Criteria
Teacher of the Year
The nominee should be an individual whose teaching over the past year has been outstanding. S/he should demonstrate an ability to communicate ideas effectively, be able to motivate and stimulate students to learn, whilst at the same time showing a commitment to innovation (for example, in e-learning) and excellence in education.
Researcher of the Year
The nominee should be someone whose most recent research has successfully challenged dogma, created a new field of research, elucidated a new paradigm, made a fundamental change in thinking or impacted significantly on society. Individuals who have excelled in the area of knowledge transfer should also be considered.
Undergraduate Student of the Year
The nominee should have made an exceptional contribution to the life of the University, contributed significantly to the development of the curriculum or enhanced other students' experience at University through activities such as peer support, student societies, or work with central services such as Recruitment and Admissions. Alternatively he or she should have coupled excellent academic achievement with either major external activity (top level sport or music) or have overcome major difficulties.
Postgraduate Student of the Year (open to both PGR and PGT students)
The nominee should be an outstanding postgraduate student who has excelled in some significant manner, for example after the presentation of a thesis, based on the recommendation and judgment of the external examiner; or has had a major achievement during a PGR or PGT programme, e.g. high quality journal publication; research spin off, etc
Professional Support Services and Academic Services Member of the Year
Individual PSS and Academic Services Awards
Three individual awards will be available. Nominations will be welcomed for individuals representing all categories of staff ie manual, professional/managerial, secretarial/clerical or computing/technical/IT.
Team PSS and Academic Services Awards
Two team awards will be available. One team award will be for small teams (up to 12 people) and the other for larger teams (13+ with no upper limit).
The successful teams (rather than individual members) will receive an award.
For both the individual and team awards judges will be looking for outstanding performance against one or more of the core values of the PSS which are as follows:
1. Professionalism. We are committed to high professional standards in terms of the level of service that we provide and the attitude that we bring to our work so that we add value. Integrity, a positive "can do" and customer focused attitude should be the hallmarks of our approach.
2. Teamwork and support for each other. We are committed to working together and in partnership with our academic colleagues in order to meet the University's objectives. In all our dealings we will adhere to the principles of transparency, honesty, civility and fairness, recognising the value that each individual brings to the success of the University.
3. Open to change. We are committed to finding creative responses to adapt to changes in statutory and regulatory requirements and the external environment.
4. Continuous improvement. We are committed to finding new ways of working, adding to our skills and harnessing new technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the support services we provide.
There is an additional requirement for the team entries in that the teams must demonstrate that they have shared values, and an ethos which has led to either a significant one-off achievement (eg delivery of a specific project) or to sustained high performance.
The winners will be selected by a judging panel which will be made up of both PSS/AS and academic staff. The PSS/AS representation will include an individual or individuals involved in front-line services. The panel will, when considering the nominations, be mindful of the category of staff to which the nominees belong, and will try to ensure, where possible, that the various categories are reflected in the eventual winners.