PGR Excellence Awards
The PGR Excellence Awards celebrate the contributions and achievements of staff and PGRs in the Faculty's postgraduate research community.
The deadline for nominations for the PGR Excellence Awards is Monday, 4 March 2024. All nominations should be sent by email to FBMH.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk, along with the relevant nomination form.
Please note that the PGR of the Year category had an earlier deadline in 2023 and an earlier call for nominations than the other Excellence Awards. The deadline for this award was 12pm on Friday, 10 November 2023.
All nominations will be considered for the Doctoral Academy PGR Excellence Awards (Faculty-wide) in the first instance. The shortlisted nominations will also be considered for recommendation at the annual MDC Excellence Awards (University-wide). All nominations to go through the general PGR Excellence Award route should be submitted by email to FBMH.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk.
Award categories
PGR of the Year
The nominee should be an outstanding PGR who has excelled in some significant manner, for example, after the presentation of a thesis, based on the recommendation and judgment of the external examiner.
They may have had a major research achievement during their PGR programme – for example, high-quality journal publications or a research spin-off.
The shortlisted nominations for this category will also be considered for the President's Distinguished Achievements Award (University-wide).
Who can nominate?
Current University staff member. The deadline for this Award is 12pm on 10 November 2023.
Best Outstanding Research Contribution
The Best Outstanding Research Contribution award recognises research publications of the highest quality and acknowledges the continuing importance of high-quality research to the University.
Who can nominate?
Current University staff member.
Best Contribution to PGR Environment
The Best Contribution to PGR Environment award recognises outstanding achievement/contribution of an individual or team towards the enhancement of the postgraduate environment.
One overall award will be made to an individual or team who has/have made a positive impact, demonstrated innovation and creativity in their actions, and been an inspirational role model to other postgraduate researchers or have been part of an initiative which positively impacts PGR community.
Examples of this include organising events, which bring together the postgraduate community; identifying an area of development within the postgraduate community and providing a solution to this.
Who can nominate?
Current University staff member.
Best Contribution to Society - Local Community
The Best Contribution to Society (Local Community) award recognises outstanding achievement or contribution of an individual that has offered their time and energy to make a difference to the social and economic well-being of our local communities.
Who can nominate?
Current University staff member and from relevant individuals external to the University.
Best Contribution to Society – Research Impact
The Best Contribution to Society (Research Impact) award recognises outstanding the achievement or contribution of an individual whose research has had a positive impact in terms of improvements to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment, or quality of life.
Who can nominate?
Current University staff member.
Best Contribution to Internationalisation
The Best Contribution to Internationalisation award will be made to a PGR who, in the opinion of the Panel, encapsulates the spirit of internationalisation at Manchester.
Examples of this include a PGR that has demonstrated their ability to work internationally and be an exemplar global citizen; a PGR that had driven forward an initiative to enhance the international student experience at Manchester.
Who can nominate?
Current University staff member.
Outstanding PGR Rep
The nominee should be an individual who has a clear commitment to the role through proactivity and leadership. The qualities the panel will look for in candidates include:
- Innovative approaches to the role
- Impact in the wider PGR community
- Inclusivity – recognising the cultural (both social and research) diversity of our PGR students and the geographical spread of our research sites
- Supportive and approachable
Who can nominate?
University staff and PGRs, including self-nominations.
Outstanding Supervisor (including Professional Doctorate) of the Year
The nominee should be an individual who has created the most supportive, stimulating and inspirational research environment for doctoral students and trainees.
The qualities the panel will look for in candidates include the following.
- Evidence of outstanding results of their supervision over a number of years: have postgraduate researchers from a range of backgrounds been encouraged to pursue a doctorate? What have they gone on to achieve?
- A pioneering approach to supervision: what has the individual done above and beyond that which is expected of any good supervision? What innovative approaches to problem solving and motivating postgraduate researchers can be evidenced?
- A demonstrable commitment to supporting the personal, professional and career development of PGRs supervised, including evidence of proactive identification of tailored training and development needs reflecting the needs and strengths of individual PGRs
- Demonstrable enthusiasm for the role and going the extra mile to help postgraduate researchers navigate through difficulties, academic or otherwise
- Challenging postgraduate researchers intellectually and helping them to make substantial contributions to their academic field
- Providing additional support and facilities to give greater scope to their research
- Providing supervision to an exceptional number of candidates over time.
- Post-doctorates may also be nominated under this category if they can demonstrate the above qualities.
Who can nominate?
University staff and PGRs.
Criteria for nominations
At the time of being nominated for an award, PGRs must be registered for a postgraduate research degree at The University of Manchester, be under examination for a postgraduate research degree at Manchester, or have completed their doctoral degree within the past twelve months.
Making a nomination
Only current University staff members can nominate in certain categories. However, both staff and PGRs, including self-nominations, can nominate in others. Please see the relevant category above for information on who can make nominations.
All nominations must be made by submitting the PGR Excellence Awards Form by email to FBMH.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk by the deadline.
- General nomination form (Word)
- 'Outstanding Supervisor (including Professional Doctorate) of the year' form (Word)
If you have any issues downloading the form, please email us at FBMH.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk.
All nominations must be sent with the following:
- a summary of the nominee's achievements for the prize-giving ceremony (max 100 words);
- the main supporting statement (max 350 words);
- additional supporting statements, if applicable (minimum two additional statements, maximum four).
If you are a PGR who would like to be put forward for a category where only staff members can nominate, please ask your supervisory team to submit a nomination for you. This is completely allowed and we encourage you to do so.
If you have any questions, please contact the Doctoral Academy by emailing FBMH.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk.
Congratulations to last year's winners
- John McDermott - Winner of Postgraduate Student of the Year for School of Biological Sciences
- Dan Ripley - Winner of Postgraduate Student of the Year for School of Medical Sciences
- Norina Gasteiger - Winner of Postgraduate Student of the Year for School of Health Sciences
- Parvathy Ramesh - Winner of Best Contribution to Internationalisation (School of Health Sciences)
- Xiaolong Zhang - Highly Commended for Best Contribution to Internationalisation (School of Health Sciences)
- Jennifer Love - DA and MDC Winner of Best Contribution to Society (School of Biological Sciences)
- Joint Award: Susan Limbu and Melanie Seaton - Winners of Best Contribution to PGR Environment (School of Biological Sciences & School of Medical Sciences)
- Fritz Handerer - Winner of Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant (School Health Sciences)
- Lucy Tindale - Highly Commended for Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant (School of Health Sciences)
- Bright Ocansey - DA and MDC Winner of Outstanding Output (School of Biological Sciences)
- Michael Cook - Highly Commended for Outstanding Output (School of Biological Sciences)
- Felicity Hunter - Winner of PGR Rep of the Year (School of Medical Sciences)
- Sabine Van Der Veer – MDC Winner of Supervisor of the Year (School of Health Sciences)
Previous winners
2022 award winners
- Halima Ali Shuwa – Winner of Postgraduate Student of the Year for School of Biological Sciences
- Edward Hayter – Winner of Postgraduate Student of the Year for School of Medical Sciences
- Maha Alsubhi – Winner of Postgraduate Student of the Year for School of Health Sciences
- Xue Bai - Winner of Best Contribution to Internationalisation (School of Health Sciences)
- Tarnjit Sidhu – Winner of Best Contribution to PGR Environment (School of Health Sciences)
- Priya Srivastava – Highly Commended for Best Contribution to PGR Environment (School of Biological Sciences)
- Max Gattie – Winner of Best Contribution to Society (School of Health Sciences)
- Nadin Hawwah – Highly Commended for Best Contribution to Society (School of Medical Sciences)
- Group Award: Eleanor Jones, Chloe Barr, Helen Clarke, Helena O'Flynn – Highly Commended for Best Contribution to Society (School of Medical Sciences)
- Group Award: Katie Downes, Caitlin Waddell, Jana Sremanakova – Winner of Outstanding Student Rep (School of Biological Sciences, School of Medical Sciences and School of Health Sciences)
- Faye Johnson - Winner of Best Outstanding Output (School of Health Sciences)
- Chloe French - Highly Commended for Best Outstanding Output (School of Health Sciences)
- Daniel Ripley - Winner of Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant (School of Medical Sciences)
- Professor Iain Bruce – Winner of Outstanding Supervisor of the Year (School of Biological Sciences)
- Jeremy Herrera – Winner of Outstanding Post Doc (School of Biological Sciences)
- Tasleem Hanif - Winner of Outstanding Professional Services
The PGR Excellence Awards celebrate the achievements and contributions of postgraduate researchers and staff in the Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, and it is highly rewarding to see the level of enthusiasm and dedication within this community.