Last night we rolled out the red carpet for our annual Teaching Awards – we’re thrilled to reveal our 2025 winners below! 

Staff play a pivotal role in the student experience at Edinburgh – from lecturers to tutors, supervisors to support staff, cohort leads to professional services staff and more. The Teaching Awards provide students with an opportunity to thank staff for their hard work, whilst celebrating the very best of teaching and support at the University of Edinburgh.  

This year we received over 1,700 nominations, all of which were reviewed by our Sabbatical Officers and a group of nearly 100 student volunteers. While we hope the shortlisted staff members are proud to have been selected, we also want to recognise the commitment demonstrated by all our nominees, many of whom have continued to provide an excellent standard of teaching and student support in challenging personal and professional circumstances. 

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Lynn McNair (Moray House School of Education and Sport)

Lynn’s influence goes far beyond her classroom. From her exceptional, innovative, and thoughtful teaching to her unwavering commitment to mentoring and supporting students beyond their academics, she truly goes above and beyond in every way. She organises enriching field trips, offers personal career guidance, and responds to student queries with genuine care. As one student perfectly captured, “Her patience and kindness really motivate me to try harder and stay curious.” As an educator, Lynn has fostered growth, built confidence, and nurtured a whole cohort of lifelong learners.

College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine

Andrew Storey (Edinburgh Medical School)

Andrew spends most of his time as a clinician but also acts as a module lead for senior medicine students. Students often only see a doctor for a few weeks with teaching happening sporadically, but Andrew helps them learn through practice and ensures his students have dedicated weekly lectures. Andrew has cultivated a culture of learning across the hospital, with other clinicians being more willing to teach because of his example. It’s clear that Andrew has, and will continue to have, a huge impact on his students.

College of Science & Engineering

Harvey Huang (School of Engineering)

Harvey was praised for both his regular seminars and holistic support through after-class sessions, including holding a weekly surgery hour after his seminar. One student told us about a time when a fire alarm caused one of his lectures to be disrupted for so long that a lot of the students had to leave, but Harvey went back in and finished his class for those who were able to stay – a clear indication of his passion and dedication to their learning.

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Sociolinguistics by Christian Ilbury (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences)

Organised by Christian Ilbury, this course was described as the most engaging, relevant, and fun course his students have taken. What stood out to us was that students on the course told us they found themselves reflecting on the content in their daily lives, or ended up speaking to friends and flatmates about what they had learned, which shows just how captivating both the course content and the teachers were as they created a course with such a wide impact.

College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine

Intermediate R Programming for Data Science by Brittany Blankinship (Deanery of Molecular, Genetic and Population Health Sciences)

Organised by Brittany Blankinship, this online course ran for the first time this year. Students valued the explainer videos that accompanied the course content and the weekly activities that allowed them to put their learning into practice. They also really appreciated that their tutorials were scheduled during different time slots to better accommodate time zones around the world! The effort and enthusiasm from Brittany and the team on this course really shone through to their students.

College of Science & Engineering

Public Participation in Policy by Hannah Grist (School of GeoSciences)

Organised by Hannah Grist, students praised the variety of learning methods used in this course. Each class included a pre-class session, a lecture (often with an expert guest lecturer), a skills session, and time to work on their group project. The project itself is incredibly innovative, including the preparation of a report for the Scottish Wildlife Trust which students presented to the Scottish Parliament. Hannah and the team fostered a genuine sense of community on the course, and one that created spaces for students to feel heard and become actively involved in policymaking.

Matt Vickers (Careers Service)

The students who nominated Matt were so grateful and impressed by the careers support he offered, whether that was his genuine investment in reading their CVs or helping them prepare for interviews. Something that stood out to us was the time Matt spent breaking down industry expectations and offering specific tips to Engineering and Mathematics students – this kind of tailored support has had a massive impact on all the students who interacted with Matt. One student put it succinctly, telling us that “I wouldn't be where I am without him.”

Leah Macaden (School of Health in Social Science)

Leah’s supervisees told us that she embodies the spirit of a good supervisor-supervisee relationship – one based on mutual respect. Leah goes out of her way to lift her students up – whether that’s through meticulously reading their manuscripts, suggesting development opportunities, or always giving speedy, detailed, and thoughtful advice. One student told us that Leah truly, quote, “cares about students as people” and it’s clear to all of us that the support, guidance, and friendship she gives her supervisees is truly exceptional.

Per Smiseth (School of Biological Sciences)

Per was nominated for not just for being an extremely approachable cohort lead who has helped to resolve all manner of challenging situations, but also for his many, consistently brilliant, cohort activities. From ensuring intercalating medics felt included, to offering academic advice, his dedication to his cohort’s success shone through in his nominations. One of his students told us that, because of him, their cohort feels more like a group of friends than just fellow students.

Claire Lightfoot (School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures)

The students who nominated Claire said that she was the person who made the transition into university not only possible, but positive. Claire met them with empathy, without judgment, and with a level of care that went far beyond administrative duties. Her support combined emotional encouragement, academic guidance, and practical problem-solving – always making sure her students have the tools and confidence to move forward.

Nishat Tasneem (School of Social and Political Science)

Nishat carefully structured her classes so there was time to make sure everyone truly understood the social work concepts they had read in their pre-reading and found ways to apply this to real-world examples She also took the time to understand how neurodivergent students in the class would best engage, and took feedback from the whole class before immediately implementing the methods they found the most useful, adjusting in real time to ensure they had everything they needed.

Tom Bruce (School of Engineering)

Tom has been described in nominations this year as “the kindest and friendliest member of staff” and “someone who so clearly cares for their students and their work”. Over the 16 years our Teaching Awards have been running, he has amassed a staggering 173 nominations celebrating his teaching, innovation, course organisation, exceptional feedback, student support, and their years as a brilliant personal tutor.

In Tom's teaching, we’ve heard about lectures coming alive through interactive demonstrations, multimedia resources, and a unique blend of humour and music, fostering an inclusive learning environment where complex concepts become accessible to all. When it comes to student support, students have praised their dedication to inclusivity. His students felt that they were always able to ask for help and knew they would been seen and heard. This inclusive approach has been particularly felt by international students. Tom goes the extra mile in creating a welcoming atmosphere that celebrates diversity, and he takes time to understand the unique challenges faced by students from different backgrounds, and to provide tailored support to help them feel part of our community, both academically and socially.

Our goal with the Teaching Awards is to celebrate the very best of teaching and support at the University, but it is also important to us that the Awards reflect the diversity of community, and provide a space where staff who may not have access to more formal recognition can be rewarded for their work. If you have questions regarding this year's Awards, please contact [email protected]. 

VIEW THE 2025 SHORTLIST