UEL celebrates staff who have gone extra mile

The winners

The Vice Chancellor and President Excellence Award celebrates a team or individual's outstanding contribution throughout the last academic year.

• First winner: Alessandro Bigi.

Alessandro Bigi worked tirelessly to improve the overall student experience and engagement on the MBA programmes. This has included a number of initiatives, including creating an inclusive classroom-based environment and engagement of students with the on-campus experience.

• Second winner: Max Corrigan

Max is currently leading one of UEL's biggest academic partnerships with University Campus of Football Business (UCFB). He broadened the course portfolio and profile, and there are now 14 face-to-face undergraduate programmes and seven face-to face postgraduate programmes, all equating to 1,375 newly enrolled students.

The Chancellor's Award for University Service recognises exceptional service contributions to UEL by an individual who demonstrates outstanding dedication to the betterment of UEL, devoting time as well as energy to serve the campus community.

• First winner: Professor Fawad Inam

Professor Fawad Inam has been described as an exceptional leader and team player. His department has grown substantially under his leadership with some courses achieving the highest student satisfaction nationally in 2020.

• Second winner: Aisha Labefo-Audu

Aisha Labefo-Audu is a UEL alumna and has worked in various student facing teams for over seven years. During this time she has demonstrated incredible passion for supporting students, graduates, employers and her colleagues.

The Leadership Through Change award highlights an individual who has positively influenced the strategic direction in an evolving organisational culture.

• First winner: Alex Scott-Whitby

Alex Scott-Whitby has been described as an inspirational leader. He has been exemplary on working across boundaries both within the School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering, and between the University and external stakeholders and organisations.

• Second winner: Sadaf Sadegh-Vaziri

Sadaf Sadegh-Vaziri has transformed the risk management process within the University in just over a year. She has revised the policy and engaged with all sections of the University, producing high quality and manageable risk documentation.

The Employer Engagement award is for a team or individual that has exemplified the University’s careers-led focus throughout their work.

• First winner: Liselle Terret

Year after year Liselle Terret negotiates and develops new and sustainable professional industry partnerships, including MSET, a theatre company working with disabled children, which is now in its fifth year and is an official pathway for student-employment upon graduation.

• Second winner: Greta Paa-Kerner

Greta has been recognised for spearheading the Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability, moving the project ever closer to reality. She breathed new life into this project and began to heavily engage with the funders, the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone.

The Vice-Chancellor & President's Award in Research highlights a team or individual that has made a significant impact with their research within the last academic year.

• Winner: Professor Julia Davidson

Working on child online protection (COP) in the UK and Internationally for over 20 years, Professor Julia Davidson has acted as an advisor to governments worldwide as well as developing COP research evidence based policies in Bahrain and Rwanda. In the UK last year the research she undertook informed the development of the Online Safety Bill which provides a new industry regulatory framework in the UK.

The Careers-Led Teaching and Learning Award acknowledges a team or individual that has made a significant impact within graduate and taught subjects in the last academic year.

• First winner: Saadiya Ahmad

Saadiya Ahmad has carried out exceptional work in making legal practice part of our teaching offering in law. Her directorship of the Legal Advice Centre has transformed the way the University is able to blend legal experience with academic knowledge.

• Second winner: Placements team

The Placements team has gone above and beyond to support MBA and MSc students. Considering the challenges the pandemic presented the team overcame all hurdles by providing a dynamic and quality careers provision remotely to reach an international audience.

The Service Excellence Award recognises a team or individual that has either excelled or seen significant improvement within their field of endeavour.

• Winner: International Office & Admissions and Student Immigration & Compliance

The pandemic brought to an end recognised methods of testing English proficiency. Rather than withdraw from UEL's platinum recruitment markets the teams pulled together and devised an ambitious strategy that would not only enable UEL to increase its market share but also improve the working environment of our teams, improving student experience overall.

The Student Experience Award recognises those who have gone the extra mile to support students, contributing to the creation of culture we want to build at UEL going forward.

• First winner: Shazaib Butt

Shazaib Butt led the growth of the MSc International Business course through developing student numbers, validating a placement offer, enhancing quality through a curriculum review, and the introduction of a May intake. This has been realised with higher than average scores for PTES across all measures. He has led the BSc Economics course, which last year achieved 100% results in NSS.

• Second winner: Kirsty Boddy

Kirsty Boddy has gone above and beyond her job description to co-create Sexual Consent and Bystander Intervention training. Recognising what an important area this is for the University and in the absence of a dedicated resource, she worked with more experienced staff to create and deliver a sexual violence prevention training programme.

The Wellness Champion Award is a new award that recognises individuals who have gone over and beyond to support colleagues, students or the community, championing and improve their wellbeing.

• Winner: Ibrahim Bimbashov

Ibraham Bimbashov provided exemplary service to the mental health referral scheme. He helped students become more active, improving their confidence, reducing anxieties and generally improving their wellbeing. He is always looking to support students and customers wherever possible.

The Impact and Innovation Award in Industry 4.0 Readiness acknowledges a member of staff who has been leading their area to embed Industry 4.0 into their work.

• Winner: Jonathan Tulloch

If there's a piece of technology that may be used within the classroom, either real or virtual, Jonathan Tulloch has either heard of it, used it or is in the process of applying to get his hands on it. This continuous development of knowledge and skills have also been passed on, advising colleagues and students on the best ways to enhance their teaching and learning.

The Impact and Innovation Award in Health Gain Advocacy recognises a member of staff who has embedded colleagues and students' health gain priorities into work and university life.

• Winner: Joshua Ferrante

In his role as Wellness Champion, Joshua Ferrante has opened a forum of support for students who experience challenges in identifying the appropriate supportive mechanisms. The Student Cohort reps have made special mention of his support and efficiency in dealing with cohort related matters.

The Impact and Innovation Award in Inclusive Practice is given to a member of staff who champions diversity and inclusion by leading and initiating action to remove barriers within the UEL community.

Winner: Sheilabye Sobrany

Sheilabye Sobrany organised a series of events developed by the Healthcare Academics Race Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Networks and Strategic Advisory Group. The group supports all nursing and healthcare students in the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience to motivate and inspire them in the continuation of their studies.

The Impact and Innovation Award in Glocal Engagement recognises a team or individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the local community through either research, volunteering or engagement projects.

• Winner: Legal Advice Centre

The team has been recognised for fostered links with our community in a progressive way. The work undertaken has greatly increased the breadth and volume of the free legal advice we offer to community, engaged with local leaders, employers and NGOs to make the Royal Docks School of Business and Law stand out as a valuable part of our community.