Celebrating innovation and excellence in teaching at Leeds

Winners of the 2025 University of Leeds Teaching Awards have been announced.

Now in their fifth year, these prestigious accolades have been awarded in recognition of the outstanding contributions of colleagues who shape and deliver high-quality teaching and learning at Leeds.

The awards celebrate both individual and collaborative achievements, with categories that recognise early-career educators and those demonstrating sustained excellence. Open to all colleagues involved in student education at Leeds, the awards attracted submissions that showcased an impressive and diverse range of approaches and achievements from across the University.

Professor Jeff Grabill, who was Pro-Vice-Chancellor: Student Education and Experience during the awards period, said: 

I’m thrilled to congratulate all our 2025 Teaching Award winners. Your creativity, care and commitment are helping to excite, engage and equip our students for the future. I believe education should inspire. Through these awards, we see the innovative ways you’re helping students to explore their passions, challenge their thinking and build the confidence to go on and make meaningful change in the world. Your influence also extends to colleagues. By sharing your practice and supporting others, you contribute to our vibrant, collaborative teaching community at Leeds. Thank you for everything you do to make that possible.

High five!  

This year also marks the fifth anniversary of the University of Leeds Teaching Awards. Since launching in 2021, we’ve celebrated the achievements of 119 winners across 50 awards, recognising some of the many colleagues having an incredible impact on student education at Leeds.

The awards not only celebrate excellence, they also help to elevate it by supporting colleagues to share their practice, connect with peers and develop their careers.

Many recipients have also gone on to receive national honours, such as the National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE).

Professor Charlotte Haigh, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor: Enhancement and Student Experience and Chair of the judging panel, said: 

The calibre of applications for this year’s Teaching Awards was truly outstanding, demonstrating an exceptional commitment to enhancing student education and experience across our University. The breadth of disciplines and the dedication shown by colleagues, both within academic schools/departments and professional services, was inspiring. The quality of the submissions made the task of selecting the winners incredibly difficult, as every entry showcased meaningful and impactful work that contributes to the continual enhancement of teaching and learning for our students. I would like to sincerely thank all those who applied for their invaluable contributions, as well as the colleagues involved in the judging process for their careful consideration and dedication to recognising excellence.

Winners

A full list of winners appears below, and you can find out more by exploring their profiles on the Organisational Development and Professional Learning (OD&PL) Student Education Development website.

Each of our winners receives a grant to support professional development or scholarship, a certificate of recognition and an invitation to the celebratory event in September, where we’ll come together to honour their achievements and reflect on five years of excellence in teaching at Leeds.

Early Career Excellence Winners

• Dr Katie Carpenter – School of History (Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures)
• Dr Clare Tweedy – School of Biomedical Sciences (Faculty of Biological Sciences)
• Dr Cuie Xu – School of Languages, Cultures and Societies (Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures)

Early-Stage Collaborative Excellence Winners

Design and impact of an interdisciplinary module in Food Science and Nutrition (FSN) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) 

• Dr Jo Brown – School of Food Science and Nutrition (Faculty of Environment)
• Jenna Bodin-Galvez – School of Languages, Cultures and Societies (Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures)

Building Artificial Intelligence-Based Education Languages (BAIBEL)  

• Dr Manoj Ravi – School of Chemical and Process Engineering (Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences)
• Kashmir Kaur – School of Languages, Cultures and Societies (Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures)
• Professor Clare Wright – School of Languages, Cultures and Societies (Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures)
• Dr Luisa Cutillo – School of Mathematics (Faculty of Engineering and Physical Science)
• Dr Matt Bawn – Newcastle University (formerly University of Leeds)

Assessment Matters Team 

• Professor Pam Birtill – School of Psychology (Faculty of Medicine and Health)
• Dr Katie Carpenter – School of History (Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures)
• Dr Benjamin Chong – School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences)
• Dr Sarah Copeland – School of Healthcare (Faculty of Medicine and Health)
• Robin Graham – School of Healthcare (Faculty of Medicine and Health)
• Dr Rachel Haworth – Student Education Development Team, Organisational Development and Professional Learning (OD&PL)
• Dr Carly O’Neill-Barrett – School of Sociology and Social Policy (Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Dr Bethany Robertson – School of Sociology and Social Policy (Faculty of Social Sciences)

Sustained Excellence Winners

• Jools Symons – Leeds Institute of Medical Education (LIME), (Faculty of Medicine and Health)
• Catherine Wilkinson – Leeds University Business School | Digital Education Service
• Lucy Parkin – Lifelong Learning Centre

Sustained Collaborative Excellence Winners

Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) Team

• Victoria Taylor
• Dr Kate Richardson

Both team members are from Organisational Development and Professional Learning (OD&PL). A full list of all colleagues who support delivery of the PGCAP is available on the winners’ profile page.

Psychology pedagogical research team

• Professor Pam Birtill
• Dr Madeleine Pownall
• Dr Richard Harris

All members of the team are from the School of Psychology (Faculty of Medicine and Health).