As part of the University's commitment to recognising research excellence, we are once again hosting the REF Research Prize awards scheme. This is designed to recognise research excellence by academic and professional support staff within the context of progress towards the REF2029 Research Excellence Framework assessment.

The scheme will also serve to support our development of the People, Culture and Environment (PCE) element of our submission.

All nominations were reviewed by a Panel, with the Final Winners announced on Tuesday 2nd September during the final session of the first day of the TIRIAE conference. This marked a fitting conclusion to the first day of the conference and an upbeat start to the new academic year.

The Nominees in each category are listed below. They are all deemed to be ‘Highly Commended’. The winners, announced at the special ceremony in the Deane Lecture Theatre on Tuesday 2nd September, are also listed below.

Professor Patrick McGhee, Chair of the Awards Panel said “I am delighted that we have had a large number of excellent nominations, and it has been a difficult task for the Panel to select a shortlist in each category. The 3rd of September event will be a great opportunity to celebrate research excellence at the University. Congratulations to all the shortlisted nominees”.

Early Career Researcher (ECR) of the Year

WINNER

• Dr Aleeza Khan –Nursing

NOMINATED

• Dr Adil Mustafa - Engineering

• Dr Ana Campos – Psychology

• Emma Fazackerley–Arts and Creative Technologies

• Dr Joshua Ikani Negedu - GMBS

• Dr Paul Watson - Psychology

Book of the Year

WINNER

• Unleashing Greatness (2024) -  Prof David Hopkins

NOMINATED

• Leadership During a Crisis: A Focus on Leadership Development (Routledge Studies in Leadership and Leadership Development (2024) – Prof Christian Harrison (editor)

• Same Difference (2022) – Dr Ben Wilkinson

• Don Paterson (2021) – Dr Ben Wilkinson

• Unleashing Greatness (2024) -  Prof David Hopkins

• Thinking Through Practice (2025) – Dr Tom Sutton

• Why Mindfulness Is Not Enough: Unlocking Compassion with Equanimity – Dr Joey Weber

Research Article of the Year

WINNER

• Flame retardants for epoxy resins: Application‐related challenges and solutions. Journal of Vinyl & Additive Technology, Kandola, B. K., Magnoni, F., & Ebdon, J. R. (2022). 28(1), 17-49. 

NOMINATED

• An international validation of the Bolton Unistride scale (BUSS) of tenacity Kannangara, C., Allen, R., Hochard, K. D., & Carson, J. PloS One (2022)

• Flame retardants for epoxy resins: Application‐related challenges and solutions. Journal of Vinyl & Additive Technology, Kandola, B. K., Magnoni, F., & Ebdon, J. R. (2022). 28(1), 17-49. 

• Language games: the gendered politics of the speech act in Ben Lerner's ‘The Topeka School’ V. O’Riordan –Textual Practice (2022/2023)

• Pointer-based item-to-item collaborative filtering recommendation system using a machine learning model. International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (2022) - Celestine Iwendi

• The United Kingdom’s National Early Warning Score: should everyone use it? A narrative review. Intern Emerg Med  Holland, M., Kellett, J. (2023)

• Why health anxiety needs NICE clinical guidelines (2024) - Robin Bailey - The Lancet. Psychiatry, (2024)

Creative Output of the Year

WINNER

• ARChive Stories exhibition – Donna Claypool (Bolton Museum)

NOMINATED

• While We Can – Liam Ainscough | 13th September 2024 - 5th October 2024 Hive Gallery

• ARChive Stories exhibition – Donna Claypool (Bolton Museum)

• Same Difference – Dr Ben Wilkinson – (Poetry collection)

• Stitchography workshops & exhibition – Dr Faye Power-Griggs

• Maker Project [Re]Connected (Hive Gallery) – Dr Tom Sutton

Research Team of the Year

WINNER

• Creative:Ed School of Arts / School of Education (joint team)

NOMINATED

• GREAT Research Team - School of Arts & Creative Technologies

• Creative:Ed School of Arts / School of Education (joint team)

• UoGM AI literacy team - Greater Manchester Business School  

• Centre for Applied Computer Science & the Centre of Intelligence of Things (CIoTh), Creative Technologies

Research Technician of the Year

WINNER

• Roxana Allison - Technical Services Officer – Photography - School of Arts and Creative Technologies

Research Support Professional of the Year

WINNER

• Rebecca Harris – School of Arts & Creative Technologies

NOMINATED

• Rebecca Harris – School of Arts & Creative Technologies

• Donna Zarei – REF Unit

• Mark Price – School Education

Research Mentor of the Year

WINNER

• Prof Jill Marsden (Arts & Creative Technologies)

NOMINATED

• Prof Jerome Carson (Psychology)

• Dr Giliane McKelvin (Midwifery)

• Rebecca Harris (Arts & Creative Technologies)

• Prof Jill Marsden (Arts & Creative Technologies)

• Professor Paul Hollins (REF Unit)

Impact Case Study of the Year

WINNER

• Play 2 Act UNDP – GREAT team - Professor Paul Hollins

NOMINATED

• Play 2 Act UNDP – GREAT team - Professor Paul Hollins

• Detection and Prevention of fire hazards in applications involving polymers / polymeric composites – Professor Baljinder Kandola

• Hummingbird – Dr Chathurika Kannangara & Professor Jerome Carson

• Gamifying Climate Action – GREAT TEAM

Research School of the Year

WINNER

• School of Education

• School of Arts & Creative Technologies

NOMINATED

• Greater Manchester Business School

• School of Arts & Creative Technologies

• School of Education

• School of Engineering

• School of Health

• School of Law

• School of Medicine

• School of Psychology