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A student band performing at the awards ceremony

Transforming Education Awards

Nominate and celebrate amazing staff with the Transforming Education Awards.

Nominations are now closed!

About

Award Descriptions

2026 Shortlist

What are the Transforming Education Awards?

More often than not, academic staff will go the extra mile to ensure the best possible outcomes for their students without thinking anything of it. This is what everyone's expected to do, right? Well, we're here to let you know that we see your efforts, that they are appreciated in any form that they might take and that they (and you) should be celebrated for the great things that work enables!

With 18 categories to choose from, we encourage you to take a moment and think of any exceptional lecturers or student reps and nominate them for one of those awards:

Innovative Education Award
Inclusivity Champion Award
Employability, Experiential Learning and Community Engagement Award
Advocate for Students Award
Inspiring Teaching Award
Outstanding Postgraduate Teacher
PhD Supervisor of the Year
UG Advisor of the Year
SEP Staff Co-Chair (SPO) of the Year
Module of the Year
Academic Community Contribution Award
Convenor of the Year
SEP Member of the Year
Best University Service (Support Service) of the Year
School of the Year
Academic Society Partnership Award

Innovative Education Award - This award celebrates teaching that embraces and incorporates innovative approaches to blended learning, integrating digital tools and pedagogies in creative and coherent ways. It recognises the intentional design of learning across in-person and online environments. The award also highlights thoughtful approaches to assessment and feedback. This may include the use of emerging technologies, including generative AI, where these support critical thinking, learning progression, and the development of students’ digital and AI literacy.
Inclusivity Champion Award - This award is for teaching which embeds the values of equity, diversity and inclusion. This may be through inclusive learning environments created by the consideration of diverse learning preferences and needs or creating a socially conscious and inclusive curriculum. Their efforts contribute to a culture of respect, understanding, and belonging within the academic community.
Employability, Experiential Learning and Community Engagement Award - This award honours teaching that meaningfully connects academic learning with professional, civic, or real-world contexts. It recognises innovative and impactful approaches that embed employability and experiential learning within the curriculum and or through co-curricular activities. This may include authentic assessment, engagement with external partners, applied projects, as well as community or civic collaboration.
Advocate for Students Award – This award highlights a staff member who goes above and beyond to advocate for students and puts student interest as the centre of what they do. Whether by amplifying student voices within the school or championing student experience at every stage.
Inspiring Teaching Award – This award spotlights passionate educators who encourage students to believe in their potential and strive for excellence in their education. They challenge students to think critically, engage in meaningful discussions, and deepen their understanding of topics, resulting in a transformative and empowering learning experience.
Outstanding Postgraduate Teacher - This award celebrates inspiring teaching the has come from someone that teaches postgraduates. It recognises passionate teaching that ignites curiosity and motivates students to explore ideas or issues beyond their studies, fostering a love for learning and exploration in a students’ academic journey.
PhD Supervisor of the Year – This award is to recognise staff members who have excelled in their role as PhD supervisors and made a significant impact on their students’ academic or personal development. This may be through providing dedicated guidance, research expertise, unwavering support or empowering students to overcome challenges to achieve their goals.
UG Advisor of the Year – This award recognises the pastoral support provided by UG Advisors, who assist undergraduate students in making academic or welfare decisions by offering guidance during times of need, ensuring that students feel supported throughout their journey.
SEP Staff Co-Chair (SPO) of the Year – This award is to recognise the work and contributions of staff co-chairs within their schools. Criteria may include going the extra mile to encourage and support representation across all years and courses within the school, consistently helping students engage with representation, providing staff support to enable students to enact change and motivating them to utilise the Student Voice.
Module of the Year - This award for Module of the Year recognises a particular module that has fostered academic curiosity and significantly impacted students' learning experiences. This could be through innovative content and its delivery, significant student engagement, exceptional teaching quality, effective and inclusive assessment methods, or by providing students with critical skills, knowledge, and insights.
Academic Community Contribution Award – This award honours a student who exemplifies academic and personal virtues, creating a meaningful and wide-reaching impact on their academic community. This could be through efforts of collaboration, inclusion or engagement, that enhance the learning experience or promote the growth of both current and future students. This is one of three awards that can be nominated for by members of UEA staff.
Convenor of the Year – This award celebrates Faculty or School convenors who excel in representing their students at the Faculty of School level, driving meaningful improvements to the academic experience for their peers. It is one of three awards open to nominations from members of UEA staff.
SEP Member of the Year – This award recognises a student who consistently engages with and contributes to their schools School Experience Partnership meetings. Offering valuable contributions that can influence effective positive change for their peers. This is one of three awards which can be nominated for by members of UEA staff.
Best University Service (Support Service) of the Year – This award celebrates the exceptional services provided to students across the institution, spotlighting teams that have gone above and beyond to aid and support to create a transformative student experience.
School of the Year – This award honours a school that has fostered a strong sense of community and built a collaborative partnership between staff and students to drive positive change. Good practice could include examples of engaging and involving students in decisions affecting learning and teaching for current and prospective students.
Academic Society Partnership Award – This award acknowledges schools that actively engage and integrate relevant academic societies into the fabric of school life. This may include fostering a collaborative learning community with the society, involving them in decision-making, or supporting their growth and development. (This award can be nominated by both students and staff, the award will be given to both the faculty/school and the academic society committee, trophy can stay with the school, but framed certificate to committee).

Dates and Details

Date: 7th May 2026

Location: The LCR

Dress code: Black Tie

Anything else?: Please note that this event is invite only with allocated seating. If you have been nominated for an award, or would like to attend, this information will be communicated to you in advance of the awards night.

How do I nominate someone?

Nominations closed 9am on 27th March.

2026 Shortlist

Award	Award Title	Shortlist 1	Shortlist 2	Shortlist 3	Shortlist 4	Shortlist 5	Shortlist 6
1	Innovative Education Award	Shinjini Das	George Redhead	Karl Grieshop	Emma Harris	Andrew Lovett
2	Inclusivity Champion Award	Steve Waters	Jayne Gifford	Zeyu Chen	Kareem Bahgat	Paulo Pepe
3	Employability, Experiential Learning and Community Engagement Award	Johanna Forster	Audrey Heppleston	James Gardiner	Tim Vickers
4	Advocate for Students Award	Clare Shelton	Laura Wagstaff	Claire Snelling	Thomas Cuming	Hilary Emmett
5	Inspiring Teaching Award	David Savage	Lucy Barnes	Sophie Butler	Hugh Doherty
6	Outstanding Postgraduate Teacher Award	Kerry Micklewright	Martin Scott	Poppy Cooke	Ulrike Theuerkauf	Zilia Iskoujina
7	PhD Supervisor of the Year Award	Rebecca Fraser	Jacob Newman	Catherine Jere	Helen Pallett	Oana Borcan	Samuel Fountain
8	UG Advisor of the Year Award	Jayne Gifford	Amy Zile	Bahar Ghezelayagh	Michael Gough	Matthew Overy
9	SEP Staff Co-Chair (SPO) of the Year Award	Jeremy Noel-Tod	Michael Stephenson	Charmaine Chandler	Kathryn Coventry	Holly Hancock
10	Module of the Year Award	Mark Tebboth (Climate Change and Development)	Lauren Flannery (Stuttering and Cluttering)	David Savage (PE PGCE)	Salman Abdi Jalebi and Dennis Fitzpatrick (ENG-5008Y (ELECTRICAL MACHINES AND POWER ELECTRONICS))	Neil Coull and Elissa Manzi (Acquired Language and Communication Disorders)
11	Academic Community Contribution Award	Pemma Lama	Leoni Palmer	Alex Ashman	Ana Beatriz Bras Mendes
12	Convenor of the Year Award	Juwairiyah Mohammad	Amy Joseph	Nanette Lo
13	SEP Member of the Year Award	Charles Banger	Summer Keans	Nicola Stokes	Sam Butcher
14	Best University Service (Support Service) of the Year Award	FPS Team Computing Science	Natalie Freeman	UEA Library	Zoe Jones	Finbarr Carter	Clare Thornett
15	School of the Year Award	School of Health Sciences	School of Psychology	School of Biology	School of Economics	Norwich Business School
16	Academic Society Partnership Award	Davide Rizza
17	VC Award	Announced at ceremony
18	Sir Geoffrey and Lady Allen Prize for Excellence in Teaching	Announced at ceremony
19	SU Engagement Award	Announced at ceremony