Staff celebrated for their exceptional talent at the annual staff awards

Winners of the 2025 Staff Recognition Awards were announced at an awards ceremony on 3 July.

The annual President’s Awards for Excellence are awarded to individuals or teams to recognise achievements in four categories: Culture and Community, Education, Research, and Societal Engagement. The President’s Medal is then awarded to an exceptional winner in each category.

President Hugh Brady said: “The Staff Recognition Awards are a wonderful opportunity to come together and reflect on what we do, what we have accomplished together and thank each other for support provided.

“I would like to congratulate all our winners for their outstanding achievements. This past year has been truly wonderful for Imperial, our university has continued to impress, as reflected in the recent QS World University Rankings, further solidifying our position as a world-leading global university.

“We could not do this without the excellence and innovation of our community.”

View the full lists of winners for this year’s president’s awards for excellence:

We spoke to some of this year’s award winners about their work, including:

The Able Staff Network Disability Committee

Dr Silke Donahue, Senior Teaching Fellow, Faculty of Medicine

Dr Stuart J. Elliott, Deputy Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility Manager, Molecular Sciences Research Hub

The Women in Mechanical Engineering Society

The Able Staff Network Disability Committee
President’s Award for Excellence in Culture and Community

Able is Imperial’s disability network for staff and postgraduate students. The committee aims to promote respect and acceptance of disability.

Able run regular coffee mornings for disabled staff to meet and share their experiences. A member of Able commented, “Ever since I joined Able, I look forward to Friday morning as the online coffee mornings make me feel less alone. The coffee mornings have also helped me to feel so much more confident within myself and helped me to speak up to get the right adjustments so that I can carry out my job more effectively.

“The success of the Able network is built on the collective strength of people coming together - to listen, learn, respect and support one another; by building connections and sharing lived experiences, we are reminded that we are not alone.”

Making a difference

The committee is also active behind the scenes at Imperial, making sure disability is considered when the university is developing policy or running projects.

In the past year, Able launched Imperial’s first Disability Pride Month, partnered with Imperial College Union’s new Neurodiversity Society and presented lived experiences of living with neurodiversity as part of the Imperial Cohesion series.

The committee have also been successful in securing funding for a project to build understanding of how neurodiversity affects students. This work is being done in collaboration with Dr Vijesh Bhute, from the Department of Chemical Engineering.

The Able committee said this about the award, “On behalf of the Able network, we are deeply honoured to receive the President’s Award for Excellence in Collaboration - it is especially poignant to be recognised for our achievement during Disability Pride Month.

“Staff networks are run by volunteers who give their time on top of their regular jobs to create positive and meaningful change. This recognition reflects the strength of our community—every disabled staff member, ally, and supporter who has contributed to making Imperial a better place for all.”

Dr Silke Donahue, Senior Teaching Fellow, Faculty of Medicine
President’s Award for Excellence in Education

In her 15 years of teaching laboratory skills, Silke noticed that learning how to correctly operate a micropipette is one of the fundamental skills needed for successful experiments. Teaching this skill has been difficult as it requires technical understanding, muscle memory, and developing a "feel" for how to operate the plunger (similar to learning how to operate a clutch in a car). During a talk on using Virtual Reality (VR) in teaching, Silke had an idea for a new way of teaching this vital skill using a VR controller.

Turning the idea into reality

Silke collaborated with postgraduate student Ori Blich from the Dyson School of Design Engineering, and Ori used Imperial’s Advanced Hackspace facilities to develop the micropipette VR controller. They then worked with Imperial’s Digital Media Lab who developed 3D modelling of the laboratory space and equipment. Finally, with help from colleague Richard Palermo and the input of her students, Silke developed the teaching scenario to introduce students to the controller.

Last November the device was rolled out to first year BSc Medical Biosciences students. They responded very positively to the experience, stating that it made them feel more confident and less anxious about going into the real laboratory. Students using the device also demonstrated increased accuracy using micropipettes.

The VR teaching session is now part of the curriculum for first-year students, and Silke’s device has been nominated for an award by the British Journal of Educational Technology. Watch Silke’s project come to life on TikTok.

Silke said of the award, "I feel very honoured to receive the award, especially as the project is really a team effort. I had the pleasure to work with incredibly talented people that were able to make my vision become reality. Seeing students learn in a safe environment where they can make mistakes without judgment and improving through direct feedback is just amazing. I am hoping to take this project further by making a low cost and more accessible version to broaden participation."

Dr Stuart J. Elliott, Deputy Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility Manager, Molecular Sciences Research Hub
President’s Award for Research Excellence Support

Stuart is an expert in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which provides atomic-level information on molecular structure and dynamics. It is an indispensable technique in chemistry, with broad applications from drug discovery to materials science. Around 300 papers per year are underpinned by data from Imperial's Molecular Sciences Research Hub NMR facility.

Stuart has brought new expertise in software, simulation and experimentation to this facility. His role enables him to develop novel approaches to understand chemistry-oriented problems. He has initiated collaborations with research groups across the department and is leading his own research project developing an understanding of how small molecules behave in aligned media that mimic conditions in human tissues and cells.

Improving accessibility, efficiency and impact

Stuart has initiated a new software and data storage approach which adheres to the FAIR principle – meaning data is more findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable, and importantly, the system is also AI ready.

Stuart has also been working to improve the financial side through better financial models, creating promotional materials to engage external stakeholders, and bringing in new companies and partners.

Stuart said, “I am honoured to receive this award. There are also clearly a number of supportive and encouraging members within the department who have contributed to this. The department is a fantastic place to work, and it recognises the important contributions from its staff. I hope to continue developing aspects of the NOMAD software and contributing to in-house research projects from the viewpoint of NMR spectroscopy with our highly motivated teams of researchers.”

The Women in Mechanical Engineering Society
President’s Award for Excellence in Societal Engagement

Women remain significantly underrepresented in engineering and the pace of change is still slow, despite progress in other STEM areas. To tackle this problem, the Women in Mechanical Engineering society have developed an exciting schools’ outreach programme. The aim is to spark an interest in engineering in girls of all ages and backgrounds, and encourage them to consider studying engineering at university.

Lead by chair, Lucy Di, an undergraduate on the Mechanical Engineering course, the committee built the programme from scratch and have already visited 12 schools over a hectic 12-week period this year.

Inspiring the next generation

For older students, presentations focus on specific engineering disciplines and career opportunities, as well as guidance and practical advice. The presenting team also share their own experiences, debunk myths, and talk about how they overcame challenges.

Presentations for younger age groups are more about sparking the curiosity of the children and introducing the role of the engineer. The use of visual aids, like a car’s transmissions, help to make the sessions more engaging as well as providing examples of engineering in action.

One teacher said about the presentation: “The session was really engaging and informative. It was a great balance of fun and learning! Thank you for also speaking a little about your education path so far. It is so important for girls to have STEM role-models.”

The Women in Mechanical Engineering Society said: "We are incredibly proud to have received the President’s Award for Societal Engagement. This recognition means so much to us as a team, especially after the hard work and dedication everyone has put in over the past year. From organising outreach events to building long-lasting partnerships, every effort has been driven by our shared commitment to making a positive impact on encouraging more women they can study engineering. We’re truly grateful that our work has been recognised at this level and it motivates us to keep striving for even greater impact in the future."