Alongside Nikita’s impressive academic transcript (she has consistently achieved a first across her varied assessments in her MSc Humanitarian Engineering with Sustainability), she has made a remarkable contribution as an ambassadorial MSc student. Working as Student Ambassador, Design Thinking Coach, Student Engagement Officer and workshop facilitator to name a few, she has influenced current and prospective students as well as Warwick’s local and wider community. The judges praised Nikita’s use of a range of media to communicate messages on sustainability, food, women in science and self-discovery.

The judges highly commended Siddhesh for the valuable contributions to public health research, advocacy and activism his list of varied academic and extra-curricular achievements were achieving. Amongst an impressive list of awards and memberships, Siddhesh is a cofounding director of the non-profit think tank and advocacy group Association for Socially Applicable Research (ASAR) that focuses on social problem-solving and communicating evidence for forming public opinion.

Prasanna Ramakrisnan is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and holds an academic administrative position as Head of Information Technology Division at the Institute of Continuing Education & Professional Studies (iCEPS). She is recognised at a national and international level for her dedication to applying technology in teaching and learning. She created an EduTech Series YouTube Channel and EduTech Series Website to continuously promote teaching and learning strategies using technology among educators, teachers and students. The judges saw her as “an inspiring teacher and champion of online learning.”

The judges were impressed by Josephine’s research and its meaningful contribution to improve care for preterm infants during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. She has already been recognised by The Family Larsson Roseqnuist Foundation as a positive change agent for making global impact beyond her PhD studies. Alongside her impressive research, Josephine has spearheaded a number of initiatives to enrich the student experience at Oxford as the first Black Students' Representative at Green Templeton College. These have included starting a Black Mentorship Programme, curating the Maarifa Library Collection for self-education to address racism and microaggression and to celebrate Black writers and established the first Black Students' Society at their College.

Through his cancer foundation, Sasi supports underprivileged women and children affected by cancer in Africa and India. Highly commended by our judges, he has been tipped as a future star in the world of cancer research. Described as “selfless and ambitious” in his goal of developing novel cancer therapeutics, Sasi has presented at numerous conferences and uses novel ideas to help in other fields of cancer research.

During Covid-19 lockdowns, Clive Palmer set up Clive's Learning Shack, creating a supportive and dynamic online community. He was able to keep 50 research students on track with their studies by encouraging them to tune in for monthly Shed-Talks. Clive believes in increasing accessibility to doctoral education and has designed the PhD by Portfolio route, leading a cross-institutional, trans-disciplinary group to promote progression and positive outcomes through this pathway. The judges were impressed with his proven commitment to sharing best practice in PhD supervision.

Equal Representation in Academia (ERA) was set up by recent PhD graduate Mohani-Preet Dhillon as an intensive intervention to positively impact the progression of under-represented students to pursue postgraduate study. It focuses on enabling students to experience the dedication and excitement of a research environment by funding placements within research groups and providing stipends. The judges saw this entry as “setting a benchmark for other institutions to follow".

PhD research can be incredibly isolating at the best of times, let alone in a pandemic. Recognising this, the York Graduate Research School at the University of York developed a trailblazing suite of complementary initiatives to support wellbeing and give voice to 2,500+ Postgraduate Researcher Students (PGRs). The peer-to-peer-led 'How to Thrive and Survive in your PhD' workshop series, PGR Mentoring Scheme and PGR Buddy Scheme provided a safe and supportive environment (online and face-to-face) in which PGRs could connect with each other, create links with postdocs and complete their research. This sharing of experiences reduced anxiety, combated isolation and transformed the PGR cultural experience. The judges recognised the comprehensive and sector-leading support for PhD students across the university.

The Northumbria University Students’ Union ran a week-long Homesickness Campaign to raise awareness of what homesickness is with new students. It included tips to reduce loneliness and an event for all students with a quiz and movie to encourage socialisation and the opportunity to make friends. The judges were inspired with how the Northumbria University Students' Union spotted a problem and acted on it.