Events and Awards

Events, awards and award winners:

Postgraduate Research Festival

PGR Festival 2026 - 23–29 November 2026

The University of Manchester's inaugural PGR Festival is a week-long celebration of our postgraduate researcher community. Bringing together PGRs from across all disciplines, the festival will create opportunities to connect with fellow researchers, share experiences, develop new skills and celebrate the many contributions PGRs make to our University community.

Whether you're interested in networking, wellbeing, creative activities, discussions or community events, there will be something for everyone.

A Festival Built by PGRs, for PGRs

The PGR Festival is being shaped by postgraduate researchers and designed to reflect the diverse interests, experiences and talents of our research community. We are working with PGRs, Faculty Doctoral Academies and colleagues from across the University to develop an engaging programme of activities and events.

More information about the programme, registration and opportunities to get involved will be available soon.

Get Involved

We are currently inviting PGRs to help shape the festival by suggesting ideas and volunteering to lead sessions. We have up to £1k of funding available for each session. Workshops, discussions, networking opportunities, creative activities and wellbeing events are all welcome.

If you would like to contribute to the festival, please click here.

Coming Soon

We're currently developing the full PGR Festival website. In the coming months you'll find a link to the website which will include:

Festival programme and schedule
Speaker and session information
Registration details

Please check back soon for further updates as we prepare for the University's first PGR Festival.

MDC Postgraduate Research Excellence Awards Nominations Process

As a University we are proud of the achievements our postgraduate research students and research supervisors. To recognise and celebrate their success the MDC annually hosts the Postgraduate Research Excellence Awards.

The awards celebrate student and supervisor achievements in the following categories:

PGR Student of the Year (President’s Distinguished Achievement Award)
Best Outstanding Research Contribution
Best Contribution to PGR Environment
Best Contribution to Society (Local Community)
Best Contribution to Society (Research Impact)
Best Contribution to Internationalisation
Supervisor of the Year

Further details of the awards, including the criteria against which Faculty nominations are judged and the Faculty nomination process can be found in the MDC Excellence Awards Guidance 2025-26.‌

Faculty Nomination Forms:

Nomination and Award Timeline for the MDC/RDRD*

(*Faculties will set their own deadlines for nominators)

13 Jan 2026	Deadline for Facultues to submit one nomination each to RDRD for PDAA PGR of the Year
21 Jan 2026	3 Faculty PGR DAA nomination presented to MDC to agree final nomination
Feb 2026	Deadline for RDRD to confirm with President's office the MDC agreed PDAA PGR
April 2026	Awards and honours group to confirm DAA winners
14th May 2026	Deadline for Faculties to send nominations for all other MDC Excellence Awards to RDRD
27th May 2026	Faculty MDC Excellence nominations presented to the MDC to agree final winners
June 2026	Deadline for UoM Submission to Times Higher for supervisor of the year. MDC to decide if winner of MDC Excellence Award for Supervisor should be put forward
June/July 2026	President's DAA Presentation Ceremony
June 2026	MDC Excellence Awards ceremony after the Postgraduate Summer Research Showcase

For more information about the award process, please contact mdc@manchester.ac.uk

MDC Postgraduate Researcher Excellence Award Winners

MDC PGR Excellence Award Winners 2026

From ground-breaking research to global collaboration, this 2026 Manchester Doctoral College Excellence Awards celebrated the people making a real impact across our postgraduate research community.

The award ceremony, held on 17 June at Christie’s Bistro, recognised outstanding achievements in research, supervision, international collaboration, societal impact and creating a positive PGR experience.

Hosted by Professor Elizabeth Cartwright, Director of the Manchester Doctoral College, the ceremony brought together staff and students to celebrate excellence from across the University.

Among this year’s winners, Matthew Harris, Shashank Nitundl and Henrik Pak Hong Wong were recognised for strengthening international research partnerships, while Katie Moran and the MIB EDIA Committee received awards for their outstanding contributions to the PGR environment.

The Societal Impact awards celebrated the work of Eleanor Richards, Holly Sedgwick, Sunil Thakar and Emily Walls, with Tetyana Solovey and Rafael Sa Menezes recognised for Research Impact.

Charles Earnshaw, Grace Dutt and Ethan Lim were honoured for Outstanding Research Output, while Cerys Manning, David Gadd and David Mills were named Supervisor of the Year.

MDC Excellence Awards Previous Winners

2024

Best Outstanding Research Contribution

Fatmah Ghuloum (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Mohammad Ahmad Al-Jarrah (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Contribution to Internationalisation

Benjamin Stewart Moore (Faculty of Science and Engineering)
Luman Zhou (Faculty of Humanities)

Best Contribution to PGR Environment

Phoebe Harding-Walker (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Kai Prince (Faculty of Science and Engineering)
Kenn Rushworth (Faculty of Humanities)

Best Contribution to Society (Local Community)

Nicola Lester (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Henrik Wong (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Contribution to Society (Research Impact)

Rhiannon Hawkes (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Elisabeth Allen (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Supervisors of the Year

Dawn Dowding (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Vahid Niasar (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

2023

PGR of the Year (President's Distinguished Achievement Award)

Dr John McDermott (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Max Mowbray (Faculty of Science and Engineering)
Chantal Victoria Bright (Faculty of Humanities)

Supervisor of the Year

Professor Sabine Van der Veer (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Professor Liz Richardson (Faculty of Humanities)

Best Outstanding Output

Bright Ocansey (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Alina McLellan (Faculty of Humanities)
Thomas Aird (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Contribution to Postgraduate Research Environment

Yitian Ren (Faculty of Humanities)

Best Contribution to Society

Jennifer Love (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)

Best Contribution to Internationalisation

Rohi Jehan (Faculty of Humanities)

2022

Postgraduate Research Student of the Year (President's Distinguished Achievement Award)

Halima Ali Shuwa (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Dr Temidayo Eseonu (Faculty of Humanities)
Mohammed Adam Abbaker Basheer (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Supervisor of the Year

Professor Carsten Timmermann (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Professor Francesca Gains (Faculty of Humanities)
Dr Lihong Zhang (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Outstanding Output

Christopher Below (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Barbora Cernusakova (Faculty of Humanities)
Hugo Lefeuvre (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Contribution to Postgraduate Research Environment

Poppy Budworth (Faculty of Humanities)

Best Contribution to Society

Max Gattie (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)

Best Contribution to Internationalisation

Chantal Bright (Faculty of Humanities)

2021

Postgraduate Research Student of the Year (President's Distinguished Achievement Award)

Ben Calverley (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Karim Sidaoui (Faculty of Humanities)
Jack Holguin (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Supervisor of the Year

Dr Halina Dobrzynski (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Dr Jenna Mittelmeie (Faculty of Humanities)
Callum Kidd (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Outstanding Output

Helena O'Flynn (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Sidra Abbas Dar (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Contribution to Postgraduate Research Environment

Nicholas Matthews (Faculty of Humanities)

Best Contribution to Society

Jason Chu (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)

Best Contribution to Internationalisation

Elisa Manase Pallangyo (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

2020

Postgraduate Research Student of the Year (President's Distinguished Achievement Award)

Dr Neil Ryan (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Elizabeth Chloe Romanis (Faculty of Humanities)
Dr Chun-Ren Ke (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Supervisor of the Year

Professor Will Dixon (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Sarah Hall (Faculty of Humanities)
Professor Jovica Milanovic (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Outstanding Output

Chunhu Shi (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Mollie Arbuthnot (Faculty of Humanities)
Yuan Shen (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Contribution to Postgraduate Research Environment

Kelly Birtwell (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)

Best Contribution to Society

Katy Finch (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)

Best Contribution to Internationalisation

Tian Chen (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

2019

Postgraduate Research Student of the Year (President's Distinguished Achievement Award)

Elke Van Veen (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Leonie Smith (Faculty of Humanities)
Michelle Vaqueiro Contreras (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Supervisor of the Year

Elizabeth Cartwright (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Bijan Parsia (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Outstanding Output

Freya Svedberg (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
George Bailey (Faculty of Humanities)
Liang Zhang (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Contribution to Postgraduate Research Environment

Jack Barton and Laura Hemming (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)

Best Contribution to Society

Elliot McKernon (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Contribution to Internationalisation

Nicholas Harvey (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

2018

Postgraduate Research Student of the Year (President's Distinguished Achievement Award)

Jamie Ellingford (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Cecilia Alda Vidal (Faculty of Humanities)
Salma Kassem (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Supervisor of the Year

David Brough (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Alison Browne (Faculty of Humanities)
Ian Kane (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Outstanding Output

Victor Faundes (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health)
Patrick Sullivan (Faculty of Humanities)
Weigung Wang (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Contribution to Postgraduate Research Environment

Jennifer Hobbs (Faculty of Humanities)

Best Contribution to Society

Hassan Hakim Khalili (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Best Contribution to Internationalisation

Arne Furhmann (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Research Staff Strategy Group Excellence Awards

2020/21 Research Staff Excellence Awards - Winners and Highly Commended

Many congratulations to the winners and highly commended researchers who were nominated for their outstanding achievements, impact and successes in their research. The winners and highly commended were selected by a panel comprised of academics leads for research staff and researcher development and chaired by the Associate Vice President for Research. You can read about the achievements of our winners and highly commended in Biology, Medicine and Health, Humanities and Science and Engineering.

2020/21 Research Staff Excellence Awards

The Research Staff Strategy Group (RSSG) has introduced an award scheme to recognise and celebrate the achievements of research staff.

Definition: For all categories, a researcher is defined as someone who is either a research assistant, research associate, postdoc or research fellow (including Presidential Fellows) employed at the University on the date of the nomination being submitted.

Awards for 2020/21 were given in four categories:

Research Staff of the Year (one award per Faculty)

The nominee should be an outstanding researcher who has excelled in some significant manner, for example, a journal publication or contribution to securing a major research grant.

Best Outstanding Output by Research Staff (one award per Faculty)

The nominee should be a researcher with a first, last or sole authored high quality research output.

Best Outstanding Contribution to Research Impact by Research Staff (one award per Faculty)

The nominee can be an individual researcher or a team (a researcher must play a leading role in the team) who undertake high-quality engagement and impact activities which can be shown to have an impact on society either in the UK or internationally.

Best Outstanding Contribution to the Research Staff Environment (one overall winner)

This nominee can be an individual researcher or a team (a researcher must play a leading role in the team) who have made a positive impact on the research environment, for example, through the organisation of events which bring together the research staff community; identifying an area of development within the research staff community and providing a solution to this.

Criteria

At the time of being nominated the researcher must be a member of staff at the University employed on a research contract and be categorised as a research assistant, research associate, research fellow (including Presidential Fellow) or postdoc.
All nominations must be made through the completion of the nomination form and all forms must be accompanied by two statements of support from either the nominee’s peers or relevant members of academic staff.
Self-nomination is permitted; two statements of support are still required.
Researchers can be nominated for more than one award but a separate nomination form must be completed for each award.