Making a Difference awards.

2023 shortlisted entries

We received over 130 entrants for our Making a Difference Awards 2023 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 

Placental growth factor testing for suspected preeclampsia
Dr Kate Duhig and Professor Jenny Myers 

BARD: revolutionising the screening of women at high risk of breast cancer following radiotherapy to breast tissue during treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma
Professor John Radford, Dr Sacha Howell, Professor Richard Cowan and Dr Joanna Williams  

Acute Bundle of Care for Intracerebral Haemorrhage (ABC-ICH)
Adrian Parry-Jones 

Microplastics in UK rivers – getting to the bottom of the problem
Professor Jamie Woodward, Professor James Rothwell, Dr Rachel Hurley and Dr Jiawei Li  

Dalton Nuclear Policy Group
Professor Adrian Bull, Dr William Bodel, Dr Aneeqa Khan, Professor Gregg Butler, Professor Juan Matthews, Professor Katherine Morris and Professor Francis Livens 

 

Outstanding teaching innovation in social responsibility 

Massive Open Online Course in industrial biotechnology
Nicholas Weise 

Enhancing well-being through the curriculum
Elaine Clark 

Decolonising development pedagogies while supporting inclusive development practice
Diana Mitlin, Nicola Banks, Maria Rusca and Sophie King – In collaboration with Community Savers, CLASS, Muungano wa Wanavijiji and Shack/Slum Dwellers International 

 

Outstanding contribution to social innovation and environmental impact 

One thing that should never be taken away from you is your education!
Malavika Krishnan 

Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub
Michael Shaver, Chloe Loveless, Parnian Doostdar, Tom Bennett, Guilhem De Hoe, Adam Peirce, Hannah Baron, Michaela Kiernan, Jair azael Esquivel guzman, Nicola Jones, Katrina Farrugia and Jill Brown 

Reducing costs and environmental impact of industrial processes to maximise UK industry’s competitive viability through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.
Muir Freer, Clair Gough, Andrew Welfle, Amanda Lea-Langton 

 

Outstanding public and community engagement initiative: Outstanding contribution by our cultural institutions 

(Un)Defining queer project and exhibition
Dominic Bilton and Imogen Holmes-Roe 

Pinc College
Pinc College team and the Manchester Museum learning and engagement team 

 

Outstanding public and community engagement initiative: Outstanding local/civic engagement 

The Pakistani Communities Call to Action (PaCCT) in Rochdale project
Sophina Choudry, Professor Erica Burman, Professor Julian Williams, Dr Ishba Rehman, Dr Jaina Yasmeen Bharkhda and Sidra Iftikhar 

Don’t brush it under the carpet – A Greater Manchester campaign
Ali Baird, Adele Owen, Polly Kaiser, Gillian Stainthorpe and Liz Jones 

Still Life: pregnancy and loss in the Jewish community
Michelle Desforges, Suzanne Thomas, Alex Silverstone, Chava Erlanger, and Katharine Cresswell 

Dentists in Primary School (DiPS)
Rachel Lee, Yasmin Egonu, Annabel Johnson, Olivia Nelson 

Convo club
Chloe McDowell, Ayushi Agarwal, Meiyang Liu, Schenelle Dlima 

 

Outstanding public and community engagement initiative: Outstanding public contribution 

The youth alliance
Eugene Sober 

Ardwick stepping stones
Choel Cartwight, Gordon Flear, Daniell Musaheb
 

Outstanding public and community engagement initiative: Outstanding national/international engagement 

Maretario: making space to communicate about science, conservation and climate change
Nick Weise and the Maretario Project Team 

Young people at a crossroads creative resources
Catherine Walker, Maisy Summer, Richard Atherton, Kit Rackley, Nerida Jolley, Nathalie Perl, Sherilyn MacGregor and Natascha Klocker 

Our shared cultural heritage – international partnerships
Our Shared Cultural Heritage team 

 

Outstanding contribution to equality, diversity and inclusion 

Advancing gender equality through global collaboration
Dr Laura Richards and Dr Diane Harris 

Alternative football league
Bethany Barnes 

Elimisha Msichana Elimisha Jamii na Astronomia (Swahili for “Educate a Girl, Educate the entire community”) 
Ann Njeri Ng’Endo 

PGR parents carers and guardian support networks
Perpetual Idehen 

University of Manchester menopause support group
Vanessa Cowan 

Outstanding professional services for social responsibility 

Queens canopy installation & SMI Hub composting use
Paul Shaw and the Landscaping team 

DSE Career Development Scheme
Tracy Gallimore, Fiona Day and Ewa Edwards 

North campus clearance project
Simon Atkinson, Anthony Eyres, Terry Kearny, Mark Wilson, Steve Hatton – Campus Cleansing Unit 

 

Outstanding contribution to environmental sustainability

Greening Labs – Making the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub genuinely Sustainable
Christina Picken and the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub 

Want Not Waste
Alexandra Persinaru, Jennifer Foster, Ying-tong Lee, Felix Kwok, Denaya Doke and Mikhail Konovalov 

Faculty of Science and Engineering sustainable travel project 
Dr Laurence Stamford and the Faculty of Science and Engineering sustainable business travel working group 

 

Outstanding contribution to widening participation 

Promoting midwifery as a career to young people of ethnic heritage
Christine Furber, Silvia Collins, Kathy Murphy and Shirley Brown 

Write on Point: UCAS personal statement support for students from under-represented backgrounds
Tom Fryer 

University of Manchester Physics Outreach (UMPO)
Aishwarya Girishkumar and the UMPO team