THE Awards 2026

THE Awards 2025

"It is fair to say that our higher education sectors have not always been in particularly celebratory mood over the past 12 months, and that the headwinds facing universities feel fiercer than ever.

It has been heartening, therefore, to see interest in the THE Awards remaining so strong, with more than 500 entries submitted, and to see the wealth of creativity and endeavour filling our shortlists.

The winning entries stand as a reminder that university staff continue to excel across teaching, research and professional services, day in, day out. This consistently high performance can often go overlooked amid a challenging environment in which institutions’ licence to operate is questioned seemingly daily – making it all the more important to salute such achievements.

We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to all those who made the shortlists – and, of course, to our winners."

– Chris Havergal, editor, Times Higher Education

The winners were announced on 13 November 2025 in Edinburgh. Click on the category names below to read abridged versions of the shortlisted submissions.

Photos from the ceremony are available in our Flickr album here.

Learn more about our winners in this special publication.

Find out much more about the work of this year’s finalists – in their own words – in our special THE Campus spotlight feature.

Business School of the Year

Aston Business School, Aston University

J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, University of Galway

Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University (winner)

LSBU Business School, London South Bank University

Royal Docks School of Business and Law, University of East London

University of Exeter Business School

International Collaboration of the Year

Loughborough University

The Open University (winner)

University of Birmingham

University of Exeter

University of Leicester

University of Warwick

Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year

Lancaster University (winner)

University of Chester

University of Essex

University of Huddersfield

University of Reading

University of Warwick

Most Innovative Teacher of the Year

Zemin Chen, University of Lancashire

Cora Beth Fraser, The Open University

Brian Freeland, Dublin City University

Edvard Glücksman, University of Exeter

Matthew Jones, University of Salford

Kate Knight, University of Chester

Jon Newton, University of the West of England (winner)

Marie Taillard, ESCP Business School

Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership

Aston University

Cardiff Metropolitan University (winner)

King’s College London

Nottingham Trent University

Royal Northern College of Music

University of York

Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Buckinghamshire New University

Liverpool John Moores University

Royal College of Art

University of Glasgow

University of Leicester (winner)

University of Liverpool and upReach

Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community

Aston University (winner)

Cardiff University (highly commended)

King’s College London

Nottingham Trent University

Teesside University

University of Chichester

Outstanding Entrepreneurial University

Cranfield University

Imperial College London (winner)

Northeastern University - London

Swansea University

University of South Wales

University of Southampton

Outstanding Estates Team

Abertay University

Buckinghamshire New University

ESCP Business School

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (winner)

University of Hertfordshire

University of Huddersfield

Outstanding Library Team of the Year

Birmingham Newman University

Royal College of Art

Royal Northern College of Music (winner)

University of Chichester

University of Strathclyde

University of West London

Outstanding Marketing/Communications Team of the Year

Edinburgh Napier University

Loughborough University (winner)

University of Birmingham

University of Hertfordshire

University of Southampton

University of Wolverhampton

Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year

Qammer H Abbasi, University of Glasgow

Josie Barnard, De Montfort University

Lars Chittka, Queen Mary University of London

Andy Clarke, University of Lancashire

Stephen Gibson, Heriot-Watt University

Ursula Hurley, University of Salford

Alastair Owens, Queen Mary University of London

Michael Sweet, University of Derby (winner)

Outstanding Support for Students

De Montfort University

Manchester Metropolitan University (winner)

University of Salford

University of South Wales

University of Warwick

University of Westminster

Outstanding Technician of the Year

Jiteen Ahmed, Aston University (winner)

Helena Brown, University of Leeds (highly commended)

Phil Chaplain, Robert Gordon University

Alex Laude, Newcastle University

Linda Lightley, Northumbria University

John Nicolson, University of Cambridge

Joe Rees-Jones, University of York

Kate Robinson, Harper Adams University

Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Kingston University, in collaboration with The Open University, the Mary Stevens Hospice, Dimensions, MacIntyre and Voluntary Organisations Disability Group

Northeastern University - London

University of Exeter

University of Glasgow

University of Leicester (winner)

University of Salford

Research Project of the Year: STEM

Kingston University

University of Birmingham (winner)

University of Cambridge

University of Lancashire

University of Reading

University of West London

Specialist Institution of the Year

Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology

Falmouth University

Harper Adams University (winner)

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering

Norland (highly commended)

Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year

Dublin City University

Solent University, Southampton

University of Cambridge (winner)

University of Chester

University of Edinburgh

University of Leeds

THE Outstanding Achievement Award

Sir Steve Smith (winner, no shortlist for this category)

Sir Steve has without doubt earned his place among our pantheon of higher education greats. Indeed, few have done more to shape the British sector during the first quarter of the 21st century. As vice-chancellor between 2002 and 2020, he transformed the University of Exeter into a globally recognised powerhouse: more than doubling student numbers, significantly increasing the quality of research, and leading the institution into the Russell Group. His term as president of Universities UK between 2009 and 2011 was perhaps even further reaching, coinciding as it did with the Westminster government’s decision to significantly increase tuition fees in England. Of course, these reforms were by no means uncontroversial, and they continue to be debated to this day. But Sir Steve was clear that in the face of looming and very significant cuts to grant funding, what he had done was to seek to limit the damage to our world-leading university sector. His advocacy for the sector continues to this day as the UK government’s international education champion, a role in which he has led more than 20 overseas visits to promote our universities globally. He truly has given a lifetime of service to our higher education sector.