UEA 2023/24

ENGAGEMENT AWARD
WINNERS

The Engagement Awards are open to all UEA and Norwich Research Park staff and students. These awards celebrate the vital efforts within these institutions to engage new audiences and foster meaningful dialogue.

The volume of nominations and the standard of submissions received demonstrates the passion and dedication of staff and students across the university and Norwich research community.

Explore details of all the Engagement Awards 2024 winners below.

UEA Engagement Awards 2024 Film

UNDERGRADUATE AWARD

Makani Zulu

Makani Zulu

Makani Zulu, a second-year undergraduate in the School of Social Work (SWK), exemplifies a profound dedication to social work that extends beyond his academic curriculum.

Makani’s involvement in various initiatives, including contributing to student recruitment films, interviewing prospective students and participating in school meetings, underscores his commitment to advocating for his course. Makani is an active member of the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) committee in SWK, and has committed to innovative ways that the school can adopt and ultimately reflect for an equal, inclusive, and diverse approach.

Makani is also part of a group of students from SWK and the School of Education (EDU) who joined UEA late last year and have expressed how challenging it has been settling into university life with limited familiarity of British culture. As a migrant resident himself, Makani has helped these students settle at UEA and assisted with identifying areas that may be challenging as well as beneficial for their university journey.

Makani was selected to be a spotlight voice for Black History Month where he spoke about what being Black means to him, how Black men are perceived, and about his hopes for education and making a positive change. You can read the article here

"Makani embodies excellence, hard work, and optimism on the course. He is known by all and popular amongst his peers as well as academic colleagues."
Dr. Carlene Cornish, Director of Admissions

POSTGRADUATE AWARD

Dr Muit'ah Badru

Dr Muti’ah Badru is a Postgraduate Creative Writing student who has started a social enterprise called S-R-HEd. This initiative provides evidence-based Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) information and support to young people and women from religiously conservative backgrounds in a culturally sensitive manner.

Muti’ah has created targeted educational products for couples, groups and communities, as well as a 1:1 service for individualised support. She has also delivered webinars, interactive workshops and consulted with schools on developing and facilitating the delivery of their relationships, sex and health education (RHSE) curriculum.

“In my community, we do not talk about sex, and I spent almost twenty years as a doctor in reproductive health, dealing with the repercussions of that silence.”
Dr Muti'ah Badru

“It was very clear from the first meeting how driven and passionate she was about using her many years’ experience to make real change in communities she was very familiar with.”
Finbarr Carter, UEA Student Enterprise

A major part of S-R-HEd’s growth is through community outreach and trust-building with community leaders, religious bodies, youth org, and women empowerment groups. Some of the partnerships and collaborations they have secured so far include with BlackMuslimGirlFly (US), TheMuslimahVirtualParlour (Nigeria), PadAQueenInitiative (Nigeria), ISOC UEA(UK).

S-R-HEd is currently in the process of registering as a social enterprise with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria, and hopes to do the same in the UK. Within the next calendar year, Muti’ah intends to introduce a flagship online product: a comprehensive premarital sexual and reproductive health (SRH) course tailored for young couples. S-R-HEd is positioned to evolve into a self-sustaining enterprise, providing a safe and reliable source of sexual health information for women and young people in communities.

PROJECT AWARDS

“Lauren’s work on communication access is transformative […] This is an example of how an inclusion project should be run”
Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student Inclusion, UEA

UEA Communication Access Project Film

Communication Access Project

Lauren Flannery, Lecturer in Health Sciences, created the Communication Access Project (CAP) to support those who have communication needs, throughout their studies or working career, by upskilling communication partners, ensuring that both staff and students feel valued, respected, and empowered.

CAP’s mission is to create an accessible communication space for all at UEA, including both staff and students. The project began in November 2022 when Lauren was planning for the Norwich Science Festival and decided to promote the Communication Access UK (CAUK) initiative.

CAUK aims to improve the lives of people with communication difficulties by providing online courses to enhance communication confidence to institutional accreditation. To achieve CAP’s objectives, the project has several work-streams, including a film campaign to raise awareness, training modules to up-skill individuals and CAUK accreditation.

You will also see the Communication Access symbol displayed in various sites across UEA campus, including catering outlets and the SU shop. The panel were particularly impressed with Lauren’s resourcefulness and resilience in raising CAP’s profile. Her contributions have made steps in promoting inclusivity to the university community.

Communication Access Symbol

Communication Access Symbol

The Kitchen Chemistry Outreach Project

The Kitchen Chemistry Outreach Project is run by Professor Stephen Ashworth and delivers workshops, capacity-building training, and science shows to explore some of the core principles of chemistry. In the last 15 years, this project has worked with school and adult groups from Bawburgh to Bangkok, Hadleigh to Hanoi and Diss to Dunedin. It has delivered over 800 events and travelled to remote communities to give them experiences they would otherwise not be able to enjoy.

Photo by 3P Photography. Sci fest Africa 2017, Grahamstown, South Africa

Photo by 3P Photography. Sci fest Africa 2017, Grahamstown, South Africa

The Kitchen Chemistry Outreach Project in Malaysia 2024

Since its inception, The Kitchen Chemistry Outreach Project has done a huge amount of international outreach to increase interest in science, specifically chemistry, among secondary school children and encourage them to consider sciences courses in further and higher education.

In 2023, Stephen started working with Ripples for Change charity (2023) to put on capacity building workshops for educators around East London (South Africa). Funding from Erasmus+ and the British Council has taken Kitchen Chemistry to Vietnam (2023) and Brunei (2023) respectively to deliver both capacity building workshops for educators and science shows for general audiences.

ARTS AND CULTURE AWARD

Dr Oren Margolis

The Jewish cultural projects led by Oren, often under the name ‘Jurnet’s House’, are guided by two fundamental principles. Firstly, the recognition that Jewish history is intertwined with the history of Norwich. Secondly, that Norwich history is an integral part of Jewish history.

"Oren’s work on the place and history of Jewish people in Norwich has transformed our City’s understanding of itself and has been a very important driver in the City’s beginning to celebrate itself as a ‘City of tolerance and diversity’. Our first public act in this declaration was the lighting of a Menorah on City Hall’s balcony."
Cllr Dr Kevin Maguire, Lord Mayor of Norwich (2021–23)

(left) Dr Marian Prinsley, (right) Dr Oren Margolis

(left) Dr Marian Prinsley, (right) Dr Oren Margolis

Norwich has the oldest extant Jewish dwelling in England – a house on King St that belonged to the early thirteenth-century patron and financier Isaac Jurnet – and the Jurnet House project believes Norwich is the most suitable home in England for the study and interpretation of the last thousand years of Jewish experience in their totality.

The project to transform this historic building into a Jewish heritage and cultural centre has now gained the cooperation of the City Council, offering transformative potential for Norwich’s cultural landscape. This milestone has been reached through Oren’s efforts to foster trust between the city, the university, and the Norwich Jewish community, custodian of this vital history. Central to building this trust has been a commitment to facilitating civic acknowledgment on Jewish terms whenever feasible.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

HONOURABLE MENTION POSTGRADUATE AWARD

Rebecca Shaw

Rebecca Shaw received an honorary mention from the panel for her exceptional science communication and outreach work. Throughout her time as a PhD student at UEA, Rebecca has dedicated herself to promoting scientific research and engaging the public in science through various initiatives and events.

She has worked closely with the Pint of Science initiative, serving as an event manager from 2021 to 2023. In this role, Rebecca organised events where local researchers from UEA and the NRP presented their work to the public in cafés or pubs. This year, she has taken on the role of Pint of Science City Coordinator, organising events at the Norwich Science Festival, and Pint of Science Festival 2024, which features 13 different events across Norwich with over 30 local researchers.

Rebecca pursued the idea of developing her own workshop and outreach curriculum by applying to participate in the STEM Communication Prize program at UEA. She and a team of four others developed a workshop to inspire school students to engage in STEMM subjects, using music to teach Biology and Physics. Their team won the STEMM Communication Prize and had the opportunity to further develop their workshop, which they presented at the Norwich Science Festival and Super Science Saturday at a local Norwich college.

Most recently, Rebecca was part of a team that received a competitive Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant aimed at breaking down barriers for minority communities engaging in Environmental sciences. They developed two environmental disaster scenario lock-box games, "Oil Overboard!" and "Who Polluted the Water?" These interactive games empower students with skills such as critical thinking and discussions around environmental sciences.

This honorary mention highlights Rebecca's outstanding contributions and unwavering commitment to making science accessible and exciting for diverse audiences.

HONOURABLE MENTION PROJECT AWARD

Gemma Standen’s work with Mature Students

Gemma's role at UEA was introduced in November 2019 to increase the number of mature students and improve retention. She has been responsible for creating a comprehensive program of activities to support students throughout their educational journey.

This includes developing new resources tailored to an adult audience, enhancing representation at both public and recruitment events such as open days, and providing information and guidance to those studying Access to HE qualifications and in the community.

She co-runs a weekly intervention called 'Study Together', which is open to all students but promoted heavily to mature and commuter students. The premise of 'Study Together' is to create a supportive space for students to chat with their peers and be signposted to help - something that's been well received by students due to its regularity and friendly atmosphere. Gemma has presented on 'Study Together' at the inaugural Student Belonging Community of Practice in March 2023, which resulted in an article in the Times Higher Education.

"I was a young single mother when I began my undergraduate studies at age 22, which was my greatest challenge and accomplishment. It is the knowledge I gained from this experience that likely gives me the level of empathy and breadth of understanding in the challenges other mature students encounter."
Gemma Standen

In 2022, she began a Master of Research degree alongside her role, furthering her interest in lifelong learning and policy affecting adult learners. Her studies have led to a published article in the Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning journal and a forthcoming chapter in a book focused on impactful interventions for mature students.

Gemma continues to represent and advocate for mature students and invites others to join her in this mission.

Gemma Standen

Dr Nick Warr

HONOURABLE MENTION ARTS AND CULTURE AWARD

Dr Nick Warr

As a Lecturer in Art History & Curation (AMA), Nick constantly explores innovative ways to integrate meaningful audience engagement into his research. In 2020, a chance discovery of a photo album at the Museum of Norwich presented an opportunity to delve into an underrepresented aspect of the city’s history. This led him to develop an idea for an exhibition that would, for the first time, unite the remarkable work of the region’s cultural heritage institutions.

The exhibition, titled Norwich Works, is an unprecedented collaboration between UEA, Norfolk Museums, Norfolk Record Office, East Anglian Film Archive, and Norfolk Heritage Centre. It stands as the largest photographic exhibition ever staged in the region, representing three key Norwich industries: shoemaking at Edwards and Holmes; steel construction, woodworking, and wire netting at Boulton & Paul; and sweet-making at Mackintosh-Caley.

In collaboration with Norfolk Libraries, audiences were encouraged to share information and memories of working at the three factories. When the exhibition opened, the names of the individuals in the photographs were unknown, as there was no record of the workers in the archives. One of the great delights of the exhibition is that visitors have contributed to the body of research by identifying and naming workers in the photographs and sharing their stories, which have been documented by the museum and archives to enrich understanding of this important part of Norwich’s history.

Aside from the gorgeous artistic merit and the significance of their contribution to the birth and development of commercial photography, it is a beautiful visual love letter to erstwhile industries of post-war Norwich.
Enjoy Norwich – October 2023