2019 December winners and shortlisted nominees

Ways of Working, Personal Excellence Award

Recognising commitment, outstanding service and integrity. Recognising commitment, outstanding service and integrity. There were a huge amount of nominations in this category, and our panel ranked the first two so closely we found them impossible to separate. We therefore have two winners for Personal Excellence.

Breege Whiten, Library Services

Breege is nominated for volunteering for vital roles within Library Services, on top of the day-to-day management of her library team. She takes all of her roles very seriously, and actively lobbies to make Library Services fairer, more inclusive, more communicative and more reflective.

Caitlin Broadbent, Faculty of Brain Sciences

Caitlin is described as someone whose enthusiasm, positive attitude, pro-activity and commitment to excellence have greatly improved the working environment for all of her colleagues. She is seen in Brain Sciences as an inspiration to all.

Shortlisted

David Newton, Faculty of Brain Sciences - This nomination was made on behalf of staff and students in Psychology & Language Sciences to recognise David, who is the programme administrator for key PaLS student programmes. The team describes David’s contribution over the last 8 years as ‘prodigious’ and appreciate his great role in the programmes’ success.

Katie Bisaro, Office of the Vice Provost for Education & Student Affairs - Katie is nominated for her championing of the CareersLab video project. This achieved over 3,000 viewed hours in its first 3 weeks and has significantly increased the accessibility of career information for students and staff. Katie’s contribution across her department is described as ‘helping all her colleagues fulfill their potential’.

Ways of Working, Working Together Award

Recognising communication, collaboration and shared learning.

UCL Day Nursery 

This nomination comes on behalf of the parents who wanted to recognise the work of the nursery team staff. Parents told us that without the staff’s dedication and support in caring for their children they would find it impossible to return to work full time. They describe the nursery as a happy and inspiring place for all the children, with staff that go above and beyond in professionalism, skill, and great, great care.  

Shortlisted

Student and Registry Services' Departmental Equal Opportunity Liaison Officers Network - This team is being recognised for organising activities and initiatives that have an equality, diversity and inclusion focus for Student and Registry Services staff. Their work is very impactful and is recognised as being particularly impressive as everyone in the network volunteers their time to make these things happen.

Digital Accessibility Virtual Team - This is a cross-Professional Services team that has come together from Digital Presence, Library services, EDI, Office of the Vice Provost Education & Student Affairs, Student Disability Services and Digital Education. This is a virtual team, made up of volunteers who work to promote accessibility within UCL within their individual areas of specialties. Their shared commitment means that this important work is happening quickly, expertly and collaboratively.

Ways of Working, Outstanding Individual Contribution to Achieving Our Mission

Recognising vision, innovative practice and ownership.

Mykal Riley, Faculty of Engineering Sciences

Mykal heads the web presence, news, media queries, communications, marketing and events in Mechanical Engineering and is nominated by colleagues for raising the profile of the department. The portfolio has been transformed under Mykal through his vision, innovation and ownership - to the point where the Faculty is seen as the ‘envy of the world’ when it comes to student, staff, alumni and public engagement in mechanical engineering.  

Shortlisted 

Stephanie Limuaco, Communications & Marketing - Stephanie is described as working tirelessly to ensure the success of new projects, including UCL Minds, the Student Centre time capsule, #MadeAtUCL and the UCL podcast series. Her resourcefulness, perseverance and ability to collaborate effectively with others are seen by colleagues as key to changing perceptions of UCL for the better.

Deanne Attreed, Faculty of Medical Sciences - Deanne’s ambition is described as wanting to create a Faculty family: where all feel welcomed and valued, where the less advantaged can reach their full potential and where donors, supporters and alumni can create meaning to their giving back. Her nominators tell us that this is done with great energy, humour, respect and a deep commitment to equality of opportunity and to UCL.

Ways of Working, Outstanding Team Contribution to Achieving Our Mission. 

Recognising vision, innovative practice and ownership.

Arts and Sciences (BASc) degrees Professional Services Team  

This team is nominated for a seamless provision of student services. We were told that over the past year, high staff turnover created significant risks of disruption to the student-facing services. The team responded in an exemplary fashion to keep important services going, while at the same time taking on three important new student experience pilot programmes. The proof of their efforts is demonstrated in our 2019 NSS 'overall student satisfaction' score of 90%.

Shortlisted

Institute of Healthcare Engineering Communications & Marketing Team - This team has been nominated for their pivotal work in supporting the Institute of Healthcare Engineering, we heard that not only do they fulfil their direct responsibilities to an excellent standard, but they go above-and-beyond in developing a positive team environment.

UCL Language and Speech Science Library Wellbeing Champions - This team’s initiatives range from curating wellbeing book collections to providing wellbeing walks for staff and students. They support staff and students, not only within their own library, but across UCL Library Services. Their nominator tells us that ‘I am extremely proud to have them in my team!’

Community Spirit Award

Recognising colleagues who do amazing things beyond the boundaries of specific roles or/and beyond the boundaries of UCL 

Noel Calliste, Library Services

The nominator tells us that Noel volunteers his time to lead a large and active equality Staff Network, contributing to the department’s entry to the Stonewall Employers Index – the national benchmarking tool of LGBTQ+ employers. This voluntary work has been undertaken around his full-time role, and its value supports UCL in being increasingly acknowledged as a fully inclusive employer.

Shortlisted

Mykal Riley, Faculty of Engineering Sciences - Mykal heads the web presence, news, media queries, communications, marketing and events in Mechanical Engineering and is nominated by colleagues for raising the profile of the department. He has been shortlisted for community spirit, with his nominators describing the flair and drive he brings to UCL-wide activities, such as Open Days and It's All Academic, setting a positive example for other departments, and communications and event professionals.

Nadia Jackson, Faculty of Population Health Sciences - Our nominator tells us they have put Nadia forward because she deserves recognition for the amazing work she does with the department. She does everything and more to ensure the faculty working environment is a healthy one, continually coming up with new ideas and approaches. She is described as bringing a smile to many faces and supports others’ mental health in many different ways.

Outstanding Contribution to Staff Experience

Recognising those who bring joy on a day-to-day basis to the experience of UCL members of staff. This was a very popular category, and for this award we have 3 shortlisted candidates, as again the nominees were impossible to separate.

Mohammed Kamara, Security, UCL Estates 

Mohammed works as a security guard, and also doubles up as a receptionist in the UCL Innovation & Enterprises' startup and event space in Camley Street. He is described as extremely knowledgeable, diligent, positive with a hands-on and can-do approach, often going that extra mile in finding solutions to problems.  

Shortlisted

Sam Omosule, Receptionist/Porter in Rockefeller Building - The person that nominated Sam says that being a porter in a large institution such as UCL cannot be easy - and that Sam is really special for the extraordinary personal attention that he gives staff, for his hard work and commitment to his job.

Domingos Pinto, Torrington Place Security Desk - Dom is the main reception desk contact at 1-19 Torrington Place. Dom is described by his nominators as being consistently polite and professional with both internal staff and external visitors, and always having a smile for everyone when completing his tasks.

Maathini Balachandran, Centre Manager, Centre for Medical Imaging - Maathini makes the Centre a fantastic place to work. We have heard that without her there would be no Fruity Fridays, Karaoke celebrations of major grants and Public Engagement would go to pot! Maathini goes way above and beyond her job description and is the smiling core of the centre that creates the happy place we all want to work in.

Leadership Award for Outstanding Contribution

Selected by Fiona Ryland, Chief Operating Officer

Colby Benari, Office of the UCL Vice-Provost Health

Colby is described as exuding enthusiasm, energy and optimism in leading the SLMS Academic Careers Office to develop highly innovative and nationally recognised education and training. Her leadership embodies the power of partnership between professional services and academic staff. She has a strong commitment to inclusion and diversity, and a palpable enthusiasm for the rich multidisciplinary environment at UCL. The team provide regular positive feedback on her collegiate and empowering style, and she excels in bringing together many different stakeholders to deliver outcomes supporting and delivering UCL 2034.

Shortlisted

Cristy Meadows, Faculty of Arts & Humanities - Cristy is described in the nomination as integral to the success of the Arts and Sciences programme at UCL. She has led and revamped the admission process, developed new administrative procedures for the fledgling programme and now runs the Arts and Sciences Professional Services team with enthusiasm and rigour. The programme has grown into an internationally recognised flagship for innovation. This success would not be possible without Cristy’s outstanding performance and leadership.

Geoff Dunk, Faculty of Brain Sciences - Geoff is described as a true enabler, always conscious of the need to make sure whatever he is working on, works for UCL and is fair for everyone involved. He has made a major contribution to IoN/DRI and the challenging work supporting and leading Courtauld and Oriel. Geoff contributes positively on every project and team he is a member of, and does so with a warmth that encourages others to get involved.

Janet Hope, Faculty of Social & Historical Sciences - This nomination describes Janet as one of the best chief laboratory technicians in the country, running labs for over 20 years. She is an expert on safety and risk assessments, supporting students and staff who travel to some of the most inhospitable place on Earth to undertake rigorous fieldwork and bring back valuable new data. Janet also a mentor – helping students and new academic staff to find their feet. She is a highly respected member of staff.