THE Awards 2021: shortlist announced

After a year like no other, the shortlists for the 2021 Times Higher Education Awards – the “Oscars of higher education” – have been announced.

Seventy-eight institutions and teams are in the running across 20 categories, with the nominees having been picked from a record haul of nearly 600 entries. Institutions in the Republic of Ireland have been able to enter for the first time in the awards’ 17-year history, alongside their UK peers.

The awards will celebrate achievements during the 2019-20 academic year, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced widespread campus shutdowns. As ever, they cover the full range of university activity – both academic and professional services, from front-line staff through all levels of leadership and management.

This year’s shortlists are topped by the universities of Nottingham and Reading, which make five appearances each, while Newcastle and Salford universities both get four mentions. There are hat-tricks for five more – Anglia Ruskin and Sheffield Hallam universities, the universities of Central Lancashire and St Andrews, and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

In the running for the coveted University of the Year title are Aston and Cardiff Metropolitan universities, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Open University, and the universities of Sunderland and York.

John Gill, THE’s editor, said this year’s awards would “reflect a period of turmoil and innovation necessitated by the pandemic”, yet the record number of entries was a sign of “the brilliance of universities across the whole of the UK and Ireland”.

“With almost 600 institutions, teams and individuals nominated, it really is a fantastic achievement to make it on to this year’s shortlists,” Mr Gill said.

“We look forward to celebrating the incredible response of university staff in exceptionally tough circumstances when we gather for the ‘Oscars of higher education’ in November.”

In another break from THE Awards tradition, this year’s awards will be presented at a new venue – the Hilton London Metropole – on 25 November. The awards will follow the two-day THE Campus Live UK&IE event, held at the same venue.

For more information, and to register, visit www.the-awards.co.uk.

Business School of the Year

• Aberystwyth Business School, Aberystwyth University
• School of Management, University of Bradford
• School of Business, University of Dundee
• Imperial College Business School
• Leeds University Business School
• University of Sussex Business School

International Collaboration of the Year

• Birmingham City University
• The universities of Kent and Cambridge, on behalf of the GCRF COMPASS project
• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
• N8 Research Partnership
• University of Salford
• Sheffield Hallam University

Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year

• Aberystwyth University
• Edinburgh Napier University
• University of Glasgow (Edify)
• University of Glasgow (Lighthouse Laboratory)
• London School of Economics and Political Science
• The Open University

Most Innovative Teacher of the Year
Sponsored by Advance HE

• Paul Driver, Anglia Ruskin University ARU
• Liam Jarvis, University of Essex
• Chris Jones, Pearson College London
• Sara Namvar, University of Salford
• Alexia Petsalis-Diomidis, University of St Andrews
• Cath Seeds, SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College)
• Rhianedd Smith, University of Reading
• David Wareing, University of Central Lancashire

Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Sponsored by Advance HE

• Birmingham City University
• Edinburgh Napier University
• Leeds Trinity University
• Royal Holloway, University of London
• University of St Andrews
• University of Strathclyde

Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community

• Birmingham City University
• University of Central Lancashire
• Edge Hill University
• London Metropolitan University
• National College of Ireland
• University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University

Outstanding Entrepreneurial University
Sponsored by the National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education

• Anglia Ruskin University ARU
• University of Edinburgh
• Oxford Brookes University
• Sheffield Hallam University
• Swansea University
• Teesside University

Outstanding Estates Team

• Canterbury Christ Church University
• Harper Adams University
• Newcastle University
• University of St Andrews
• University of Salford
• York St John University

Outstanding Library Team
Sponsored by Kortext

• University of Essex
• Lancaster University
• University of London
• Newcastle University
• UCL
• University of the Arts London

Outstanding Marketing/Communications Team

• University of Derby
• University of Oxford
• University of Reading
• Swansea University
• University of the West of England
• University of the West of Scotland

Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year
Sponsored by Elsevier

• Ravinder Anand-Ivell, University of Nottingham
• Richard Godwin, Harper Adams University
• Will Harvey, University of Exeter
• Lorraine Hope, University of Portsmouth
• Luca Longo, Technological University Dublin
• Clive Palmer, University of Central Lancashire
• Corina Sas, Lancaster University
• Rachel Tolhurst, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Outstanding Support for Students

• De Montfort University
• Edge Hill University
• Glasgow Caledonian University
• University of Portsmouth
• RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
• University of the West of England

Outstanding Technician of the Year
Sponsored by Technician Commitment

• Trevor Carey, University College Cork
• Andrew Filby, Newcastle University
• Steve Florence, Sheffield Hallam University
• Abbe Martyn, University of Surrey
• Manisha Patel, University of Salford
• Paul Rowley, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
• Kerry Truman, Nottingham Trent University
• Andy Whittam, University of Reading

Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

• Bournemouth University and the University of Strathclyde
• University of Manchester
• University of Nottingham
• University of Strathclyde
• University of Sussex
• University of Westminster

Research Project of the Year: STEM
Sponsored by Elsevier

• De Montfort University, in collaboration with Anglia Ruskin University
• University of Glasgow
• University of Manchester
• University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Population Health
• University of Reading
• Royal Holloway, University of London, in collaboration with the University of York, Leeds Museums and Galleries, and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year

• Durham University
• Heriot-Watt University
• King’s College London
• University of Plymouth and Plymouth College of Art
• University of Reading
• University of West London

THE DataPoints Merit Award
Sponsored by THE DataPoints

With COP26, the UN Climate Change summit, coming to Glasgow this autumn, our data team decided to look at how UK and Irish universities performed on relevant measures in the THE Impact Rankings. The shortlisted institutions are leading the way on practices such as energy efficiency, sustainability, environmental education and net-zero carbon commitments.

• University of Aberdeen
• Bournemouth University
• University College Cork
• University of Dundee
• University of Exeter
• University of Manchester
• Newcastle University
• University of Surrey

Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year

• Brighton and Sussex Medical School
• Cardiff University
• University of Dundee
• Manchester Metropolitan University
• University of Nottingham and partners
• Waterford Institute of Technology

THE Outstanding Achievement Award
Sponsored by Anderson Quigley

There is no shortlist for this category. The winner, chosen by THE, will be announced at the awards ceremony.

University of the Year
Sponsored by Adobe

• Aston University
• Cardiff Metropolitan University
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• The Open University
• University of Sunderland
• University of York