Humanities Outstanding Staff Awards 2025/26
The Outstanding Staff Awards for Teaching, Learning and Student Experience are the opportunity for students to recognise staff in the Faculty of Humanities who have provided an excellent teaching and student experience.
Has an academic inspired you, challenged you or had a positive impact on your studies? Or perhaps a member of non-academic staff has given you extra support and advice to help you solve an issue with your course?
Celebrate and recognise your staff by nominating them for the Outstanding Staff Awards 2025/26.
How to nominate
There are eight categories in this year’s awards.
You can nominate a member of staff by clicking on the links below and completing a short form.
Closing dates
The closing date for nominations for all award categories is midnight on Tuesday, 23 June 2026.
Please contact Nicola Weir at TLSEAdmin-SSD@manchester.ac.uk if you have any questions about the awards.
Award Categories
This award recognises teaching staff who make a positive difference to the student experience through inclusive approaches to learning and teaching.
This may include inclusive unit/module design, accessible assessments, creating supportive and inclusive learning environments, or developing activities and resources that help students from diverse backgrounds feel able to engage and belong. Please share what the staff member did and how this positively impacted your learning or experience.
Nominate for the Outstanding Inclusive Teaching and Learning Award.
This award recognises and celebrates lecturers and teaching assistants who create an engaging and supportive learning experience that helps you succeed in your studies.
It is for teaching staff who communicate clearly, organise effectively, and provide helpful assessment and feedback that strengthen your understanding and confidence. Please share what this person did through their teaching and how it positively impacted your learning.
Nominate for the Outstanding Teaching Award (Lecturers and Teaching Assistants).
This award recognises and celebrates teaching that helps students build valuable employability skills, confidence, and knowledge.
It is for an individual or teaching team that creates learning experiences that connect academic study with real world development and support students in preparing for their future careers. Please share what they did and how it strengthened your employability.
Nominate for the Outstanding Teaching and Employability Award.
This award is not for your academic advisor or teaching staff. It is for the staff who support your studies or student life in other ways.
It recognises and celebrates student support and services colleagues who make a positive difference to your learning, wellbeing or overall experience as a student. It is for staff who provide clear information, practical help or supportive guidance that contributes to your progress or helps you navigate challenges during your studies.
This could include, for example, student support teams (such as hub staff), technical teams, library or central support services, and disability or wellbeing support. Please share what this member of staff did and how it positively impacted your experience.
Nominate for the Outstanding Student Experience Support Award.
This award recognises and celebrates exceptional academic advisors who make an outstanding difference to your learning, success, and student experience.
It is for advisors who provide you with clear guidance, supportive communication, and advice that contributes to your progress or wellbeing.
This award recognises and celebrates supervisors who provide clear, supportive guidance that helps you succeed in your dissertation, long essay or research project.
It is for staff who are approachable, offer constructive advice and encourage your development as an independent researcher through thoughtful challenge, feedback and critical thinking. Please share what your supervisor did and how this positively impacted your project and your confidence in carrying out independent research.
Nominate for the Outstanding Undergraduate Supervisor Award.
This award recognises and celebrates supervisors who provide clear, supportive guidance that helps you succeed in your dissertation or research project.
It is for staff who are approachable, offer constructive advice and encourage your development as an independent researcher through thoughtful challenge, feedback and critical thinking. Please share what your supervisor did and how this positively impacted your project and your confidence in carrying out independent postgraduate-level research.
Nominate for the Outstanding Postgraduate Taught (PGT) Supervisor Award.
This award is for your overall degree programme (e.g. BA English Literature, MA Sociology), not individual modules or course units.
It recognises and celebrates programmes that offer an excellent learning experience, across your course units / modules overall, and make a meaningful difference to your academic and personal development. It is for the teams who deliver your programme, including academic, technical, and professional services staff, who create an organised, engaging, and supportive environment that helps you thrive, stay motivated, and help deepen your interest in your subject. Please share what your programme team did and how this positively impacted your experience.
2024/25 Winners and Highly Commended
Winner
- Dimitrija Kalanoski, Lecturer in International Business & Strategy, AMBS
Highly Commended
- Tom Newall, Teacher of Conducting, SALC
- Nozomi Yamaguchi, Language Tutor, SALC
- Jade Fawcett, GIS Technical Specialist, SEED
Winner
- Raymond Obayi, Lecturer, AMBS
Highly Commended
- Reza Salehnejad, Senior Lecturer in Business Economics, AMBS
- Abigail Bleach, Teaching Assistant, SALC
- Sam Thoburn, Teaching Assistant, SALC
- Lawrence Ado Kofie, Lecturer, SEED
- Luija Feng, Lecturer in HRM and Development, SEED
- Stephen Rayner, Honorary Research Fellow, SEED
- Kathryn Telling, Lecturer in Education, SEED
- Fae Garland, Lecturer in Law, SoSS
- Emily Turner, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, SoSS
Winner
- Vlad Schuler-Costa, Lecturer in Social Anthropology, SoSS
Highly Commended
- Anna Goatman, Professor of Marketing and Management Education, AMBS
- Alison Zimmer, Lecturer, AMBS
- Catherine Atkinson-Ross, Senior Lecturer in Education, SEED
- Antonio Savoia, Reader in Development Economics, SEED
Winner
- Alexandre Campsie, Lecturer in Modern British History, SALC
Highly Commended
- Rubina Jasani, Lecturer in Humanitarian Conflict Response, SALC
- Carl Emery, Lecturer in Education, SEED
- Andrew Gunn, Lecturer in Education, SEED
- Eric Lybeck, Senior Lecturer Education, SEED
- Thiago Oliveira, Lecturer in Policing, SoSS
- Maisie Tomlinson, Lecturer in Sociology, SOSS
Winner
- Catherine Atkinson-Ross, Senior Lecturer in Education, SEED
Highly Commended
- Ellen Yazhou He, Presidential Fellow in Accounting and Finance, AMBS
- Rebecca Herissone, Professor of Musicology, SALC
- Dmitry Nikolaev, Lecturer in Computational Linguistics, SALC
- Martin Parham, Dr Martin Parham, Lecturer in Disaster Management, Humanitarian Conflict Response Institute, SALC
- Paul Armstrong, Reader in Education, SEED
- Helen Hanna, Lecturer in Education, SEED
- Farhad Hossain, Professor of Public Management and International Development, SEED
Winner
- Annie Griffin-Carter, TLSE Co-ordinator, SoSS
Highly Commended
- Matty Woodcock, TLSE Administrator, SEED
Winner
- MA Educational Leadership in Practice, SEED
Highly Commended
- MSc Operations, Project and Supply Chain Management, AMBS
- BA Italian Studies (Joint Honours), SALC
- UG Certificate in Egyptology, SALC
- MA Healthcare Law & Ethics, SoSS