The Vice Chancellor’s Awards run every September to recognise, honour and celebrate members of the University staff community who have achieved amazing things, demonstrating their commitment to the University's aims and values, especially around togetherness.  
It is now one of the most prestigious events in the University calendar for our colleagues, and this year received the highest number of nominations so far. Almost 250 nominations were submitted for eighteen awards across six categories related to research and innovation; education and student experience; equity, diversity and inclusion; international engagement and impact; sporting excellence and opportunity; and living the values.  
Congratulations to the following winners:
- Impactful Research and Innovation – The STEER Centre
- Collaborative Research and Innovation – The Aftrak Team
- Enabling Research – The Inaugural Lectures Team
- Innovation and Impact in Education – Dr Christof Leicht
- Enhancing the Students’ Academic Experience – Teaching Support Team
- Enhancing Student Experience – Helen Nowell
- EDI Enhancement – The ‘EmpowerHER’ Week Team
- Advocates and Allies – The 28-Day Anti-Racist Challenge
- Enhancing Staff and Student Wellbeing and Experience – Julie Turner
- International Partnerships – Dr Robert Harland
- International Reputation – The Discourse and Rhetoric Group (DARG)
- Global Community – Dr Xiyuan Tan
- Driving Force of Sporting Achievement – Men’s Football Performance Programme
- Sports Advancement – The PHC Wimbledon Project
- Sport Enablement – Laurus Trust Partnership Team
- Together – The Reading List System Project Team
- Unsung Hero/Heroes – The Campus Security Team
- Above and Beyond – O Haruna
More information about the winners and those who were shortlisted can be found on the Vice Chancellor’s Awards website.
The lunch event took place at the Sir Dennis Rooke Building and was hosted by the Vice Chancellor and attended by over 170 staff and guests. The compere for the event was Pauline Matturi, a fun and friendly face many will be familiar with by attending sessions such as ‘Welcome to º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ’. The student jazz band, Tuxedo Swing, provided an incredible compilation of live music adding to the vibrant atmosphere of the event. 
Professor Nick Jennings commented: “I am deeply impressed by the drive of our staff to continue to grow and develop. This spans across our ambitious research and innovation, a consistently outstanding student experience, alongside an equitable, diverse and inclusive staff and student body. Alongside our long-standing pre-eminence in sport, our international engagement and impact continues to grow.
"Being able to celebrate the teams and individuals that deliver these outcomes remains a personal highlight for me, so I hope you will join me in thanking and congratulating everyone who was nominated."
To recognise the nominees and winners of the Vice-Chancellor's Awards, the University has created a dedicated space outside the West Park Teaching Hub on the º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ campus. The space is made up of trees, shrubbery and seating areas, centring around a plaque (mounted on a locally sourced Mountsorrel granite) which provides visitors with more information about the Awards since they began in 2022.