THE Awards 2021: Learn from the best in UK and Irish HE

Lessons on teaching and research from shortlisted candidates at this year’s Times Higher Education awards

Advice from talented academics and institutions in UK and Irish higher education who have been shortlisted for the 2021 THE Awards

Times Higher Education’s annual celebration of the best in UK and Irish higher education showcases the wealth of talent in universities across the British Isles. In this special spotlight, find advice and insight from some of our shortlisted nominees. These impressive individuals and institutions have not just weathered the Covid storm, but have excelled, exploring and innovating to enhance their work in teaching, student support, community engagement and research during the most challenging of years.

Fostering interdisciplinary learning in large-scale doctoral programmes

Corina Sas highlights key insights for design and delivery of large-scale doctoral training programmes that foster supportive and cooperative interdisciplinary learning environments

Corina Sas

Lancaster University

Teaching tips

Advice on creating equitable pathways to better engage all students regardless of background or prior knowledge

Co-creation and empowerment: pathways to better student engagement

Effective approaches universities can take to promote equity and improve student learning outcomes and employability, shared by a team from the University of Salford

Sara Namvar, David Greensmith, Niroshini Nirmalan

University of Salford

Advice on how developing a growth mindset and experimenting can result in better teaching

Developing a growth mindset and experimenting for better teaching outcomes

Catherine Seeds explains how a growth mindset and willingness to experiment should be embraced as powerful teaching tools

Catherine Seeds

(SRUC) Scotland’s Rural College

hand reading braille

Teaching visually impaired students – and making class materials more accessible for everyone at the same time

Hannah Thompson, a partially blind academic, offers six tips for ensuring an inclusive learning environment

Hannah Thompson

Royal Holloway, University of London

Advice on working with industry and sector professionals to enhance student learning outcomes

Hosting industry professionals: embedding vocational skill-building into higher education

Liam Jarvis sets out three common pitfalls and three points of advice for facilitating productive encounters between students and industry professionals in higher education

Liam Jarvis

University of Essex

Four practical tips for bringing students and businesses together

New approaches to student and employer “matchmaking” can help address graduate underemployment – and bring enjoyment for both sides, says Adele Browne

Adele Browne

De Montfort University

Working with external partners

Advice on shaping meaningful community engagement through research projects

In this together: developing meaningful community engagement

Anna Walas offers advice for facilitating community engagement with research by considering ways in which effective engagement design can help overcome common barriers

Anna Walas

University of Nottingham

Advice on developing external partnerships which create opportunities for real world learning

How to develop partnerships that offer students real-world learning experiences

Rhianedd Smith shares insight on how to collaboratively create real-world learning experiences for students with professional partners

Rhianedd Smith

University of Reading

Advice on shaping community outreach in order to improve educational outcomes for local communities

Changing lives through community engagement and outreach

Josephine Bleach outlines questions that higher education institutions should ask to help them foster authentic community engagement that improves educational outcomes for children, families and communities

Josephine Bleach

National College of Ireland

Advice on effective research supervision

Lessons from students on effective research supervision

Richard Godwin shares lessons in effective research supervision based on his former students’ feedback

Richard Godwin

Harper Adams University

Research supervision: working with the individual in front of you

Lorraine Hope explains how to mitigate student anxiety and avoid toxic competition with a person-centred approach to supervision

Lorraine Hope

The University of Portsmouth

Good research practices

How to have an "overnight" scientific success in 20 years

How to create an overnight scientific success (in 20 years)

Inspirational moments don’t usually happen by chance. Instead, many enabling factors must be put in place over the course of a career, say Peter Hogg and Jo Cresswell

Peter Hogg, Jo Cresswell

University of Salford

Building equitable scientific research partnerships with the global south requires trust and equality in decisionmaking

Creating equitable research partnerships across continents

Shabbar Jaffar provides tips for successful international collaborations built on trust, appropriate recognition and inclusiveness in decision-making

Shabbar Jaffar

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Lighthouse illustrating thought leadership

How thought leadership can build your institution’s reputation online

Will Harvey explains how institutions can use research proactively to enhance the perception of their capabilities and character

Will Harvey

University of Exeter

Advice on open communications to encourage discussion on difficult topics for students and staff

How to be comfortable with uncomfortable conversations

Ruth Woodfield outlines steps that academics, students and university staff can take to support and work through the discomfort of difficult discussions

Ruth Woodfield

University of St Andrews

Talking about taboos: how to create an open atmosphere for discussing difficult subjects

Lindsay Morgan offers practical, step-by-step advice for removing barriers to addressing uncomfortable topics such as consent and menstruation

Lindsay Morgan

Edinburgh Napier University

Supporting early career researchers

paper boats illustrating different pathways to PhD

Fostering freedom in PhD students: how supervisors can shape accessible paths for doctoral research

Clive Palmer looks at alternative approaches to PhDs that open postgraduate research to more candidates – for professional development, career change or just love of learning

Clive Palmer

University of Central Lancashire

The relationship between supervisor and early career researcher is crucial

Lessons learned from supervising more than 150 researchers

The transition from PhD candidate to ECR is when the relationship between researcher and supervisor comes to the fore, say Tara Moore and Louise Robertson

Tara Moore, Louise Robertson

Ulster University

Woman explaining to student pointing to a computer screen

Strangers in a strange land: how supervisors can support international research students

Ravinder Anand-Ivell explains how early investment of time and empathy can help international postgraduate research students adapt to a new environment

Ravinder Anand-Ivell

University of Nottingham

Advice on using technology to support teaching in higher education

Immersive tech in teaching and learning: first steps into the metaverse

Virtual, augmented and mixed reality can provide powerful experiences for students, and it’s probably not as difficult as you think. Neil McDonnell provides simple, practical advice

Neil McDonnell

University of Glasgow

How to deliver healthcare education in a hybrid world

Hannah McGee explores solutions to address the unique challenges that universities face in preparing healthcare students for frontline roles

Hannah McGee

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences