Making a Difference awards.

2024 shortlisted entries

We received over 120 entrants for our Making a Difference Awards 2024 and the judges had a very difficult job selecting a shortlist. Below is a full list of all the shortlisted entrants in each of the categories.

Outstanding benefit to society through research

World-first bedside genetic test to prevent babies going deaf
Bill Newman & Members of the PALOH study team
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

New treatment for swallowing problems after stroke
Prof Shaheen Hamdy
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

#BeeWell
Beewell team
Faculty of Humanities

Improving care for people who have self-harmed: Translating evidence into practice via engagement with patients & carers, clinicians and NHS England
Leah Quinlivan, Su-Gwan Tham, Bradley O’ Donovan, Caroline Clements, Pauline Rivart, Roger T Webb, Pauline Turbull and Nav Kapur
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Preventing Cardiovascular Disease and Death using mobile technology in Indonesia (SMARThealth)
Gindo Tampubolon (Humanities), Prof. Delvac Oceandy (FBMH), Dr. Asri Maharani (FBMH)
Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

 

Outstanding teaching innovation in social responsibility

Still Parents – Midwife Study Days
Still Parents, Midwifery Directorate
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

PGCE Secondary Green Conference
Andy Howes, Sian Morgan, Hannah Strickland, Rai Lock, Anna Warburg, Rosa Archer
Faculty of Humanities

Student-led health screening clinics
Harsha Parmar and Sarah Knighton
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

 

Outstanding contribution to social and environmental impact through entrepreneurship

Complement Therapeutics: Developing new treatments for complement-mediated disease
Dr Richard Unwin, Prof Simon Clark and Prof Paul Bishop
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Educuality
Ahmed Abdullah Saad Mohamed, Karim Habib and Salma Khaled
Faculty of Humanities

One Bin to Rule Them All
Mike Shaver (FSE), Helen Holmes (Humanities) and Maria Sharmina (FSE)
Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Science and Engineering

 

Outstanding public engagement initiative

Anindilyakwa Return of Cultural Heritage (Manchester Museum)
Georgina Young, Dr Alexandra P. Alberda, Dr Njabulo Chipangura
Cultural Institution

Gallery of Sanctuary Project (The Whitworth)
Gallery of Sanctuary Project team
Cultural Institution

Social Impact Project
Naomi Blackwell, Dr Phil Galvin, Professor Patricia Perlman-Dee, Dr. Mike Arundale
Faculty of Humanities

Echoes of displacement: A co-produced comic book presenting a collective story of growing older and seeking sanctuary in Manchester
Tess Hartland
Faculty of Humanities

Building solidarity, collaboration and co-production across academic and third-sector spaces to address poverty and intersecting crises in Manchester
Professor Sarah Marie Hall, Dr Elizabeth Ackerley, Dr Alison Briggs, Dr Isis Barei-Guyot, Dr Laura Fenton and Dr Santiago Leyva del Rio
Faculty of Humanities

Working with Families to Co-Create Learning Materials for a Parent-Delivered Early Language Intervention for Children with Down Syndrome
Dr Kirstie Hartwell, Dr Kelly Burgoyne – The University of Manchester, Dr Emma Pagnamenta – University of Reading, Prof. Vesna Stojanovik – University of Reading, Dr Rebecca Baxter – University of Reading
Faculty of Humanities, External to the University

Olympias Music Foundation
Jo Yee Cheung, Patrick Shepard, Sarah Ampil
External to the University

Sensing Danger
Sensing Danger Team: Anthony Peyton, Adam Fletcher, Michael Mallaburn, James Anderson, Kane Williams, Frank Podd, Michael O’Toole
Faculty of Science and Engineering

The RoundView Team
The RoundView: countering climate anxiety with hope, confidence and inspiration
Faculty of Humanities

The Justice Gap Student Reporter Scheme
Claire McGourlay
Suzanne Gower, Claire McGourlay (Faculty of Humanities) and the Justice Gap students (The justice gap reporter scheme is a collaboration between Manchester, Cardiff , UCL and Glasgow universities).

 

Outstanding contribution to equality, diversity and inclusion

ACES LGBTQIA+ – Alternative Cervical Screening Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual Plus
Emma Crosbie and Team ACES project
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

NAYS Social Projects
Muhammad Arinal Haq, Anita Ariyani
Faculty of Science and Engineering

Dialogue, Deeds and Determination: Diversifying and strengthening voices, dialogue and connections of Women and Girls to powerholders in Greater Manchester
GM4Women2028 Charity – Prof Jackie Carter, Helen Pankhurst and Eve Holt
Faculty of Humanities, External to the University, University of Manchester alumni

The STEM Village
Mathew Sinton (UoM) Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Dr Juan Quintana (UoM) and Dr Alex Cocker (Imperial College, London)

 

Outstanding professional services for social responsibility

Inclusive Recruitment Pilot
Fiona Coll, Mike Platt, Sadia Alam, Sarah Williams, Monique Sung
Central PS Division

The Manchester Christmas Dinner
Alison Shedlock (PS Division), Simon Ruding (Humanities), Parvinder Sohal (Manchester Museum), Julie Butterworth (Humanities) and all staff members of the Steering Group
Faculty of Humanities, Central PS Division, Cultural Institution

Furniture4Reuse
Peter Liddell
Central PS Division

Stan’s Secret Santa
Manchester Museum Stan T-Rex (Replica), Manchester Museum Workshop and Communication and Design Teams
Cultural institution

 

Outstanding contribution to environmental sustainability and a zero carbon future

Food waste reduction
Hospitality and Food on Campus
Central PS Division

Improving Sustainability in Labs
Isobel Taylor-Hearn
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

AquaPlan
Dr Tom Kelly, Dr Chris Bowden, Dr Ryan Avery, Dr Kathryn Berger, Dr Timothy Foster
Faculty of Science and Engineering

 

Outstanding contribution to widening participation

Schools Writing Trail
Dr Chad Campbell and Ivan Wadeson
Faculty of Humanities

Celebrating 10 years of a bespoke Widening Participation undergraduate programme
Dr David Allison & Ray Skwierczynski
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Giant Foamboard Aircraft: Inspiring the next generation of aerospace engineers
Bill Crowther, Dan Koning, Nicol Sutherland, Fathima Nehla Farhan, Tanya Prakash, Auvni Patel, Tadas Daraska, Mohammed Zahran Ayub (Giant Foamboard Aircraft Society Leadership)
Faculty of Science and Engineering

University of Manchester Physics Outreach
Alex Usher, Noé Bundsch, Pranav Bharadwaj Gangrekalve Manoj, Lucas Santos, Ellis McKenzie, Abigail Pentolfe, Nikhillesh Mahesh Kumar
Faculty of Science and Engineering

 

Outstanding alumni contribution to social responsibility

Scrubbed Up
Maria Chowdhury
University of Manchester alumni

Planet Food York
Rosie Baker
University of Manchester alumni

MS Together
Amy Thompson
University of Manchester alumni

Making a Difference Awards 2024 judges

We would like to say a huge thank you to all our panels of judges, who had the unenvious job of shortlisting over 120 entries.

The judges were:

  • Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research
  • Professor Nigel Hooper, Associate Vice-President for Research
  • Sook-Kyung Lee, Director, The Whitworth
  • Dr Laura Breen, Research Development and Impact Manager (Research Strategy)

 

  • Gabrielle Finn, Associate Vice-President for Teaching and Learning
  • Phil Drake, Director of Social Responsibility in the School of Social Sciences and Director of the Justice Hub
  • Jen O’Brien, Academic Lead for Sustainability Education
  • Emily Cooksey, Associate Dean for Student Experience and Graduate Outcomes
  • Rachel Lindley, Academic Lead, Service Learning in FBMH
  • Emma McKenna, Queens University, Belfast (a national award winner for community engaged learning)

 

  • Dr Leigh Wharton, MEC Social Enterprise Ambassador
  • Dr Lisa Riste, Research Fellow and Founder of Flag-Me CIC
  • Peter Bulkley, Independent Consultant
  • Matt Walsh, Network Director for Quality, Nursing & Allied Health Professionals, Pennine Care

 

  • Prof Sheena Cruickshank, Academic Lead for Public Engagement with Research
  • Mags Bradbury, Head of Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement
  • Vicky Grant, Family Programme Coordinator, Manchester Museum
  • Lily Barton, public contributor, RSA Fellow
  • Atiha Chaudry, (public contributor – Director, Equal Access Consultancy; (former Chair of Greater Manchester BAME Network and Senior Associate for Manchester BME Network CIC)

 

  • Banji Adewumi, Director of Equality Diversity and Inclusion
  • Rachel Cowen, Prof of Inclusive Research and Academic Development
  • Cath Prescott, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

 

  • Sheila Chisholm, University Safety Coordinator
  • Paula Dunn, Executive PA to the Registrar, Secretary & Chief Operating Officer
  • Natasha Maddison, Project Administrator, Strategic Change Office
  • Alison Shedlock, Assistant Director Estates & Facilities, Head of Campus Services Catering

 

  • Lucy Millard, Environmental Sustainability Manager
  • Roz Webster, Social Responsibility and Environmental Sustainability Project Officer, Humanities 
  • Thomas McDonald, Head of Environmental Sustainability and Engagement for the School of Natural Sciences
  • Giorgia Ravera, Environmental Sustainability Intern, Students’ Union
  • Sheri-Leigh Miles, Director, NETpositive Futures

 

  • Gemma Oaks, Student Access, Success and Development Officer
  • Emma Nichols, Outreach Manager in FSE
  • Sonja Bernhard, Teaching, Learning and Student Experience Coordinator (Outreach) in Humanities
  • Amie Richardson Projects Coordinator for the Greater Manchester Higher UniConnect
  • Hannah Rankine, Marketing Officer in FBMH

 

  • Helen Foote, Senior Alumni Officer
  • Richard Screaton, Head of Alumni Relations
  • Elisabeth Whittall, Head of Student Development (SU)
  • Lindsay Bann, Success and Development Manager
  • Naa Acquah, Head of Preparedness, Department of Health and Social Care and Trustee of The Kids Network.