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This year’s Alliance Awards sees a total of 32 incredible nominees shortlisted. Take a look at their incredible achievements below.

THE TECHNOLOGY ONE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 

June Hughes, University Secretary and Registrar, University of Derby 

If June was a stick of rock, the University of Derby would run right through her. June began at the University in 1987 as Senior Admin Officer, rising to University Secretary & Registrar and member of their Executive Board by 2015.   

June is a sounding board, helping staff to improve student outcomes. She supported the Graduate Outcomes team improve survey response rates and increased oversight of TEF data, improving continuation, progression and outcomes. 

As a Fellow and Council Member of AUA, former Chair of the Midlands Group, and national Executive member of AHUA, June shaped national policy for HE professional service.   

Vice-Chancellor Professor Kath Mitchell: “Without June, I cannot imagine how I would have been able to undertake my role.” 

Professor Joy Notter, Professor of Community Health Care, Birmingham City University 

Professor Joy Notter began her career as a nurse, before gaining a Masters and PhD. Joy has improved nursing education, training and curriculum development. 

She was a founding editor of British Journal of Nursing among other publications and has sat on the boards of many national and international healthcare associations. Having dedicated much of her career to building nursing and critical care capacity in LMIC countries, she was awarded a campaign medal for services to health by the Vietnamese Government in 2012.   

Her research in Zambia to transform critical care nursing during the Covid-19 pandemic was described as ‘vital’ by the UK Government. Her frontline experience during the pandemic has been documented in Covid-19: A Critical Care Textbook.  

 
Reverend Vaughan Rees, Chaplain & Director of Chaplaincy Services, University of South Wales 

Reverend Vaughan Rees has served USW for almost 20 years.  When he joined the then University of Glamorgan the Chaplaincy was Vaughan and a couple of rooms. Today, the University is USW and the Chaplaincy is involved in all facets of University life. 

Under his leadership, the Chaplaincy has led many EDI initiatives and one of its voluntary Assistant Chaplains convenes our Spectrum LGBTQ staff group.    

He has been chair of the Wales HE Prevent Group and HEFCW colleagues often tell us that he is their “go to” person in Wales for Prevent.      

Former Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Julie Lydon: “What would Vaughan do?” will continue to be a yardstick for compassion and fairness, particularly during times of challenge.  

Fiona Suthers, Head of Clinical Skills and Simulation and Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Middlesex University 

Fiona Suthers has spent over thirty years at Middlesex. She has pioneered the introduction of augmented reality in nursing and midwifery training.  Middlesex was the first university in the UK to invest in this technology to develop and support students.  

Fiona was instrumental in opening the University’s ‘virtual hospital’ to train nurses and midwives at Saracens Rugby Club StoneX Stadium.  

During Covid-19, Fiona delivered a major vaccination training programme for the North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group. This taught healthcare professionals and members of the public how to administer vaccines. Around 3.7 million people received their vaccine thanks to the training programme developed by Fiona and her team.  

Fiona was responsible for introducing Canine Teaching Assistants (CTAs) to the University. 
 

Professor Aletta Norval, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Anglia Ruskin University 
Since 2018 Aletta has been Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) at ARU where she has made a tremendous impact on our strategic direction and led our innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education strategy, including Apprenticeships and our work in race equality.     

She is known for her analysis of Apartheid discourse and has worked on biometrics, focussing on issues of citizen consent to identity management techniques.      

At ARU, Aletta has made an outstanding contribution to the innovation in our academic portfolio, and led us to TEF Gold, University of the Year, Athena Swan and other awards that demonstrate our inclusive culture.        

Aletta is retiring and will be missed as a kind, thoughtful and inspirational leader. Her legacy will be profound. 
 

Alison Griffin, Head of Study Support, University of West London 
Alison has devoted time and energy at UWL to widening access and student success, fundamentally changing the lives of many students for the better.   

A late entrant to higher education, a single parent, and a first-generation student, she faced her own academic and personal challenges. Her experiences led her to develop UWL’s Study Support Service, which reduces student stress and boosts confidence. Alison became the Head of Study Support in 2018.  Her innovative Study Skills Summer School was designed for mature offer holders, including care leavers, refugees, and those with no parental history of higher education.  

92% of participants across four summer schools enrolled at UWL, and over 95% have graduated or are still studying. Her work has been outstanding. 

Bill Somerville, Director of Estates and Property Services, Robert Gordon University 
Bill Sommerville joined RGU in 2006. He managed the University’s relocation from multiple locations across Aberdeen to one campus.   

Bill was an early leader in carbon reduction and was involved in the 2010 Carbon Management Program with The Carbon Trust. Bill has actively supported initiatives such as the Quad grow and pick garden and the Student Union community orchard. He has created a travel infrastructure including a campus cycle officer and fleet of electric vehicles.   

Bill is working on the decarbonisation of the University’s heating and the restoration of land across the river to create a unique biodiversity site which will be a significant legacy for the University.  

Bill is an inspiring leader and a thoroughly decent member of staff.  

Christopher Abbott, Director of Estates and Facilities, UWE Bristol    
Chris has been a constant positive ‘can do’ member of UWE’s senior leadership team over the past 20 years. He places the student and staff experience at the very heart of everything his department does.   

Chris leads dedicated teams that support the university 24/7, including cleaners, security, ground staff, catering, student accommodation, estates and general facilities management. They are a team are the beating heart of the university. Nothing can happen without them delivering exceptional student and staff centric services and support.   

Chris will be retiring this year. His passion has never wavered. He has overseen well over £1billion invested in our estates over his tenure and has continued to challenge and improve every service area he leads.  

THE DTA ALUMNI AWARD

 
Dr Pablo Duro, Senior Medical Writer, Bionical Emas, Manchester Metropolitan University  
Pablo researched the effectiveness of the assessment tools that clinical teams use to assess and support a patient before they have a major surgery.  

Pablo brought together a team of scientists, clinicians and technical teams to deliver an excellent standard of work. He had a huge impact and is highly regarded across multiple departments at MMU, and in the clinic where he carried out his work. His advice is regularly sought by the clinical team to support their research. 

Through hard work, dedication and professionalism, Pablo accumulated 3 first author publications, a further 4 co-authored publications, and was appointed as an honorary researcher at Manchester NHS Foundation Trust. 

Dr Ana Ferreira, Product development scientist at Arxada (former Lonza ingredients), Nottingham Trent University 
 
During her PhD, Dr Ferreira has demonstrated outstanding professionalism, solutions-focused working, and collaborative behaviour.  
 
Ana’s research on the development of antimicrobial materials has been published in six highly ranked peer-reviewed scientific journals, which have attracted significant scientific attention and have been cited 82 times. Ana’s achievements have been presented at three prestigious international conferences and in 2022, Ana was awarded with the Research Development Grant from the Royal Society of Chemistry.  
 
The critical thinking, presentation skills, resilience and adaptability skills Ana developed during her doctoral study have indispensable for her current role as a product development scientist at Arxada. 
 

Spyridon Gavalas, DTA/MSC COFUND PhD Researcher, University of Central Lancashire 
 
Dr. Gavalas’ research addresses critical challenges in nanotechnology, particularly enhancing the structural, optical, and biological properties of carbon dots. His approach involves a novel treatment process that significantly reduces nanoparticle size. Notably, the optical properties are greatly improved, addressing common limitations in traditional nanomaterials. 

The research’s impact is substantial. His method paves the way for widespread adoption of these enhanced nanoparticles in biomedicine, optoelectronics, and materials science.  
 
Dr. Gavalas’ attention to detail, innovative problem-solving skills, and dedication to advancing the field of nanotechnology has not only expanded our understanding of carbon nanomaterials but also opened new avenues for their application. He demonstrates leadership and a commitment to excellence in his field. 

George Milev, PhD Researcher and Hourly Paid Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University  

George’s PhD focused on the development of a novelty heat pump. He presented his work at several conferences and has successfully published several papers in international journals. His research on the impact of replacing all fusel fuel vehicles with EVs has received significant media coverage in the press.  

As a researcher with Nottingham Ice Centre, he helped develop a plan to reduce their energy consumption by utilising heat waste from their current chiller system. 
 
George has become an integral part of the product design faculty team at NTU’s school of architecture where he tutors students on the importance of sustainability in design. His support for students, and passion for sustainability led to him being awarded the outstanding PhD student award by NTU’s SU. 

THE INNOVATION AWARD

Ben Bushell, London Noise Records (LNR), University of West London
 
LNR has transformed music business education, and has embedded graduate employment and student success in the music industry. 
 
LNR offers students a safe platform to release music, backed by Sony Music’s AWAL for distribution. Ben’s innovative approach allows students to produce music while ensuring artists gain external recording contracts with more favourable business arrangements. 

Graduates have secured music industry roles, with 70% in graduate employment. The project helps tackle the gender recruitment gap, with 100% of all female graduates securing industry employment. With no budget for release marketing, the label has achieved over 250k streams. Student artist Erin Astra achieved BBC Radio 1 airplay, and an LNR alumni’s duet with ABBA went viral on TikTok with 8.9 million views. 

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group (EIG), Robert Gordon University

EIG created a unique enterprise programme specifically for women with children who are interested in self-employment or starting a business.  

An independent review in Scotland found that female entrepreneurs – particularly mothers – continue to experience obstacles when starting new ventures. The EIG’s Women in Business programme seeks to address the root causes of under-participation of women in entrepreneurship: logistical constraints, sense of belonging and lack of suitable networks. 

Delivered online over seven weeks, subjects include: motivation and values, understanding customers, marketing, legalities and pitching with confidence.  

The programme’s success led to additional Scottish Government funding to facilitate the roll-out of the programme to other Scottish universities. 

Innovation Partnerships Team, Kingston University  

The IPT leads two initiatives: Studio KT1 and ‘Not My Beautiful House’ (NMBH). 
 
Studio KT1 is a creative agency developing opportunities for students. Established by Claire Selby, Studio KT1 has employed over 300 students on 80 projects. Students are supported to develop confidence through real projects, honing skills in portfolio development, networking and pitching. Clients include Unilever, BBC, and Canary Wharf.   

NMBH was created by students with direction from Studio KT1 and Kingston’s SU, and sells work from students, alumni and the community with 80/20% split in the sellers’ favour.  

NMBH has had over 100,000 visitors to date and platformed over 500 makers. They received over 800 applications to sell, hosted over 100 events, and ran 50 exhibitions with 350 artists. 

Psychology Digital team, Kingston University  

The Digital Psychology team has created a pioneering VR solution aimed at mitigating the risk of mental health problems among children who have experienced trauma. 

The VR intervention, available in English and Arabic, has proven effective in reducing post-traumatic stress symptoms. The project has reached children across in the UK, the Gaza Strip, and refugee communities in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. 

The tool incorporates established therapeutic techniques and, informed by the experiences of children, caregivers, and professionals, offers a robust response to the challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, including NHS staff shortages and increased referrals. 

The team’s outstanding dedication, creativity, and unwavering commitment to community wellbeing reflects the core values of fostering impactful change through innovation. 

THE BRAVEHEART AWARD 

Nanna Blomquist, Senior Environment and Sustainability Adviser, University of Hertfordshire 

A good leader leads by example, and when it comes to Nanna Blomquist, the examples are extensive. She shows incredible determination for driving crucial environmental and sustainability changes at Herts and beyond.   

Nanna’s achievements include: 

 
Dr Myrtle Emmanuel, Senior Lecturer in HRM & Organisational Behaviour, University of Greenwich 

In the ongoing pursuit of racial equality and social justice, Dr Myrtle Emmanuel epitomises the qualities of a true Braveheart. She approaches race relations with honesty and authenticity, never shying away from difficult conversations.  

After UoG signed up to the Race Equality Charter in 2022/2023, Myrtle worked to develop their Race Action Plan to build an anti-racist institution. She reshapes policies and fosters allyship through innovative training. 

In collaboration with community members and colleagues, she designed a mental health toolkit for mental health practitioners, to reduce health inequalities experienced by people of African-Caribbean heritage.  

Myrtle’s public events celebrating the Windrush legacy bring groups together through education and powerful narratives. As a speaker, she rallies people to stand against injustice collectively. 
 

Wyn Griffiths, Senior Lecturer in Product Design and Engineering, Middlesex University 

Wyn has led projects that enable students to explore natural disasters and climate change. 

His conviction that everyone can play a part in public life has led him to deploy immersive technology to engage a wider range of people in policy discussions.  

For 13 years, he has helped direct the immersive science festival SMASHfestuk, which he co-founded. Its current programme FLOOD! brings together thousands of people from participating communities, schools and colleges. 

Wyn was diagnosed with Autism last year, one of under 200 academics who are autistic based on a pre-Covid census.   

The WILDFIRE! (FLOOD!’s predecessor) project partnered with the Phoenix Housing Association, which provides community homes in South London, and the Lewisham Youth Theatre which works with disadvantaged youngsters.  

 
Dr. Elizabeth Lloyd-Parkes, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Supply Chain Management, University of South Wales 

Since 2014, Lizzie has supervised around 20 doctoral students, and is known for her dedication to helping students navigate academic and personal challenges.   

Elizabeth goes above and beyond standard supervisory expectations through her innovative approach.  She provides substantial support to her students, encouraging them to seek advice and demonstrate progress, and helping them understand the importance of supervision in improving their theses.  

For overseas students, she recognises potential difficulties in written expression and has established links with student support services to assist with grammar checking. 

Elizabeth is also deeply committed to her students’ career development. 

She encourages attendance at training courses that complement their skills and invites them to give guest lectures, providing them with valuable experience and boosting their confidence. 

 

THE ALLIANCE AWARD 

ARU law clinic, Anglia Ruskin University 

ARU Law Clinic promotes collaborative working with students and the local legal profession to ensure students gain experience of dealing with real-life problems alongside lawyers, whilst building professional networks to boost their employability.   

The Clinic has 90+ volunteer lawyers on rota, enabling students to observe a variety of approaches; the students support each other and benefit from sharing their academic and volunteering experiences. 

The Clinic has assisted nearly 4,000 people, and its Support@Court team helps those without representation. They have collaborated with the judiciary across the region to launch three websites providing guidance to litigants with family law problems. Other collaborators include Addenbrookes hospital, Jimmy’s Homeless Centre, probation services, city and county councils, mental health organisations, and Women’s Aid.    

Inter faith network (MDX IFN), Middlesex University 

MDX IFN works with local faith leaders, building on the University’s history of interfaith dialogue (64% of students identify as “BAME” and Hendon is home to the largest Jewish community in Europe).     

After October 7th, antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents increased in Barnet. In response, MDX IFN engaged with students and the wider community. They facilitated a Together for Humanity peace vigil and private dialogues with student leaders and staff to bridge divides. Other IFN events include:   

Menopause and menstruation group, Oxford Brookes University 

The M&M Group at OBU fosters inclusive dialogue and support for menopause and menstruation.  

The Group goes beyond usual University practices, engaging internal staff networks, student groups, and administrative departments. By developing distinctive brand identities for Menopause in the Workplace and Menstrual Equity, they enhance outreach and engagement. Dedicated communication channels, a comprehensive website, and resource toolkits have normalised discussions on menopause and menstruation. Monthly in-person and online menopause cafes provide invaluable spaces for dialogue and support.   

Their commitment to inclusivity is highlighted by OBU’s Menopause Workplace Pilot, protecting exercise time during work hours for staff experiencing peri/menopause. Their impact has earned recognition from the British Standards Institute and invitations to share their insights in external webinars.  

Oxford Brookes and Sobell House Ox Trail Team, Oxford Brookes University 

Last year, Sobell House Hospice cared for 2/3 of people who died in Oxfordshire. To raise funds for the Hospice, OBU became the Learning Programme Partner for a sculpture trail, featuring life-sized and mini sculptures of Oxen. 

OBU staff and students worked with Sobell to create content and support the trail’s development, and will be supporting Sobell House in fundraising over the trail’s lifespan. 

Enabling schools to talk to students about loss, academics developed content for a Learning Pack – designed by marketing colleagues, printed by Brookes print – which reach 37,000+ young people. Estates provided space to home the oxen, whilst 80 Schools and Community Groups were hosted at the launch event.  

THE STAR AWARD 

Professor Mike Duncan, Centre Director, Centre for Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Sciences, Coventry University 

Professor Duncan is the mind behind the Cerebral Palsy Living Lab events and the (neurotypical) Young Footballers Living Labs.  

Children take part in sports science experiments and play the role of scientists as they learn how the Living Lab works. The events investigated physical literacy and encouraged children living with cerebral palsy to be competent, confident and motivated by movement skills. 

Support has transcended local communities, with families visiting the labs from across the country. In February, Mike’s team welcomed 10 children with cerebral palsy to the event; 100 neurotypical children attended the Young Footballers Living Lab across the 2023-2024 academic year. Interest in the next sessions is rising, with Mike and those involved keen that they become a permanent fixture.  
 

RGU:Union, Robert Gordon University 

RGU:Union plays a key role in the University’s outstanding student experience, offering social activities beyond the classroom and opportunities to make lifelong friends. 

During the student cost-of-living crisis, the Union introduced Breakfast Clubs, giving the community access to free food and drinks every Tuesday morning. 

With RGU’s catering provider, Aramark, the team expanded this offering to a Supper Club, providing free warm and hearty meals every Thursday. The team provided music, dances, and quizzes alongside the meals to positively bring joy in tough times. It attracted around 80 students per week, and served 640 meals.   

Most recently, the Union also introduced an Emergency Food Parcel Service in collaboration with local charity Cfine which supports students who are hit the hardest. Each parcel answers critical food needs by providing dry and canned food items, designed to sustain an individual for a week. 

Student Enrichment team, Kingston University 
 
The team celebrates student success through a variety of fun, engaging projects: 

Academic Peer Mentoring oversees 3,500 mentees and 350 mentors, organises socials and hosts successful celebration events. 

Beyond Barriers Mentoring has nearly 300 student-mentor pairs, and introduced the ‘mentee and mentor of the year’ awards. 

The Kingston Award boosts students’ skills. Their LinkedIn showcases student achievements, enhancing their visibility to employers. Interns co-deliver projects in a fun, dynamic office. 

With 2,000+ following on instagram, KUextra highlights events from procrastination workshops to grammar MOTs. 

Elevate connects Black students to Black professionals, with opportunities to develop commercial awareness. Events include Elevate n’ Chill workshops, and a visit to the University of North Carolina as part of the International Black Scholars Programme. 

Middlesex University #HearMyVoice team (Helen Bendon and Ben Serlin) 

The #HearMyVoice campaign inspires culture change at Middlesex and in the local community to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG).   

 
Students have been agents of change: delivering, events, impact assessments or outreach activities, and through pairing with community organisations. 
  

Briefs embedded in Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries have harnessed student outputs, such as Tik Tok assets, 50+ films and infographics. The local community has tackled this agenda together by attending exhibitions, Theatre Arts performances, community partners forums, panel discussions.     

In response to Andrew Tate and toxic masculinity, they delivered deep-learning days motivating pupils to develop their own #ItsNotOK campaigns and change the culture at their schools.  
 
Engaging young people in these issues has been challenging and it is a testament the team’s resilience, patience and determination that they stay upbeat. The team are delivering a model of good practice to help drive culture across the HE sector. 

THE PROFESSIONALS AWARD 

Samantha Forbes, Project and Business Manager, Teesside University 

Sam coordinated delivery of TU’s new London Campus – a complex, fast-paced project. This involved: creating a subsidiary company; sourcing and designing a physical estate; developing a novel cloud-based digital infrastructure; developing a new set of demand-led, industry co-designed UG and PG degree programmes; creation of a new academic model to improve access for underrepresented groups; design of a staffing model; sourcing and inducting new staff ; developing and operationalising a business and finance plan; and developing and executing partner development and student recruitment  plans for both home and overseas students.   

Sam managed delivery in an effective and collegiate manner, skilfully negotiating complex politics along the way.  

The whole project was an amazing success, all down to Sam’s super-hero skills. 

Future Students Team, University of South Wales 

In 2022, facing low morale and declining market share, USW’s Marketing & Student Recruitment Team undertook a major restructure, uniting home and international recruitment teams as ‘Future Students’ (FS). 

The team reframed their approach to campaign planning, monitoring, and content creation, improving team culture, integration, and market share versus direct competitors.  In partnership with UCAS, they conducted a ‘leaky hosepipe’ review, identifying gaps in their student recruitment strategy.  

A recent staff survey was overwhelmingly positive, with praise from UCAS: ‘USW’s FS department is one of the best, most creative and organised departments we’ve worked with.’ The institutional impact has been significant: and USW increased market share within their competitor set for the first time. 
 
 
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) Team, Teesside University 

Following ERDF’s demise and with student numbers reducing, universities face challenges in establishing new or reinforcing existing income streams. 

Subsequently, TU announced a KTP expansion strategy: to grow from 7 to 30 KTPs by 2027. The team launched an ambitious KTP growth plan to engage the academic community and industrial partners. 

To drive greater capacity, the team created a roadmap with Grant Boards and Impact Managers, prioritising academic colleagues aligned with REF2029. They developed ‘Building your networks for high value partnerships’, a workshop for academic colleagues focussed on profile development, networking, value propositions and pitching. They delivered the KTP Academic Conference, and have already secured a portfolio of 14 KTPs and are on track to deliver the 2027 target. 
 
 
University of South Wales Students’ Union, University of South Wales  

The USWSU team experienced adversity following the resignation of the whole Senior Leadership Team. Since then, the team achieved the highest level of engagement in its elections in over four years, organised the return of Varsity to USW, and supported student-led societies and events like International Mother Tongue Day.  
  
The lack of senior leadership team – compounded with the SU’s financial situation – would have provided justification for them to reduce student provision. However, the entire team pooled resources to support each other to offer the best possible service to students, through establishing clear expectations, regular meetings and collective accountability across teams.  
  
They have demonstrated an exceptional level of performance, professionalism and delivered a proper standard of provision for students.