanding administrator who goes the extra mile.
Her role in AHSS is people-facing, but much of the work she does happens behind the scenes and enables the smooth running of research and postgraduate activities.
Her work on a wide array of processes and events is a key reason for strong PRES results and on-time PhD completions. Her supportive approach has enabled postgraduate students to continue with their course, which has supported their achievement and experience.
For Outstanding Professional Service. ARU Shine is an innovative careers and professional experience programme for students from a diverse range of ethnic minorities developed by a team of experts in the Employability Service.
The development of the programme sought expertise from industry, as well as inside the ARU team responsible for diversity and cultural change. Together they provided personal mentorship from external professionals.
The confidence of the 44 students taking part in the initial programme has been dramatically boosted and plans are underway to roll out an ARU Shine community across the institution.
For Outstanding Professional Service. ARUCPD has evolved into more than a collection of co-curricular modules. It is now a community of learning and networking, with students from Levels 3-7 working together in a large, collegial space.
The team has done an outstanding job bringing together staff and students with the shared aim of improving highly-skilled employability, student engagement and inclusivity, through its flexible delivery.
ARUCPD is now available to students from other Faculties, using a unique credit accreditation scheme, widening participation and development opportunities.
For Outstanding Professional Service. The Live Briefs team enable students to develop the ability to gain, sustain and progress in graduate employment, empowering them through challenges which engage them to meet their full potential.
Students devise fresh and creative ideas or solutions to a real-world task set by an external organisation, aligned to the Live Briefs modules’ learning outcomes.
The collaborative nature of the team is exemplary and this, combined with their work with external partners and further collaboration with colleagues across ARU, has been intrinsic to the success of this project.
For Outstanding Professional Service. The successful launch of the new student intranet My ARU means that our students can easily reach core online apps. My ARU is increasingly providing a route for personalised communication, based on characteristics such as faculty and campus.
The team focused on the technical development of the new SharePoint site to host My ARU undertook extensive requirement-gathering work from academic and professional services colleagues.
The project team is an outstanding example of collaborative working across professional services, using agile methodology to deliver a project on schedule, despite short project timescales.
For Outstanding Professional Service. This project from the Schools and Colleges Engagement Team and Student Services combined objectives around widening access for disabled people and working closely with schools and colleges to inspire progression to HE and raise attainment.
The project took the opportunity to address concerns raised by disabled students through an innovative and collaborative approach using the ARU student voice.
A set of vital resources for disabled students to help them succeed and thrive were created: useful for both new and current students, as well as perspective students looking to study at the university.
It has provided employment opportunities for several of our students and allowed them to collaborate with staff and has also bought together staff internally from across services.
For Outstanding Professional Service. Staff Inclusivity Networks help inform policy development and organise events such as the annual inclusivity conference and Pride Events in Cambridge and Essex.
Our Network Leads organise their respective networks and provide valuable support, advice and guidance to all our staff.
The contribution of our Networks and Network Leads plays an essential role in welcoming people to ARU from all backgrounds, cultures, race, abilities, gender and sexual identities, fostering a sense of inclusion, belonging and community.
For Sustained Excellence in Education. Over a 19-year period, Jaki has made significant and sustained contributions, which have had a powerful impact on teaching and learning at ARU.
Through leading and supporting numerous projects, with foci spanning across research, academic development, professional recognition, and education strategy, Jaki’s ongoing substantial contributions, dedication and expertise have stood out as being exceptional.
Jaki’s sustained excellence will leave behind an important legacy, including work on the Anglia Professional Recognition Scheme, Teaching Review Scheme and the Academic Career Framework. These projects, and others, have had enormous scope, influence, and contributed to enhanced quality of teaching at the university and the reputation of ARU.
For Excellent Collaborative Activities. The ARU Active Learning Network (ALN) has grown as a community of enhancement since 2019, and responded to the increased demand for support, networking, and CPD around active learning.
As a collaborative network, the ARU ALN has created opportunities to explore active learning pedagogies together, share innovative practice and ideas, and created opportunities for working together. This includes hosting conferences and events, monthly CPD opportunities, publications, including the 100 Ideas for Active Learning book, and launching the ARU Active Learning Toolkit.
The ALN has supported and empowered colleagues to transform their teaching, and, through collaboration and connecting with other institutions on a wider scale, has supported ARU to become a leading example of active learning.
For Outstanding Leadership in Education. Through a prolonged period across a number of roles, most recently as the Head of the School of Education and Social Care, Kay has played an integral role in enhancing student experience and opportunities, and inspiring and leading teams to provide educational excellence.
Kay’s leadership, passion, dedication, and accomplishments have spread across the school, faculty, university and the wider community, demonstrating excellent practice, and raising the profile of education and social work at the University, within the region, and nationally.
Kay’s sustained and instrumental impact through working with her team earned outstanding NSS results and a significant increase in the Guardian League Tables.
Kay’s exceptional leadership approach ensures individual and team efforts are championed and recognised, whilst fostering a dynamic, engaged, and supportive team culture.
Outstanding Doctoral Supervision. Jane is a forthcoming and supportive supervisor who provides excellent quality supervision to her students. She provides expert advice into the students’ subject, as well more widely in terms of the process of conducting and completing a PhD.
Her guidance has enabled her students to understand and realise the benefits of peer review. Jane leads the Body and Self Research group, part of the ARU Centre for Mind and Behaviour. She secured external funding to support a postdoctoral research fellow to support postgraduate students and is currently supervising five PhDs.
Outstanding Doctoral Supervision. Nektarios has demonstrated his commitment to the whole student journey with an impressive on-time completion rate, which is testament to his nurturing approach. He has supervised 14 students since 2015 and is currently supervising seven PhD/DBA students.
He strives to be pioneering, by encouraging students to gain exposure to challenging managerial issues, whilst undertaking their research. This means that their projects offer a direct pathway to either a career in marketing at a senior management level, or career academic research.
Outstanding Established Researcher. Shahina leads the Vision and Eye Research Institute (VERI) at ARU. Her outstanding research leadership was evidenced by VERI being recognised as world-leading in the REF 2014 and REF 2021 exercises.
In November 2022, Shahina received the ‘Arthur Bennett Prize for outstanding research undertaken anywhere in the world’ from the College of Optometry. The award was in recognition of her outstanding research into the global impact of diabetic retinopathy.
Outstanding Early Career Researcher. Jenny has established herself as a leading researcher in the fields of pain management, interoception and body image. She holds a prolific publication record, with 32 publications in the first four years of her research career.
Her Patient Reported Outcome measure of pain for pelvic mesh patients has the potential for national and international implementation, and the scalable nature of her VR work on fibromyalgia has the potential to be widely adopted as a health tool.
Her track record and ambition suggest that her contribution to health research will continue to be ground-breaking.
Outstanding Research Impact. Jeannette has a collaborative approach to research, impact and engagement in refugee migration and building welcoming communities. She works alongside a wide range of cultural, civic and charity organisations.
Her projects have resulted in research activity and outputs with a rich range of benefits for participants locally, regionally and nationally, and is an outstanding example of ARU’s values around ambition, community and integrity in practice.
Outstanding Research Impact. Mohammed has established, led, and grown the Pharmaceutical Research Group, which conducts pioneering research in nanotechnologies.
Mohammed has published more than 30 high-quality peer review publications and reports, as well as conference proceedings. He has also conducted Knowledge Exchange in his field of repurposing safe drugs and natural compounds for anticancer therapy.
Mohammed is working directly with industry partners to develop new products and has filed a UK-patent bases on his discovery of novel safe anticancer compounds.
Outstanding Knowledge Exchange Collaboration. Javaid’s Knowledge Exchange project with Transporter Engineering has resulted in a significant economic impact to the company, and clear benefits for the environment and the climate.
Working collaboratively, he has identified solutions which will create cost savings in the transportation of new electric vehicles. Transporter have already signalled their intention to keep working with Javaid and ARU through a new Knowledge Transfer Partnership project.
Outstanding Knowledge Exchange Collaboration. Hans has established a working template to produce new films with a series of partners following his successful work with students in AHSS and Shakespeare’s Globe.
He has demonstrated excellence in knowledge exchange by facilitating engagement and developing strong partner relationships, which have created opportunities for students to highlight their talent through these exceptional films. His approach to working in partnership has led to plans to pilot more student projects with partners in the future.
For Outstanding Professional Service. Suzanna gained consensus to drive the work towards an Academic Workload Balancing Model built collaboratively on principles of consistency, fairness, transparency, and efficiency. She demonstrated skill in leading and facilitating a range of stakeholders with diverse priorities.
The system effectively addressed a range of issues in staff workload and manager awareness of workloads and introduced improvements to staff and managers’ experiences across the University.
For Outstanding Professional Service. Kirsteen’s creativity, planning and implementation of complex timetabling models at each stage of the pandemic has been critical to students and staff.
Her work in modelling and developing different timetables to deliver our blend of block teaching and online activities for various social distancing needs has enabled the University to move through and out of the pandemic and deliver the best campus experience possible for all our students.
For Outstanding Professional Service. The Covid-19 Agile Action Group has worked tirelessly to deliver on the many complex and diverse issues that the University has had to consider, decide on, and implement during the past year.
Their commitment, energy, focus and determination has been a fine example of ARU’s values and the strength the University has in its workforce.
For Outstanding Professional Service. From a standing start and a lead in time of 19 days the team implemented and delivered two campus-specific asymptomatic testing facilities. The standard of the facilities was excellent, as endorsed by our clinical staff and public health colleagues.
The speed and efficiency of delivery was also exceptional. This was a critical component in our safe operation and contributed to the confidence public health officials had in us to return to face-to-face teaching.
For Outstanding Professional Service. The submission to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) was the culmination of several years of work by Tim Brooks and Jill Smit. Tim and Jill worked in full support of significant mock assessment exercises and UoA convenors, their teams and the ARU REF Strategy Group.
The impact of Covid on the REF activities could have caused significant disruption to ARU’s preparations but Tim and Jill’s perseverance, positivity, outstanding professional knowledge in all things research assessment and sheer hard work culminated in the highly complex submission being ready before the deadline.
For Outstanding Professional Service. This project team developed and delivered a bespoke intern programme to support care leavers and care experienced students.
Care leavers are a group which the Access and Participation Plan (APP) focusses on, by attempting to level up the playing field and providing the inclusive educational experience that ARU is committed to. The team leading this work have contributed hugely to our APP commitments and to the lives of those they have worked with in this project.
For Outstanding Professional Service. The Coaching Network saw staff volunteering to be both coaches and coachees, undertaking meetings online. This cross-campus pilot relates to several strategic objectives around improving wellbeing and helping career progression.
This successful first cross-Directorate initiative will shape the future of staff development across ARU, with opportunities to extend the offer to other professional services.
For Outstanding Professional Service. Staff and students equally rely on the work of the team, whether it is the iCentre staff, Money Advice or Student Advice, and they have been outstanding in their support of students through the pandemic.
They go above and beyond the call of duty and are a cohesive team that provide pragmatic advice with a kind ear and have the best interests of the students at heart.
For Outstanding Professional Service. The university-wide student recruitment team has again increased the numbers of students recruited to ARU, at a time when many similar organisations are seeing declines in recruitment levels.
The successful recruitment activity has positively contributed to sustaining our widening participation work, and to the financial wellbeing of the University. The team has worked remotely in a positive manner, ready to innovate and address challenges, so modelling the best values of our University.
For Individual Outstanding Leadership. Elaine designed and led the implementation of two institution-wide strategic projects: Personal Development Tutoring (PDT) and Ruskin Modules. An innovative community approach was used by Elaine alongside an enabling leadership methodology, which saw colleagues mutually supporting each other.
Elaine took ownership of the design, development and implementation of Ruskin Modules and PDT with great passion and enthusiasm, bringing her subject expertise in User Experience Design to bear with great success. Both projects are sector-leading and transformative for ARU.
For Early Career Excellence. Jennifer created a series of interactive online tools for ARU Medical Engineering students to replace hands-on practical lab sessions during lockdown, which was published and rolled out internationally.
Her free BodyWorks resources can be used anywhere and allow users to interactively position a figure into different positions and loop them to create animation. The tools help users to understand the stages of motion, useful in sports science, biomechanics, motor control and physiology. They are an impressive solution to challenges posed by Covid-19.
For Excellent Collaborative Activities. The continued excellence in student satisfaction and graduate outcomes, evidenced by exceptional metrics, shows that the success of the team’s delivery stems from strategic course design.
The team prioritises practical, innovative, and active learning and deeply embeds employability within the curriculum. The unwavering commitment of the entire SES staff team in delivering an excellent experience for our students has had a great impact.
Doctoral Supervision. John has an impressive track record of PhD recruitment, retention, progression and completion. In the latest REF period, he has supervised 10 students to on-time completion as First Supervisor and three as Second, with 12 completions since 2016 and four this year.
He strives for excellence from his students, and this creates confidence and ambition in them. All candidates were passed with minor or no corrections by eminent examiners.
As well as successfully steering his students, who come from a wide range of backgrounds, through the PhD journey, John supports them to think about future career and employment opportunities, readying them for life post-PhD.
Outstanding Early Career Researcher. Will is an exceptional, talented and original researcher. He is highly motivated and energetic, with new and exciting original ideas, alongside scholarship and attention to detail in his research work.
His recent success as part of the multi-Euro Horizon 2020 research award indicates the wider recognition and esteem for his work beyond the UK, and the media attention this attracted shows it is work with popular appeal and real-world impact beyond academia.
He has contributed to the overall strategic direction of AHSS, leading on digital skills acquisition initiatives, steering policy on research ethics, and offering new perspectives on the Humanities.
Outstanding Established Researcher. Jane is an outstanding researcher within the School of PSS, and was recently promoted to Associate Professor on the basis of her research and research leadership work.
She has produced a cohesive body of work on the self over the past decade, where she uses neuroscientific techniques to address questions about the self and body in neuro-typical and clinical populations.
Her contribution to this field is widely acknowledged; she is considered a subject expert, as evidenced by a feature piece in New Scientist, by her selection as Chair for the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness annual conference, and her invitations to speak across national and international media platforms.
Outstanding Established Researcher. Both the research projects and the outputs Javaid has delivered as a relatively newly established researcher in the broad discipline of manufacturing technology and design simulations are impressive.
He has attracted and co-authored a number of grants and successfully delivered these projects to industry. He is involved in number of PhD supervisions and demonstrating mentoring and leadership quality as an academic.
Outstanding Research Impact. The teamwork from the Veterans and Families Institute (VFI) is exemplary and manifested by the involvement of talented and dedicated members in producing high quality outputs and far-reaching impact.
There is a paucity of research in the areas undertaken by the VFI team on underrepresented cohorts linked to military communities because it is not easy or well supported. The impact from the projects – including employment of spouses of military personnel, a support model for those who are living with limb loss, and support for those leaving military service early – have breadth and depth in both reach and significance.
In recognition of many years of sustained leadership within ARU which has made a highly significant contribution to the development of learning and teaching.
In acknowledgement of the exceptional support to faculties at the start of lockdown to rapidly change the system of assessment submissions, especially in the Cambridge School of Art where making a change from physical to online submissions was particularly challenging.
In recognition of his active leadership to help tackle food poverty for staff and students. The impact on the positive wellbeing of our staff and students has been huge and has been commended by external stakeholders.
For outstanding leadership in the development and use of TopDesk which, early in lockdown, enabled ARU to launch a targeted and personalised support offer to students in a short space of time.
In the face of Covid-19, with great professionalism, Estates and Facilities implemented the successful and safe closure of our campuses within a week of lockdown, later prepared the campuses for safe re-opening, and also played a critical role in support students remaining in our accommodation during the early period of the pandemic, through the delivery of food parcels.
In recognition of the swift response to the Covid-19 crisis enabling many of our services to rapidly move online and enabling us to offer an enhanced educational experience to our students, supporting staff to work from home and our emerging agile ways of professional working.
In recognition of its service to the Cambridge community since its inception, by providing local members of the public the opportunity to receive sound and free legal advice from our supervised students, and ensuring that our less privileged members of society have access to justice.
In acknowledgement of the role that this team has had in the transformation our ability to use robust data to inform strategic action and to make satisfactory mandatory returns.
In recognition of the work with key stakeholders to develop a Welcome Buddy scheme to support new undergraduate students’ transition into student life and which has benefitted both Buddies and new students.
In recognition of her systematic approach to innovation in her discipline of Optometry and Ophthalmic Dispensing, and the inspiration that she has provided to colleagues.
For leadership of the demanding programme of work, engaging with many ARU colleagues and external stakeholders and which has culminated in ARU being chosen as the academic partner for the university development in Peterborough.
For the planning and delivery of the Course Design Intensives, in a very tight timescale, and which has transformed our culture and education offer, supporting course teams to implement the Active Curriculum.
For the outstanding and transformational work at scale in challenging circumstances that involved the management of, and collaboration with, both external and internal participants to deliver the Policing Degree Apprenticeship contracts. This work has raised our national profile for our leading innovation partnership with the public services.
The panel considered that the work of the Charity and Social Enterprise Team represents everything that ARU is about, demonstrating agility, an inclusive, engaging approach and bringing great benefits to clients and stakeholder.
Outstanding and sustained doctoral supervision, securing impressive positive outcomes for his graduates.
For sustained world leading research and impact in vision and eye health.
For sustained internationally excellent research and impact in public health.
Significant impact arising from research and the difference it has made to the community involved, the war babies of Black GIs and British women.
Significant impact on individual leaders in schools and the DfE through the Courageous Leaders project.
For the significant impact made as a result of their research in reducing the risk of blindness due to sight-threatening retinopathy in several international countries.
In recognition of their research which has had a direct influence on policy makers, including the EU, through the incorporation of social sciences and humanities perspectives.
A commendation for the multi-team collaboration which increased number of enrolments and reduced visa refusal rates, resulting in ARU’s high position in the International Student Barometer ranking.
This commendation rewards the team’s work to transform the application process, maximise applications and reverse a three-year decline in Nursing applications.
This commendation recognises the team’s flexibility and accommodating approach towards Faculties and Services where business needs required attendance on campus during lockdown.
This commendation is for the long hours put in during lockdown to identify a new way of reaching potential applicants normally engaged with on campus to ensure that as many offer holders as possible took up their offers this year.
This commendation celebrates Maria’s creation and implementation of a new vision for the School of Architecture curriculum, which provides students with real-world professional experience and a network to support their employability.
The project is commended for having developed new ways of integrating non-native English speaker students with native English speaker students, thus developing cultural understanding, improving the learning experience and creating an inclusive community.
This commendation recognises the quality of Anna’s work and her contributions to the wider university through membership of groups such as the Researcher Development Working Group.
This commendation acknowledges David’s part in the success of several projects which have generated a breadth of activity, allowing ARU to form and strengthen networks and links necessary for business development.