Shortlisted Nominees
Shortlisted nominees will be invited to attend the in-person Excellence Awards ceremony where members of the Senior Management Team and Students' Union will announce the winners.
If you've been shortlisted, you'll receive an email with more information about the ceremony the week beginning 9 March 2026.
- Alumni Awards
-
Alum of the Year
- Professor Dame Lorna Dawson’s nomination demonstrated outstanding merit, leading the panel to shortlist her as the single candidate for this award
Alumni Volunteer of the Year
- Elizabeth Guran
- Scott McCulloch
- Shirin Pang
Young Alum of the Year
- Adeola Adelakun
- Gabriela Faria
- Giulia Marzetti
Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement
- Daniel Berg
- Eunchai Kang
- Simon Parson
- Excellence in Education: Academic Awards
-
Excellence in Assessment and Feedback Award
- Heather Branigan
- Quinn Gibson
- Alyaa Mostafa
Excellence in Digital Education Award
- Virtu Solano-Collado
- Ritu Vij
Excellence in Employability and Skills Development Award
- Miles Everett
- Toni Gibson
- James Hislop
Excellence in Inclusive Education Award
- Heather Branigan
- Aravinda Guntupalli
- Alyaa Mostafa
Excellence in Innovation Award
- Emily Cleland
- Barbara Barreiro Leon
- Daniel Powell
Excellence in Student Support Award
- Samantha May
- Ashley Meldrum
- Shane Alcobia Murphy
- Excellence in Professional and Support Services
-
Excellence in Contribution to a Team or Role Award
- Jennifer Dick
- Johanna Pilskog
- Annmarie Young
Excellence in Creativity & Innovation Award
- Jess Bird
- Thomas Connolly
- Freda Farquharson
Excellence in Customer Service Award
- Heather Clark
- Steven Kearney
- Scott Reid
Excellence in Equality, Diversity & Sustainability Award
- Maria Grazia Cascio
- Hedda Weitz
Excellence in External Engagement
- Elizabeth Campbell
- Martyn Ramsey
- Gayle Thomson
Excellence in Leadership Award
- Stacey Dawson
- Tracey Innes
- Fiona Urquhart
Outstanding Team Award
- Design Team
- IMS/Rowett LEAF Technical Team
- The Rowett Institute Knowledge Exchange Team
Rising Star Award
- Rachel Crouch
- Hannah Ekekwe
- Samantha Paterson
- Students' Union & University of Aberdeen Awards
-
Best Student Ambassador Award
- Anna Dvorakova
- Max Charles Vallarino
- Nour Elshenawy
Best Overall Course
- Emily Cleland
- Stuart Durkin
- Nathaniel Greene
Best Postgraduate Taught Lecturer Award
- Sone Erikainen
- Aravinda Guntupalli
- Lorna Stewart
Best Student Class Rep Award
- Katie Burrell
- Rania Husain
- Yayun Pan
Best Support Staff (Individual Award)
- Stevie Kearney
- Johanna Pilskog
- Gayle Slorach
Best Support Team or Service Award
- Melanie Viney and Chris Knight
- Ashley Lim
Best Undergraduate Lecturer/Best Supervisor: Undergraduate
- Tarek Abdelghany
- Cecilia Brioni
- Louise Phillips
- Maria Sanchez-Ortiz
Funniest Lecturer Award
- Martin Barker
- Alexander Brasier
- Stephen Fettes
Mental Health Champion Award
- Katie Cross
- Clémence O'Connor
Most Accessible Lecturer Award / Most Inspiring Award
- Cody Crawshaw
- Paula Duncan
- Andrew Simpson
- Alyson Young
Personal Tutor of the Year Award
- Alessandra Cecolin
- Shane Alcobia-Murphy
- The Emily Drouet Award
-
The Emily Drouet Award
- Mhairi Carslaw
- Mark Chagoury
- Campbell Stevenson
- The Principal's Prizes for Research and Engagement
-
Outstanding Research Awards
- Muhammad Assir
- Abbe Brown and Marcel Jaspars
- Annika Bucky
- Anastasios Papadam
Research Impact Award
- Marcel Jaspars
- Baukje de Roos
- Rachel Shanks
Public Engagement with Research Awards - Early Career Researcher Prize
- Renata Garbellini Duft
- Barbara Barreiro Leon
- Shane Strachan
Public Engagement with Research Award - Main Prize
- Davina Derous
- Mauro Manassi and Matthew Johnson
- Eva Rubinova
Public, Patient and Community Involvement and Engagement Award
- Epidemiology Group / ACAMH PPIE team
- Alexandra Johnstone
Outstanding PGR Supervisors Award
- Aravinda Guntupalli
- Xavier Lambin
- Eddy Wifa
Success in Engagement with Industry Award
- Scott Doyle
- Israel Osofero
Nominations List
Congratulations to everyone who was nominated in the Excellence Awards 2026. The full list of nominations is available below.
- Alumni Awards
-
Alum of the Year
- Alastair Carmichael
- Lorna Dawson
- Sadia Azhar
- Wenqian (Tommy) He
Alumni Volunteer of the Year
- Elizabeth Guran
- Scott McCulloch
- Shirin Pang
- Supin Koo
Young Alum of the Year
- Adeola Adelakun
- Gabriela Faria
- Giulia Marzetti
- Katie Watson
- Shahid Khan
Philanthropy Alumni Engagement
- Daniel Berg
- Eunchai Kang
- Simon Parson
- The Emily Drouet Award
-
The Emily Drouet Award
- Abdulrahman Muhammad
- Agne Vaicelyte
- Alfie Hudson
- Alisina Hassani
- Amanda MacNab
- Barbora Illithova
- Campbell Stevenson
- Elise Isaack
- Ellie Closs
- Farzaneh Razmju
- Francesca Ekwonu
- Fred Byrne
- Ihechikara Ibekwe
- Joseph Davidson
- Landon Christie
- Laura Goyhenex
- Levana Starkey
- Loujain Alzahrani
- Mark Chagoury
- Marta Brzeska
- Mhairi Carslaw
- Serah Ojo
- Thomas Alexander
- Vaila Wright
- Excellence in Education: Academic Awards
-
Excellence in Assessment and Feedback Award
- Alyaa Mostafa
- Andrew Whitehouse
- Heather Branigan
- Ishrat Rehman-Feltell
- Quinn Gibson
Excellence in Digital Education Award
- Ritu Vij
- Virtu Solano-Collado
Excellence in Employability and Skills Development Award
- Caroline Franco
- James Hislop
- Miles Everett
- Toni Gibson
Excellence in Inclusive Education Award
- Alyaa Mostafa
- Aravinda Guntupalli
- Heather Branigan
- Ishrat Rehman-Feltell
- Samantha May
- Scott Styles
Excellence in Innovation Award
- Barbara Barreiro Leon
- Daniel Powell
- Emily Cleland
- Monika Gostic
- Stuart Durkin
Excellence in Student Support Award
- Aravinda Guntupalli
- Ashley Meldrum
- Cindy Lou Canete
- Ewan Bottomley
- Malcolm Harvey
- Mark Yun Chih Tsai
- Monika Gostic
- Samantha May
- Shane Alcobia Murphy
- Vicky Simpson Simpson
- Excellence in Professional and Support Services
-
Excellence in Contribution to a Team or Role Award
- Alice Toulson
- Anna Johnston
- Annmarie Young
- Caron Foster
- Cindy Lou Canete
- Claire Henderson
- Darren Coutts
- David Stoll
- Debra Buchan
- Diane Hewitt
- Emily Stokes
- Emma Tough
- Emma Morrison
- Farida Ali
- Gillian Cooper
- Heather Clark
- Hedda Weitz
- Ian Young
- Jennie Dick
- Jill Davis
- Jodie Watt
- Johanna Pilskog
- Julia Garrow
- Julia Leng
- Karen Moir
- Mandy Ewen
- Paul Logie
- Robyn Beagrie
- Ruth Mellis
- Saskia Harper and Wendy Davidson
- Sharon Smith
- Stephane Dumont
- Tracy Collier
- Vicky Sleigh
- Victoria Faulkner
- Wendy Lowe
Excellence in Creativity & Innovation Award
- Freda Farquharson
- Jess Bird
- Thomas Connolly
Excellence in Customer Service Award
- Annmarie Young
- Christopher Surgenor
- Debbie Coutts
- Debra Buchan
- Fiona Macmillan
- Graeme Euington
- Graeme Mutch
- Grant Rae
- Heather Clark
- Heidi Wong
- Jennifer Salmond
- Joanna Lockens
- May Holbrook
- Nicola Pearce
- Phil Bale
- Rebecca Hills
- Ron Pulimoottil
- Ruth Banks
- Scott Reid
- Steven Kearney
- Susan White
Excellence in Equality, Diversity & Sustainability Award
- Hedda Weitz
- Maria Grazia Cascio
Excellence in External Engagement
- Elizabeth Campbell
- Gayle Thomson
- Martyn Ramsey
Excellence in Leadership Award
- Bob Philp
- Clare Fletcher
- Clare Mchattie
- Clare Livingston
- Fiona Macmillan
- Fiona Urquhart
- Iain Grant
- Kate Smith
- Laura Kruitbos
- Leoni Illingworth
- Ruth Banks
- Stacey Dawson
- Tracey Innes
Outstanding Team Award
- Accounts Payable
- Admissions Direct Applicant and Agent Portal Team
- Circulation Services
- Cleaning team
- Clinical Skills Technicians
- Communications Team
- Cyber Resilience Framework Project Team
- Design Team
- Development and Alumni Relations Team
- Directorate of Global Engagement, Marketing and Recruitment
- Engineering Administrative Team
- Enquiry Team
- Evening & Weekend Team
- General Practice and Community Medical Education (GPCME) Team
- GoAbroad
- IMS/Rowett LEAF Technical Team
- KE team at the Rowett Institute
- Microsoft Technologies Development
- "Misinformation in Scotland" Project Team
- Multifaith Chaplaincy
- Online Education
- PGT Admin office SMMSN
- R&I and Associated Colleagues
- School of LLMVC Administration Team
- School of Education Administration Teams
- School of Psychology Admin Team
- School of Social Science Admin Office
- Science Teaching Hub Technical Team
- School of Biological Sciences Teaching Admin Team
- Technical Network Team (TNT)
- TESTA
- The Knowledge Exchange Team
- The Rowett Institute Knowledge Exchange Team
- University Collections Exhibitions Curators
- University Collections Public Engagement Team
- WayWORD Festival
- Web Team, but specifically Mike Patterson and Darren Coutts
- Website Design Team
- Work Based Placement Team, Institute of Applied Health Sciences
- Zoology Museum Team
Rising Star Award
- Hannah Ekekwe
- Rachel Crouch
- Robyn Bell
- Sam Paterson
- Theodore Williamso
- Principal's Prizes for Research and Engagement
-
Outstanding Research Awards
- Abbe Brown and Marcel Jaspars
- Anastasios Papadam
- Annika Bucky
- Corey de Freitas
- Eunchai Kang
- Muhammad Assir
- William Barlow
Research Impact Award
- Amy Irwin
- Aravinda Guntupalli
- Baukje de Roos
- Ilona Cairns
- Imran Omar
- Josie Geris
- Marcel Jaspars
- Michelle Macleod
- Rachel Shanks
Public Engagement with Research Awards - Early Career Researcher Prize
- Barbara Barreiro Leon
- Renata Garbellini Duft
- Shane Strachan
- Sofia Johansson
Public Engagement with Research Award - Main Prize
- Davina Derous
- Eva Rubinova
- Mauro Manassi and Matthew Johnson
Public, Patient and Community Involvement and Engagement Award
- Alexandra Johnstone
- Rosemary Hollick
Outstanding PGR Supervisors Award
- Alexandra Johnstone
- Alfonso Martinexz Felipe
- Amy Irwin
- Anita Laidlaw
- Aravinda Guntupalli
- Barbara Barreiro
- Brian Mathias
- Brian Brock
- Daniel Pedersen
- David Clough
- Davina Derous
- Debbie Meharg
- Eddy Wifa
- Emma Percy
- Helena Cundhill
- Joachim Schaper
- John Behr
- Katherine Hockey
- Katie Cross
- Ken Jeffrey
- Kirsty Kiezebrink
- Léon Van Ommen
- Marina Menshykova
- Mehmet Kartal
- Mintu Nath
- Nathaniel Greene
- Oleksandr Menshykov
- Patric Bach
- Paul Nimmo
- Philip Ziegler and Daniel Pedersen
- Santosh Gaihre
- Srinivas Sriramula
- Tom Hiscock
- Xavier Lambin
Success in Engagement with Industry Award
- Israel Osofero
- Matthew Brettle
- Nurhasnita Hamzah
- Scott Doyle
- Students' Union and University of Aberdeen Excellence Awards
-
Best Student Ambassador Award
- Anar Alruwaie
- Ahmad Alkhalaf
- Ahmed Abusulttan
- Alfred Byrne
- Anna Dvorakova
- Daisy MacCallum
- Francisca Ekwonu
- John Akhionbare
- Kevin Ren
- Marwa Ali
- Max Charles Vallarino
- Melissa La Rose
- Nour Elshenawy
- Omar Alnajjar
- Othman Barhoum
Best Overall Course/Most Creative Assessment
- Alex Douglas
- Barbara Barreiro Leon
- DR505A (2025-26): Contemporary Issues and Developments in Disability Theology
- Kirsty Kiezebrink
- Lorna Stewart
- Nathaniel Greene
- PU5923 Work-Based Placement in Applied Health Sciences
- Stuart Durkin
- Tarek Abdelghany
Best Postgraduate Taught Lecturer Award
- Alan Macpherson
- Alex Douglas
- Alyson Young
- Amir Siddiq
- Anne Valyo
- Aravinda Guntupalli
- Dominic Van der A
- Eddy Wifa
- Emily Cleland
- Euan Bain
- Helena Cundill
- Ian Stansfield
- Ishrat Rehman-Feltell
- Joanne Anderson
- Lorna Stewart
- Mirjam Brady-Van den Bos
- Patrick Achor
- Santosh Gaihre
- Sone Erikainen
- Steve Tucker
- Tarek Abdelghany
Best Student Class Rep Award
- Abdulwahab Alomar
- Anar Alruwaie
- Anuprabha Yapa
- Charlotte Berry
- Chidumebi Ifemena
- Ibrahim Khasiyev
- Katie Burrell
- Marta Brzeska
- Niamh Seacole
- Rania Husain
- Rizwan Shah
- Sara Reid
- Sarah Creswell
- Yayun Pan
Best Support Staff (Individual Award)
- Aravinda Guntupalli
- Claire Fyfe
- Gayle Slorach
- Johanna Pilskog
- John Lamb
- Kelsey Pierce
- Lyn Magee
- Martin Barker
- Melanie Viney
- Robyn Beagrie
- Sha'yo Lai
- Stevie Kearney
- Theodore Williamson
Best Support Team or Service Award
- Melanie Viney and Chris Knight
- Ashley Lim
Best Undergraduate Lecturer/Best Supervisor: Undergraduate
- Alessandra Cecolin
- Alexander Brasier
- Brett Cochrane
- Catherine Dennis
- Catriona Cunningham
- Cecilia Brioni
- Daniel Pedersen
- Domonic Van der A
- Emma Percy
- Helen Pierce
- Henna Cundill
- Ingrid Stanyer
- Jenny Gregory
- John Barrow
- Jonathan Hicks
- Juliano Morimoto
- Keith Bender
- Lorna Stewart
- Louise Phillips
- Lourdes Parra Lazcano
- Maria Sanchez-Ortiz
- Michelle Macleod
- Mirjam Brady-Van des Bos
- Nadia DeGama
- Nathaniel Greene
- Neil Macrae
- Peter Dunning
- Sarah Sharp
- Shane Alcobia-Murphy
- Stuart Durkin
- Sumeet Aphale
- Tarek Abdelghany
- Victoria Sleight
Funniest Lecturer Award
- Alan MacPherson
- Alexander Brasier
- Amir Siddiq
- Catherine Francis
- Desidre Coopasamy
- Malcolm Harvey
- Martin Barker
- Stephen Fettes
- Peter Dunning
- Shane Alcobia-Murphy
- Tarek Abdelghany
- Thangavel Thevar
Mental Health Champion Award
- Clémence O'Connor
- Karim Hurtig
- Katie Cross
- Lena Regazzoni
Most Accessible Lecturer Award
- Alyson Young
- Amir Siddiq
- Aravinda Guntupalli
- Monika Gostic
- Vasilis Louca
Most Inspiring Award
- Alyson Young
- Amir Sidiq
- Andrew Simpson
- Aravinda Guntupalli
- Catriona McAra
- Cody Crawshaw
- Dan Cutts
- Dean Robson
- Jefferson Gomes
- Nadia DeGama
- Paul Hallet
- Paula Duncan
- Sam May
- Tarek Abdelghany
Personal Tutor of the Year Award
- Alessandra Cecolin
- Alyson Young
- Alyson Young and Cathy Francis
- Amir Siddiq
- Andrew Porter
- Eleanor Connon
- Katrina Foy
- Lorna Stewart
- Malcolm Harvey
- Martin Barker
- Qiang Cai
- Shane Alcobia-Murphy