On Tuesday 6 May we held the first-ever Sussex Awards ceremony on campus at the Attenborough Centre. The ceremony was held to announce the winners of the new awards, which combine and expand upon the previous Education and Research Awards, and was hosted by Vice-Chancellor Professor Sasha Roseneil and Professor Michael Luck, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost.
The awards programme is designed to recognise the brilliant work of our staff, students and postgraduate researcher (PGR) community across our Faculties and Divisions. The winners were presented with a very special trophy depicting the Arts A pillars, 3D printed here on campus using recycled plastics by Dr Andre Maia Chagas and his team. And Andre took one of the trophies home as he was a winner in the Open Research category!
After the nominations closed in March, a judging panel for each category, made up of staff and, on some panels, students, reviewed over 700 nominations that students, staff and postgraduate researchers submitted this year. Together they chose the shortlist and winners in each of the 15 categories. The winners of this year’s Adam Weiler PGR Impact Awards were also presented with their awards on the night.
Opening the ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor said: “People have been working extraordinarily hard, doing fantastic things, and it’s even more important than ever, when times are difficult, to celebrate the good stuff. The awards have been brought together, partly to save money and staff time, but also because we wanted to be able to celebrate a much wider range of activities, and a wider range of staff and their contributions. Tonight’s ceremony will recognise the collaboration that really is at the heart of what’s going on at Sussex, which delivers our excellent student experience, and world changing research and innovation, and the amazing community that we have at Sussex.”
Speaking after the ceremony, Tina Lehmbeck, winner in the Institutional Improvement and Transformation category for her work on the rollout of WorkTribe said: “I am really thrilled. Really thrilled to have been nominated by my colleagues, and the award is also for everyone else who worked on the project. Thank you.”
Professor Stephen Wilkins, part of the Sussex Universe winning team, said after the ceremony: “It’s great that Sussex Universe got this University recognition. Sussex Universe started as a student-led society, and then during Covid it was transformed, we widened it out. Now we have this wonderful support from the Professional Services team, and we’ve expanded over that time. So now we are not just Physics and Astronomy, but the entire Faculty of Science, so it’s great to show the wonderful research we do at the University with as many people as we can.”
Find out about this year’s winners and their incredible achievements:
Inclusive Education category joint winners: Tim Cane and Tilly Ambrose, and the Global Studies Neurodivergent Working Group.
Tim Cane and Tilly Ambrose, both based at the School of Global Studies, have gone above and beyond to ensure that a visually impaired student is able to enjoy a fully inclusive, safe and educationally rich learning experience. They created bespoke Braille labelling of lab equipment and tactile images of maps, which allowed the student to visualise and navigate complex topographies, and understand the evolution of environmental patterns and processes.
The Global Studies Neurodivergent Working Group, led by Karis Jade Petty, Assistant Professor in Anthropology, is a collective of students and staff working together to create a supportive and inclusive learning community within the School of Global Studies and the wider University. The group have organised a variety of events where neurodivergent students have shared their top tips with others, and raised awareness of support and wellbeing at the University and beyond.
Group members are: Karis Jade Petty, Maisie Farnham, Niamh Bowden, Jona Nicholls, Amira Lazar, Bradley Clark, Nellie Brown, Gladys Mwamba, Paul Boyce, Matthew Main, Marjorie Von Wallwitz Naum, Manish Surin, Mary Harding, Gizem Senoglu, Ashleigh Jennings, Emily Freestone, Jenny Mendez Silva, Vladica Jovanovic, Ophelia Jarvis, Stefanie Ortmann, Beth Sutton, Anna Laing, Phoebe Hoaen, Dom Kniveton and Cassy Roberts.
Education for Employability and World Readiness category winners: Julia Hartviksen, Suchitra Richards and Jessica Eustace.
Julia and Suchitra (both School of Global Studies) and Jessica Eustace (Student Experience team), have revitalised employability at the School of Global Studies by increasing enrolment on a final year module focused on work experience. They have built a database of placement organisations, supported students to identify their interests, and helped them secure a placement. They have also hosted an inspiring series of career workshops featuring alumni and Postgraduate students.
Community Impact, Scholarship and Social Responsibility category winner: Alison Bailey.
Alison, who is based at the Business School, has collaborated with Rewired Earth throughout the second-year module on Leadership Foundation. As part of this, students took part in a sustainability challenge set by Rewired Earth, who offered £1,000 and internships for the winning team. Students were able to put their leadership skills into practice by finding a sustainability problem in Sussex or the local area, and received mentoring from Rewired Earth and other organisations. They presented their projects to politicians and business leaders at the House of Lords, resulting in two of the Sussex student teams winning the competition.
Collaborative Learning and Innovation category winners: The Engineering and Product Design Mentors.
Based at the School of Engineering and Informatics, the Engineering and Product Design Mentors is a student-led initiative that fosters a welcoming, peer-focused environment where all students feel supported and empowered to learn. The mentors, who come from different disciplines in the School, organise regular drop-in session to provide support and feedback with assignments, or talk to other students about the challenges of university life. In collaboration with student societies and industry partners, mentors provide workshops that foster creativity, teamwork and problem-solving skills.
Group members are: Elif Ucurum, Charlie Westpfel, Sunil Mistry, Mugdh Sangwan, Liv Camacho Wejbrandt, Anjola Oluwa Fajobi, Jasurbek Yusupov, Jayden Griffin, Mustafa Hassan, Milena A. Karwat, Lucas Albery and Max Goldbloom.
Research and Innovation Excellence category winners: The Brains on Board team.
The Brains on Board team, based at theSchool of Engineering and Informatics and the School of Life Sciences, has advanced the frontiers of insect-inspired neuromorphic AI in projects featuring sustainable energy efficient AI and robotics. The team have been co-investigators on over 10 grants, raising the University’s profile and their work has sparked new international collaborations.
Team members are: Andy Philippides, Thomas Nowotny, Paul Graham, James Knight and James Bennett.
Open Research category winner: Andre Maia Chagas.
Andre, who is based at the School of Life Sciences, has created and disseminated open hardware, including cheap microscopes that can be used in labs or rural areas for health diagnosis. He has also helped the University to upcycle and support our sustainability efforts by avoiding the premature disposal of equipment, and co-organised and taught the skills needed for local production of scientific equipment in many workshops across Africa.
Research and Innovation Culture category winners: Ozgu Karakulak and Daniel Fisher.
Ozgu and Daniel, who are based at the Business School, have been recognised for their leadership of the Write Club which has enhanced the quality and quantity of research outputs in a structured yet supportive environment. Set up in 2022, the Write Club, which brought together two departments within the School: Management and Strategy & Marketing, has supported the development of writing skills for colleagues at all stages of their academic career.
Research and Innovation Impact category winners: The Material Physics Group.
The group, based at the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, has been awarded for their pioneering research in partnership with AMD, which resulted in the development ofnanomaterial technologies that deliver measurable benefits, including performance and energy efficiency, across multiple industries.
Group members are: Alan Dalton, Alice King, Sean Ogilvie, Matthew Large, Peter Lynch, Manoj Tripathi, Aline Amorim Graf, Raquel Cano Cordero, Ahmed Alghamdi, Alex McCann, Kevin Doty, Jeremy Thorpe and Helen Ticktin-Smith.
Postgraduate Researcher Support category winners: Guy Edwards, Josh Francis and Charlotte Austwick.
Guy Edwards (School of Global Studies), Charlotte Austwick (School of Psychology) and Josh Francis (School of Global Studies) created a programme of outputs and events celebrating neurodiversity for Sussex postgraduate researchers which has fostered and created a safe space and a positive cultural change in the research community at Sussex.
Global Engagement category winners: The Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium (TIP-C) team.
The TIP-C team, based at the Business School, have strengthened ties and promoted initiatives through their work with TIP-C’s Latin American and Caribbean Transformative Innovation Hub. The innovative methods developed by the team have been adopted by United Nations bodies, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development framework. In September 2024, the team held an Engagement Week in Barcelona, which brought together 150 leaders from over 30 countries from the private and public sectors, showcasing Sussex’s cutting-edge research, and encouraging cross-sector collaborations.
Team members are: Matias Ramirez, Claudia Obando Rodriguez, Pip Bolton, Abbas Abdul, Bipashyee Ghosh, Ed Steinmueller, Phil Johnstone, Chux Daniels, Victoria Shaw, ViktoriiaKrytska, Jessie Madrigal-Fletcher, Rob Byrne and David Brimage.
Civic Engagement category winners: Stephen Wilkins and the Sussex Universe team.
Stephen and the Sussex Universe team have played a transformative role in making science accessible to the wider community The Sussex Universe public lecture series is a platform for researchers to showcase their research and inspire, educate and connect people with the University’s research and expertise.
Inclusive Sussex category winner: Chris Derbyshire.
Chris, who is based in the Communications, Engagement and Advancement Division, has worked tirelessly for years to support the access and participation of Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Showman, Boater (GRTSB) young people at Sussex and within the wider community. Chris co-led the University’s application for a national pledge to support the inclusion of GTRSB students in higher education, and has worked on the Roma Holocaust memorialisation, which resulted in an exhibition at the Jubilee Library in Brighton.
Contribution to Campus Life category winner: Chay Burt.
Chay, based at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, is the coach of the University men’s football team. In this voluntary role, Chay provides support to team members both on and off the pitch. Whether they are facing personal or academic issues, Chay goes above and beyond, offering guidance, fostering connection and inspiring his players throughout their university experience.
Environmental Sustainability category winners: The Climate Fresk team.
The team, based at the Business School, have introduced climate awareness onto the curriculum by running Climate Fresk workshops. Just last term, over 500 students were trained to understand and address climate change, and over 20 have been inspired to become Climate Fresk facilitators. Team members are: Alexandra Pearson, Claire Tymoshyshyn and Alison Bailey.
Institutional Improvement and Transformation category winner: Tina Lehmbeck
Tina, who works in the Research and Innovation Services Division, has been central to the development and implementation of WorkTribe, the new University Research Management system. Thanks to Tina’s experience and skills, the project was rolled out on the planned delivery dates.