Outstanding work recognised at Celebrating Excellence Awards

The School of Social Sciences celebrated multiple wins at the recent Cardiff University Celebrating Excellence Awards.

The awards recognise the outstanding performance of colleagues across the University, celebrating individual, team and collaborative achievements. This year there were 154 nominations across 15 award categories.

Dr Dawn Mannay was awarded the prize for Excellence in Civic Mission for her work in improving the educational experiences and outcomes of children and young people in care.

Originally working to collect the experiences of 65 care-experienced children, Dr Mannay’s project has since produced films; art projects; magazines distributed to 15,000 young people and foster carers in the UK; information posters and flyers which were mailed out to 1,600 schools; and organised workshops and conferences around the UK which connected with over 1,000 key stakeholders.

Dr Mannay’s significant contribution to improving the educational experiences of the 5,555 children and young people in care in Wales is testament to her innovation, collaboration and coproduction.

Winners of the Excellence in Research Prize, the Crime and Security Research Institute were recognised for their outstanding and impactful work in areas such as terrorism, crime and security, and national intelligence.

The Institute were commended for their problem-driven approach to solving specific problems, and track record of impactful policy and practice development at national and international levels.

Yvonne Taylor, Research Centre Manager for the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE) was awarded the Sir Herbert Duthie Prize for Staff Development.

As manager of a fast-growing centre, with 40+ members of staff, more than 20 projects, and more than £10m of research funding, Yvonne was commended for her can-do approach to keeping the busy centre running smoothly.

The School was also delighted to have four more colleagues shortlisted for prizes:

- Dr Hannah Littlecott for the Rising Star – Early Career Academic Prize
- Professor Ian Rees Jones for the Excellence in Leadership Prize
- Dr Sophie Hallett for the Excellence in Innovation and Enterprise Prize
- Dr Sara Jones for the Excellence in Voluntary Contribution Prize