UEL wins HELOA Award for outstanding participation programme
Hero Carousel
Published
23 January 2025
Share
UEL’s Outreach and Access team celebrated success at the 2025 HELOA Awards, picking up the award for Best Practice in Widening Participation, Outreach, and Access for the University’s flagship Phenomenal Physiology Project.
The project, running since 2017, inspires and educates students from under-represented groups and ignites their interest in higher education and the pursuit of science. It has been a driving force in inspiring and educating students from under-represented groups in schools around East London.
The six-week programme, Phenomenal Physiology gives Year 10 students the chance to take part in hands-on science-based workshops led by university-trained curriculum ambassadors. The sessions, held at schools either during lessons or after school, also give students access to professional-level equipment.
Students are then able to present their experiment findings to a panel of academics, fostering confidence and empowering diverse young learners to pursue academic and professional success in science.
Tariq Patel, Partnerships Manager at UEL, said:
We are over the moon to win this award! It’s a fantastic example of how we collaborate with colleagues in Health, Sport and Bioscience to showcase the university and inspire students from underrepresented groups at our local partner schools to consider pursuing a science degree in the future. "
HELOA, the professional association of higher education staff working in student recruitment, outreach, marketing and admissions, described the Phenomenal Physiology project as a ‘vital platform for promoting diversity in STEM education’.
The award voted for by widening participation practitioners from across the country, recognises the remarkable achievements of UEL staff, including Charlotte Thwaites (Outreach and Access), who runs the programme, as well as Dr Mohammed Meah and Dr PJ Ruchaya from the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience.
By working in collaboration with the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience, university academics, local schools, teachers and current UEL students, the outreach and access team has successfully delivered an important – and now award-winning – widening participation project to schools and pupils across East London.