Awards and recognition schemes for those within the doctoral community
Details of the various award schemes for doctoral students and staff.
Doctoral Awards
Find out about the various award schemes open to doctoral students and staff who support doctoral students.
Awards for doctoral students
- Doctoral Recognition Awards
- Godfrey and Sue Hall Doctoral Researcher Prize
Awards for staff who support doctoral students
- Doctoral Recognition Awards
- Excellence in Doctoral Supervision
Doctoral Recognition Awards
The Doctoral Recognition Awards, organised by the Doctoral College, recognise students and staff who have contributed to enhancing the doctoral student experience.
From over 200 nominations, 55 doctoral students received an award in 2025. They were recognised for their dedication to quality research practice, positive contributions to the doctoral community, and the meaningful impact of their research.
In 2025, 16 staff members received an award for their valuable contributions to the doctoral community. They were recognised for their dedication to enhancing doctoral research culture and student development.
Thank you to all of our 2025 winners for your dedication to cultivating a positive research culture within the doctoral community.
Our 2025 Winners
Excellence in Doctoral Supervision Prizes
The Excellence in Doctoral Supervision Prizes are awarded to supervisors or supervisory teams who have demonstrated exceptional performance in doctoral supervision.
In 2025, the University prize was awarded to Dr Benjamin Metcalfe, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.
There were also 4 Faculty and School Prizes:
Faculty of Engineering and Design Winner: Prof Mirella Di Lorenzo, Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Winner: Dr Karin Petrini, Psychology
Faculty of Science Winner: Prof Tiffany Taylor, Life Sciences
School of Management Winner: Prof Adam Joinson, Management
Godfrey and Sue Hall Doctoral Researcher Prize
The Godfrey and Sue Hall Doctoral Researcher Prize, previously known as the Ede and Ravenscroft Postgraduate Research Student Prize, is an annual award for the best doctoral researcher. The winner will receive £1,000 from Godfrey and Sue Hall.
A huge congratulations to our 2025 winner Joni Wildman, PhD student in Architecture and Civil Engineering, for her research titled Breaking the Mould: Sustainable Insulation Using Fungi.
Congratulations to our four finalists: Robbie Mears (Physics); Vibhor Mathur (Social and Policy Sciences), Fadoua Govaerts (Education), Kareem Abdalaziz Abushama (Architecture and Civil Engineering).
Nominations for 2026 will open in the Spring.
Find out more
Recognising our community
All recipients of awards are invited to celebrate at the annual Doctoral Research Celebration Evening. Take a look at some pictures from the last event which took place on 11th June 2025.
Find out more about the awards
Should you want to find out more about the individual awards then please use the contact details found on each of the specific award pages.