The event was hosted by the three BEAMS Faculty Managers with Helen Fisher introducing the event and Donna Williamson announcing the nominees and winners. The audience enjoyed a short talk from Fiona Ryland, UCL’s new HR Director. Rex Knight, Vice Provost (Operations), presented the awards.
Talking about the awards, Prof. Nigel Titchener-Hooker, Dean of UCL Engineering, said,
Yesterday we celebrated some of our most outstanding professional services staff for their individual contributions to BEAMS. They are an impressive group drawn from a superb professional services cohort. We heard about their work and the ethos they have helped us to create and to sustain. The winners were drawn from a long list of staff with compelling cases too – so a hugely difficult task for the judging team. My thanks for all of those involved – I’m very much looking forward to next year and an equally intense competition.
The award winners received £500, alongside a certificate and physical award to mark their achievement. The award was a Japanese puzzle designed and crafted by Romain Menuir, a technician from the Institute of Making. The puzzle is made of six interlocking parts to represent the six UCL 2034 enablers. Together the six parts create a strong and beautiful piece of joinery to reflect the importance of the UCL 2034 enablers, to which professional services contribute so much. To quote Bartlett Faculty Manager, Helen Fisher,
“the fact that we have been able to commission one of our very own staff to produce such a beautiful piece of work is in itself reflective of the impressive diversity of skill sets amongst our professional services staff.
The winners of the awards were:
- Eve Hatten, Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering: Giving our students the best support, facilities and opportunities
- Johanna Novales, Faculty of Engineering Office: Valuing our staff and delivering on equality and diversity
- Caitlin O’Grady, Faculty of Engineering Office: Financing our ambitions
- David Howells, Department of Computer Science: Delivering excellent systems and processes in support of UCL’s vision
- Michael Franklyn, Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management: Maintaining a sustainable estate
- Elpida Makrygianni, Faculty of Engineering Office: Communicating and engaging effectively with the world
- Lee Wilkinson, Security Office, Engineering Building: Outstanding contribution award
Details of the successful nominations and a list of all the nominees is available here.
All staff at UCL are contributing to the UCL 2034 enablers in some way and the number and variety of nominations underlines that BEAMS professional services staff are playing a vital role in realising UCL’s vision and mission. Staff went to great efforts to gather high quality information to support their nominations. Thank you to everyone who came along the ceremony to congratulate the winners and celebrate success.
The photos from awards are available to view here.
