The doctoral recognition awards aim to celebrate the dedication and contribution that students and staff have shown to enhancing doctoral experience and fostering a positive research culture within our doctoral community.

The awards will recognise individuals who show passion and commitment to creating positive experiences and improvements across 5 key areas that we value as a community: quality research practice; positive contributions to the doctoral and university communities; valuable and meaningful impact; enhancing doctoral research culture; and commitment to student development.

We're inviting you to nominate yourself or others for a Doctoral Recognition Award. Award winners will be invited to our Doctoral Celebration Evening on Wednesday 11 June 2025 where we will be able to recognise all of the contributions from our community.

There are two award categories - one for doctoral students and one for staff who support doctoral students.

Find out more about previous winners of this award.

Doctoral Recognition Student Award

The Student Award aims to recognise our exceptional doctoral student community. We welcome a range of different nominations, but they must meet the criteria for at least one of the categories below.

Commitment to quality research practice

Students who have set a leading example for research practice, by strengthening their own skills as a researcher, taking an innovative or rigorous approach to research design, or enhancing the quality of their research. This may be shown through dedication to improving research practice, reflecting on processes and promoting this to others, or approaching their research with a commitment to quality and positive processes.

Some examples to illustrate this may include, but are not limited to:

• Dedication to, adopting and/or advocating for open science, transparency and ethical research
• Innovative research design and practice (e.g. novel approach to a problem, develop new methodology etc.).
• Working or engaging with stakeholders or industry to enhance research practice
• Promoting and sharing good research practice with others to enhance the reputation of research at Bath (e.g. open discussions and revision to research practice, organising workshops, showcasing research through external talks, interviews, magazine profiles etc.)
• Dedication to professional development to enhance research or wider career skills (e.g. attending summer schools or development programmes, organising training that was otherwise not offered etc.).

Commitment to positive contribution

Students who show dedication and effort to positively enhance doctoral experiences, their work environment or the wider University ecosystem. This may be seen by demonstrating a passion for positive research culture, contributing to improvements across the pillars of research culture, or reflecting these values in their everyday practice and approach to doctoral life.

Some examples to illustrate this may include, but are not limited to:

• Leading initiatives to improve doctoral practices or processes
• Advocating for fellow students or making significant efforts and contributions to improving student experience
• Taking direct steps to foster a positive work environment and culture among doctoral students
• Taking on additional roles across the University that work to enhance or contribute to the wider University ecosystem
• Organising and leading extra-curricular activities that enhance student experience or feeling of belonging (e.g. running student groups for doctoral cohort, organising large-scale events such as conferences or recurring events such as monthly social activities session etc.)

Commitment to meaningful impact

Students who show a dedicated intention and commitment to translating their research or doctoral activities to the community, stakeholders or general public. These efforts may increase the applications or beneficial consequences of their work, help the public connect to research, and/or enhances the reputation and future potential of research at Bath.

Some examples to illustrate this may include, but are not limited to:

• Engaging in community building and outreach in a way that helps connect the general public to research.
• Translating research to the public and stakeholders
• Adopting Patient and Participant Involvement (PPI) in research design and processes (e.g. co-development of methods, reflection on research translation etc) to ensure research is impacting target groups
• Finding creative and accessible ways to teach the public about their research or make research more accessible through public Engagement activities
• Commitment and actions to enhance EDI and widening participation efforts
• Demonstrable applications of work (e.g. working with policy makers, driving changes, working with industry to advance technology etc.)
• Reflection on the impact of their research and an attempt to translate or increase this potential impact (e.g. impact across digital, sustainability and health and well-being, impact to local community or stakeholders).

Eligibility

Any current doctoral student at the University of Bath is eligible for the Award. This includes: PhD/IPhD students and professional doctorate students.

The nominated student or group of students must be registered on a doctoral programme at the University of Bath, graduating no earlier than July 2025.

Across all categories, nominations can be made for students that have shown a range of examples within a category (i.e. breadth) or who have shown exceptional engagement and dedication in one specific example within a category. Nominated students may meet criteria for one category or multiple categories - you can discuss different categories within the same nomination.

Doctoral Recognition Staff Award

The Staff Award aims to recognise members of staff who have shown a strong commitment to their approach to developing and supporting doctoral students, as well as those who have contributed to improving and enhancing the doctoral student experience. We welcome a range of different nominations, but they must meet the criteria for at least one of the categories below.

Commitment to enhancing doctoral research culture

Any staff member working to facilitate or create a positive culture where doctoral students feel valued, a sense of belonging, able to contribute to research, and able to thrive. This may be shown by making a significant and positive contribution to doctoral experience, by providing a voice for students, or working to improve doctoral processes or advocating for change.

Some examples to illustrate this may include, but are not limited to:

• Advocating on behalf of doctoral students and providing them with a voice amongst other University groups/systems
• Spotlighting or recognising the contribution, effort or value of doctoral students’ contributions to the University ecosystem or research activities
• Making an effort to understand doctoral student experience and translate feedback
• Using innovation and creativity to drive changes to doctoral processes (e.g. working to ensure processes within department/schools/faculties/groups are reflected upon and updated to ensure they facilitate doctoral student engagement and contribution)
• Seeking opportunities to integrate doctoral students into the wider research community and provide them with opportunities to make significant contributions
• Encouraging and facilitating doctoral engagement with quality research and open science practices

Commitment to student development:

Any staff member who has shown dedication and passion when facilitating the development of a student, by supporting their career development, their well-being and their ability to thrive and reach their potential at Bath.

Some examples to illustrate this may include, but are not limited to:

• Dedicated effort to understand career goals of student(s) and provide additional opportunities or increased support for professional development
• Providing additional learning or training opportunities to enhance student skills
• Offering pastoral support that has a significant impact on a student’s belonging, well-being or ability to thrive in the doctoral research environment
• Providing mentoring or supervision that exceeds the expected role of that member of staff, and makes a significant contribution to the student’s ability to succeed in their role
• Helping to develop a student’s abilities and confidence so that they are able to make a significant contribution to the research activities and community within their group/department/field

Eligibility

You can nominate any staff member or team who supports doctoral students in any capacity. They must be on either a permanent or a fixed-term contract until at least July 2025. Staff members could include (but not limited to) supervisors, Director of Studies, academic staff, administrative staff, technical and operative staff, and professional services e.g. Student Services, Careers etc.

Groups of staff can be nominated but each individual in the team must be named and their specific contribution must be outlined. Please also provide the name of one of the nominees to act as a lead contact on behalf of the group.

As these awards are organised by the Doctoral College, any nominations for Doctoral College staff will be reviewed by an independent panel.

Across all categories, nominations can be made for staffs that have shown a range of examples within a category (i.e. breadth) or who have shown exceptional engagement and dedication in one specific example within a category. Nominated staff may meet criteria for one category or multiple categories - you can discuss different categories within the same nomination.

How to nominate yourself/someone else

We’ve made it really easy for you to nominate - it is just a short nomination of no more than 250 words. You can nominate yourself or someone else. Make sure you include all the necessary information by following this structure:

• What: Explain what you are nominating the individual for. How has the nominee shown commitment, dedication or positive actions within the specified category? It may be useful to refer to the description for the relevant award category (from the criteria outline) to help you explain what the nominee should be recognised for
• How: Make sure to include specific examples to illustrate how the nominee has shown the commitment, dedications or actions you would like to recognise. This may be one specific activity/thing they have done that had a big impact, or it might be lots of different examples. You can see some examples that may fall under each student category and staff category – this is not an exhaustive list and you may have other examples. Try to include specific details, as the assessors may not be familiar with specific research topics or activities
• Why: Explain why you believe this individual should be recognised with an award. Make it clear what impact or value they have had for doctoral research or the community. The assessors may not be familiar with specific research topics or activities, so make sure you explain why the example behaviours are important or have had a positive impact.

When making a nomination, you will be asked to indicate which category you are nominating someone for. If selecting multiple categories, you will still only need to write one nomination (i.e. include details of examples from both categories in your nomination text). Please refer to the criteria for the student categories and staff categories to decide which criteria your nominee meets. The specific examples given are not an exclusive list, and you can nominate someone for any activities/behaviours that you believe deserve to be recognised within that category.

Nominations open on Monday 3 March 2025 and will close on Wednesday 2 April 2025.

There's no limit on the number of nominations you can submit. For example, you can submit your own nomination and then submit multiple nominations for others.

What happens when nominations close?

Once you've submitted your nomination, and the nomination period closes, each application will be reviewed by members of the Doctoral College Recognition Awards Committee.

Nominees will be informed by Wednesday 7 May 2025 if they have been awarded a Doctoral Recognition Award. Award recipients will be invited to attend the Doctoral Research Celebration Evening on Wednesday 11 June 2025 6pm - 10.15pm at Komedia, Bath City Centre.