DCAD organised this year’s Teaching and Learning Awards in collaboration with the Durham Student Union for the second time.
The Teaching and Learning Awards 2025 took place on the 26th of June in Mount Oswald Hub. The attendees were welcomed with folk music from Northumberland, Scotland and Ireland, played by two of Durham University Folk Society’s members: Doug and Will.
The award ceremony hosts were Dr Eirini Tzouma and Dr Martina Diehl, both academic development advisors in DCAD. They opened the afternoon event and introduced the afternoon’s award presenters:
- Vice Chancellor and Warden of Durham University, Professor Karen O’Brien
- Pro Vice Chancellor of Education, Professor Tony Fawcett
- Durham Student Union President, Dan Lonsdale
This year’s awards saw 398 nominations across 7 categories, which were all incredibly high in quality making it rather difficult for the subpanels and final panel to decide on the top 6 and then the winner. The range of those nominated was vast, from Professional services staff in colleges to postgraduate research supervisors to postgraduate researchers on their first teaching journey and more.
Those who helped make the teaching & learning awards happen were:
- Professor Simon Rees, Deputy Director in DCAD (organising committee)
- Nicola Rose, assistant manager in DCAD (organising committee)
- Olivia Flavell, Education Programme Coordinator, Durham SU (organising committee)
- Dr Eirini Tzouma, Academic Development Advisor in DCAD (organising committee & host)
- Dr Martina Diehl, Academic Development Advisor in DCAD (organising committee & host)
- James Youdale, Senior Digital Consultant DCAD (event photographer)
- Will & Doug from the Durham University Folk Society (event music)
- Event Durham
- Academics and professional services staff on the subpanels and final panel
- Dr Trevor James and Sumetha Karthigeyen for the review of the awards criteria to ensure alignment with EDI values.
The winners of each category were:
- Early Career Educator Award: Rafael (Ardi) Echevarria
- Excellence in Postgraduate Research Supervision: Professor Catherine Turner
- Excellence in Student Academic Support: Kate Goodfellow
- Impactful Contribution to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion: Dr Cathie Draycott
- Excellence in Teaching and Learning: Dr Alison Lane
- Innovation in Teaching and Learning: Dr Ian Dickson
- Academic Tutor of the Year Award: Dr Litka Milian
Vice Chancellor and Warden of Durham University, Professor Karen O’Brien, presented the first three awards and their shortlisted nominees
Early Career Educator Award
“This award recognises an individual postgraduate or postdoctoral researcher, teaching fellow or other early educator who has been teaching in Higher Education for less than 3 years in an academic setting. This individual will have shown commitment to developing their educational practice, and will facilitate a positive and engaging learning environment”
| Anas Almassri (PhD Candidate, School of Education and T.A. at the School of Government and International Affairs) |
| Rafael (Ardi) Echevarria (PhD Candidate at the Department of Music) |
| Stefanie Gante (PhD Candidate at the Durham Business School, Department of Management and Marketing) |
| Dr Amanda Hsieh (Department of Music) |
| Shradha Kapoor (Career Development Fellow in the Durham University Business School) |
| Chris Massa (PhD Candidate in the Department of Music) |
Excellence in Postgraduate Research Supervision
This award recognises nominations for individuals and supervisory teams who have made an outstanding contribution to supervising and supporting doctoral researchers in their personal, professional and career development through their doctoral studies.
| Dr Penelope Anthias (Department of Geography) |
| Professor Stephen Gorard & Professor Nadia Siddiqui (School of Education) |
| Dr Anna Grubert (Department of Psychology) |
| Professor Prue Holmes (School of Education) – Colleague attending on behalf of |
| Professor Doug Newton (School of Education) |
| Professor Catherine Turner (Durham Law School) |
Excellence in Student Academic Support
“This award recognises individuals and teams who have provided exceptional support to students and/or colleagues in the area of academic support, which can be indicated by evidence for impactful contributions to learning and teaching.”
| Alex Bowkley (Science Faculty Office) |
| Kate Goodfellow (Department of History) |
| Dr Juan Aguilar Malavia (Department of History) |
| Dr Richard Morgan (Durham University Business School) |
| Sandra Rust (Department of Earth Sciences) |
| Qiandong Zhou (PhD candidate in the School of Education, Postgraduate Research Officer Durham Student Union) |
This was followed by Pro Vice Chancellor of Education, Professor Tony Fawcett, who introduced the next three awards and the shortlisted candidates:
Impactful Contribution to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
“This award recognises individuals and teams who have demonstrated commitment to fostering an equitable, inclusive and diverse learning environment through the implementation of strategies in teaching and support services. Furthermore, this award rewards initiatives that enhance cultural competency, awareness and advocacy for underrepresented groups.”
| Dr Matthew David (Department of Sociology) |
| Dr Cathie Draycott (Department of Archaeology) |
| Dr Sophie Hodgetts (Department of Psychology) |
| Dr Sam Horlor (Department of Music) |
| Dr Lewis Mates (School of Government and International Affairs) Colleague attending on behalf |
| Dr Kath Norman (Department of Chemistry) |
Excellence in Teaching and Learning
“This award recognises individuals who have provided exceptional support to students and/or colleagues in the area of teaching and learning. The individual will have contributed to creating an inspirational and collaborative work environment and academic community.”
| Dr Pippa Coffer (Department of Chemistry ) |
| Dr Hayley Dewe (Department of Psychology) |
| Professor Julie Hodges (Durham University Business School) Not attending |
| Dr Alison Lane (Department of Psychology) |
| Dr Noam Leshem (Department of Geography) |
| Dr Alex Neads (School of Government and International Affairs) Not attending |
Innovation in Teaching and Learning
“This award recognises an individuals and teams who have demonstrated commitment to student engagement and motivation, and have implemented innovative and effective teaching methods, which have positively impacted student learning outcomes. They will have responded to student needs and contributed to the development of curriculum and/or learning resources. Nominations were welcomed from both staff and students.”
| Dr Carla Chivers (Department of Psychology) |
| Dr Ian Dickson (Department of Music) |
| Professor Amanda Ellison (Department of Psychology) |
| Dr Daniel Gaudio (Department of Archaeology) |
| Angela Green (Department of Marketing in the Durham University Business School) |
| Joy Twemlow (Durham Law School) |
Finally, Dan Lonsdale, the Durham Student Union President, presented the student-only category, in which only students were able to nominate:
Academic Tutor of the Year Award
This award recognises nominations for an individual who has demonstrated commitment to facilitating a positive and engaging learning environment, has been effective in supporting students’ understanding, and has been an approachable, motivational, and inspiring tutor, guiding students in their academic pursuits.
Shortlisted for this category were:
| Prof Philip Dyer (Dept of Chemistry) |
| Dr Can Eken (Durham Law School) |
| Dr Aung Hein (School of Government and International Affairs) |
| David Oakes (Dept of Accounting) |
| Dr Litka Milian (Dept of Chemistry) |
| Bryan Whitelock (School of Government and International Affairs, Durham Centre for Academic Development) |
Vice Chancellor and Warden of Durham University, Karen O’Brien, then closed the ceremony after which we had a brief break with more folk music from the British Isles, and then the teas and scones arrived.
We would like to say a massive thank you to all those who took the time to nominate their peers, colleagues and educators as well as the subpanelists and final panelists for taking their time to review the nominations. The quality of nominations has truly been outstanding this year.
Thank you to all who came along to this event and made it a wonderful afternoon of celebrations.
Please have a look at our programme booklet for the nominations and more details about the nominees
Teaching and Learning Awards 2025 photos
Photos of the shortlisted nominees and winners of the 2025 Teaching and Learning Awards