The Do’s and Don’ts of Postgrad Award Nominations

If you know someone who goes above and beyond in the postgraduate community, you can nominate them for a Postgrad Award which recognises and celebrates their hard work and dedication.

The categories are:

• Masters Student of the Year – someone who not only achieves great grades but has been making a difference during their studies.
• Masters Teacher of the Year – someone who has a passion for their subject and thinks of different ways to get the best out of their students.
• PhD Student of the Year – someone who has made an impact not just with their research but with their peers and research group.
• PhD Supervisor of the Year – someone who inspires and goes the extra mile to support their students.

We know that you’ll want to give them the best nomination possible, so here are some do’s (and don’ts) to help you when you’re thinking about your submission.

#1 Don’t nominate yourself. Do nominate others!

As a rule, you’re not allowed to nominate yourself for these categories, so if you want to be recognised for your efforts to improve your postgraduate community, better start shouting about it loudly and dropping hints to people!

#2 Don't assume multiple nominations will help you win. Do encourage someone who is nominating you to put in a single great entry.

The PG Awards aren’t a popularity contest, you don’t get extra chances of winning the more nominations you have. It’s all about the quality of the nomination, the context, details of achievement and demonstrable impact. We read every single entry so you’re more likely to win if someone has sent in one amazing nomination full of detailed evidence of how you’ve changed your postgraduate community rather than 50 poorly written, non-evidenced entries.

#3 Don’t just tell us how great they are! Do show us how great the person is!

Make sure you include examples such as any awards they’ve won, feedback they’ve received or statistics around the impact they’ve had on the postgraduate community. Provide context as to why this person is so great, we don’t know them so we want specific examples as to why they should win the award.

#4 Don’t waffle. Do be clear, concise and coherent!

Keep each sentence as a single idea or message, stick to the point and keep it logical. You need to explain what you mean by the things that you write in the nomination. Don’t leave any room for interpretation!