Ò°ÀÇÉçÇø

The University of Ò°ÀÇÉçÇø's 10th ceremony took place on Thursday 9 May in the University’s Whitworth Hall, and live streamed on YouTube.  

The Making a Difference Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of our staff, students, alumni and external partners, and celebrate how they are making a difference. The School of Environment, Education and Development is always well represented at the awards, and this year received six wins, and two highly commended awards. Congratulations go to all those involved.  

Outstanding benefit to society through research - Winner

Gindo Tampubolon (Global Development Institute) and the SMARThealth team

The Systematic Medical Appraisal Referral and Treatment (SMARThealth) intervention provides Indonesian health volunteers with resources to improve cardiovascular health in rural communities. With a third of adult deaths in Indonesia attributed to cardiovascular disease, SMARThealth provides vital preventative care in places with limited healthcare. This involved training village health volunteers to use the SMARThealth platform – operated via a mobile app and basic medical equipment – to assess villagers’ cardiovascular risk in real-time through the use of the SMARThealth platform and share results with qualified health professionals to prescribe treatment. The SMARThealth programme has since been adopted and scaled by the district of Malang, preventing 120,000 potential deaths by screening millions of residents.  

Outstanding benefit to society through research - Emerging impact winner

Ò°ÀÇÉçÇø Institute of Education’s Neil Humphrey and the #BeeWell team

#BeeWell is a programme that combines academic expertise with youth-led change to make the wellbeing of young people everybody’s business. The project annually surveys young people and uses the results, in collaboration with schools and partner organisations, to deliver positive change in all our communities. Over 180 schools across all 10 Greater Ò°ÀÇÉçÇø local authorities have implemented the co-developed #BeeWell survey to systematically assess and monitor the domains and drivers of wellbeing of more than 60,000 pupils since 2021. Discover more at

Outstanding teaching innovation in social responsibility - Winner

Ò°ÀÇÉçÇø Institute of Education's Andy Howes, Sian Morgan, Hannah Strickland, Rai Lock, Anna Warburg and Rosa Archer

The project hosts an annual green conference for student teachers, where multiple secondary PGCE subjects convene to host a day during which they address climate justice issues as well as include skills sessions to innovate the practice of student teachers entering the profession. The aims of the day are to develop student teachers’ understanding and confidence with climate justice issues. This annual conference has been established for four years and has been growing in scope each year. This year included alumni experts, who are now Early Career Teachers (ECTs), enacting their learning in schools and contributing to the development of future secondary school teachers in English, Geography, Maths and Science.   

Outstanding contribution to social and environmental impact through entrepreneurship - Highly commended

Ahmed Abdullah Saad Mohamed, Karim Habib and Salma Khaled

Educuality

Educuality is an innovative educational platform aiming to democratize learning by providing accessible and impactful peace education and environmental education through gamification. The project’s purpose is to foster social change and promote peace by educating young minds in the areas of peace and climate action. They aim to bridge societal gaps, especially focusing on rural areas, and to create a sustainable model for social change through education.

Outstanding public engagement initiative: Local/civic engagement - Winner

Sarah Marie Hall, Liz Ackerley, Alison Briggs, Laura Fenton and Santiago Leyva del Rio (Geography) and Isis Barei-Guyot (Global Development Institute)

This project brings together academic and non-academic partners to develop knowledge and contribute to anti-poverty strategies in Ò°ÀÇÉçÇø, as well as to inspire other inclusive research engagement. Through sharing and learning with community groups, the project has built collectives, led innovative and engaging outputs, and contributed to policy development in tackling poverty, homelessness and intersecting crises. Their 2022 event ‘Sharing Untold Stories in Creative Ways’ brought together local organisations fighting austerity and poverty through collaboration and creativity, by providing listening spaces, engagement platforms, and opportunities for capacity-building. 

Outstanding public engagement initiative: Local/civic engagement - Winner

Tess Hartland (PhD student in Sociology,  School of Social Sciences, co-supervised by the Global Development Institute’s Tanja Bastia)

As part of her PhD, Tess co-produced ‘Echoes of Displacement’, a captivating comic book narrating the collective story of people growing older while seeking sanctuary in the UK. The aim for this comic book is to increase understanding and awareness by communicating research beyond academia, authentically represent and amplify the voices of older refugees and foster community engagement. The comic has been used by international NGOs (e.g. Age Platform Europe) and local government (e.g. Age-friendly Ò°ÀÇÉçÇø) as best practice example for translating research and raising awareness of ageing experiences of marginalised groups. 

Outstanding public engagement initiative: Local/civic engagement - Highly commended

Ò°ÀÇÉçÇø Institute of Education’s Kirstie Hartwell, Kelly Burgoyne, and Emma Pagnamenta, Vesna Stojanovik and Rebecca Baxter from the University of Reading

Working with Families to Co-Create Learning Materials for a Parent-Delivered Early Language Intervention for Children with Down Syndrome 

This project worked closely with six families to co-create learning materials, such as storybooks and activity packs, for a parent-delivered early language intervention programme specifically developed for children with Down Syndrome. The project represents critical initial steps in developing evidence-based intervention and highlights the benefits of working with families. 

Outstanding public engagement initiative: National/international engagement - Winner

Joanne Tippett (Department of Planning, Property and Environmental Management) and the RoundView Team  

Building on 15 years of the University’s research, this project provides a big-picture, positive framework for sustainability learning and communication. It builds confidence by helping people systematically assess solutions against the fundamental principles of environmental sustainability. Working with UNESCO UK and the National Trust, more than 133,500 people have engaged with the RoundView since 2022. These hands-on learning tools facilitate global engagement, reaching audiences from youth to professionals and local to global leaders, inspiring both knowledge and action towards sustainability. Learn more at

Find out more about the Making a Difference awards on our