Metadata
Title
PGR Excellence Awards
Category
general
UUID
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Source URL
https://www.doctoral-academy.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/essential-information/awards/
Parent URL
https://www.doctoral-academy.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/
Crawl Time
2026-03-11T05:08:25+00:00
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PGR Excellence Awards

Source: https://www.doctoral-academy.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/essential-information/awards/ Parent: https://www.doctoral-academy.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/

The PGR Excellence Awards celebrate the contributions and achievements of staff and PGRs in the Faculty's postgraduate research community.

The deadline for nominations for the PGR Excellence Awards 2025/26 is 20 March 2026. All nominations should be sent by email to FBMH.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk, along with the relevant nomination form.

Please note that the PGR of the Year category has an earlier deadline in 2025 and an earlier call for nominations than the other Excellence Awards. The deadline for this award is 5pm on 31 October 2025.

All nominations will be considered for the Doctoral Academy PGR Excellence Awards (Faculty-wide) in the first instance. The shortlisted nominations will also be considered for recommendation at the annual MDC Excellence Awards (University-wide). All nominations to go through the general PGR Excellence Award route should be submitted by email to FBMH.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk.

Award categories

PGR of the Year

The nominee should be an outstanding postgraduate researcher who has excelled in some significant manner, for example, after the presentation of a thesis, based on the recommendation and judgment of the external examiner; or has had a major research achievement during a PGR programme - e.g. high quality journal publications; research spin off, etc.

They may have had a major research achievement during their PGR programme – for example, high-quality journal publications or a research spin-off.

The shortlisted nominations for this category will also be considered for the President's Distinguished Achievements Award (University-wide).

Who can nominate?

Current University staff member. The deadline for this Award is 5pm on 31 October 2025.

Best Outstanding Research Output

The Best Outstanding Research Output award recognises research publications of the highest quality and acknowledges the continuing importance of high-quality research to the University.

Who can nominate?

Current University staff member.

Best Contribution to PGR Environment

The Best Contribution to PGR Environment award recognises outstanding achievement/contribution of an individual or team towards the enhancement of the postgraduate environment.

One overall award will be made to an individual or team who has/have made a positive impact, demonstrated innovation and creativity in their actions, and been an inspirational role model to other postgraduate researchers or have been part of an initiative which positively impacts PGR community.

Examples of this include organising events, which bring together the postgraduate community; identifying an area of development within the postgraduate community and providing a solution to this.

Who can nominate?

Current University staff member.

Best Contribution to Society - Local Community

The Best Contribution to Society (Local Community) award recognises outstanding achievement or contribution of an individual that has offered their time and energy to make a difference to the social and economic well-being of our local communities.

Who can nominate?

Current University staff member and from relevant individuals external to the University.

Best Contribution to Society – Research Impact

The Best Contribution to Society (Research Impact) award recognises outstanding the achievement or contribution of an individual whose research has had a positive impact in terms of improvements to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment, or quality of life.

Who can nominate?

Current University staff member.

Best Contribution to Internationalisation

The Best Contribution to Internationalisation award will be made to a PGR who, in the opinion of the Panel, encapsulates the spirit of internationalisation at Manchester.

Examples of this include a PGR that has demonstrated their ability to work internationally and be an exemplar global citizen; a PGR that had driven forward an initiative to enhance the international student experience at Manchester.

Who can nominate?

Current University staff member.

Outstanding PGR Rep

The nominee should be an individual who has a clear commitment to the role through proactivity and leadership. The qualities the panel will look for in candidates include:

Who can nominate?

University staff and PGRs, including self-nominations.

Outstanding Supervisor (including Professional Doctorate) of the Year

The nominee should be an individual who has created the most supportive, stimulating and inspirational research environment for doctoral students and trainees.

The qualities the panel will look for in candidates include the following.

Who can nominate?

University staff and PGRs.

Criteria for nominations

At the time of being nominated for an award, PGRs must be registered for a postgraduate research degree at The University of Manchester, be under examination for a postgraduate research degree at Manchester, or have completed their doctoral degree within the past twelve months.

Making a nomination

Only current University staff members can nominate in certain categories. However, both staff and PGRs, including self-nominations, can nominate in others. Please see the relevant category above for information on who can make nominations.

All nominations must be made by submitting the relevant PGR Excellence Awards Form by email to FBMH.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk by the deadline.

If you have any issues accessing the form, please email us at FBMH.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk.

All nominations for PGR of the Year must be sent with the following:

All nominations for the other awards must be sent with the following:

If you are a PGR who would like to be put forward for a category where only staff members can nominate, please ask your supervisory team to submit a nomination for you. This is completely allowed and we encourage you to do so.

If you have any questions, please contact the Doctoral Academy by emailing FBMH.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk.

Congratulations to last year's winners

Previous winners

2024 award winners

2023 award winners

2022 award winners

The PGR Excellence Awards celebrate the achievements and contributions of postgraduate researchers and staff in the Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, and it is highly rewarding to see the level of enthusiasm and dedication within this community.