Usher Institute’s double win at University’s first Research Impact Awards

Over the course of three days and 25 events, staff from across the University learned about their colleagues’ experiences engaging with industry, communities, policy-makers, the media, artists and practitioners to maximise the benefits of research.

The festival was brought to a close with a ‘Celebrating Impact’ event where researchers, teams and partnerships received prizes in recognition of their outstanding engagement and research impact activities.

The Impact Festival has highlighted some fantastic examples of how research is making a real difference in the world that we hope will inspire others to start or further their impact journey. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees for their outstanding efforts in the field of research impact and innovation.

Dr Anne-Sofie Laegran

The celebration event was hosted by broadcaster and comedian Susan Morrison in the Nucleus Building. Professor Christina Boswell, Vice-Principal for Research and Enterprise, welcomed over 150 attendees and prizes were presented by members of the panel that reviewed over 130 nominations across all award categories.

The awards spanned various categories such as Team Culture, Sustained Partnership, Responsible Engagement and Innovation, Engagement Newcomer, Impact Enabler, and Outstanding Achievement. Among these, the Usher Institute celebrated wins in two of the six categories. The Advanced Care Research Centre (ACRC) secured the Team Culture Award, while Sir Aziz Sheikh was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement Award.

Team Culture Award

The Team Culture Award went to The Advanced Care Research Centre (ACRC), comprising a highly interdisciplinary team that crosses a number of Schools, centres and research fields that prioritise Public and Patient Involvement (PPI). This award recognises the ACRC’s dedication to building a truly interdisciplinary culture of collaboration, inclusivity, and shared commitment to improve the quality and sustainability of care provision in later life.

Outstanding Achievement Award

The Outstanding Achievement Award was presented to Sir Aziz Sheikh, who is leading The Early Pandemic Evaluation and Enhanced Surveillance II (EAVE II) project involving academic institutions across Scotland and Public Health Scotland (PHS). The partnership, spanning over 10 years, has informed key policy and clinical decisions during the 2009-10 H1N1 (‘swine flu’) pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on sustained collaborations with public bodies, research and expert groups, journalists, policymakers, and members of the public, this project has demonstrated an outstanding level of connectedness, tenacity and innovation. 

Further information

Read the University’s staff news item, Celebrating impact: Research Impact Award winners announced

Find out more about the Advanced Care Research Centre

Find out more about EAVE II