Arts Awards

For the staff members who:

• inspire students to develop their knowledge, understanding, and passion of their subject area;  
• are imaginative and creative in their teaching, and empower students to be the same;  
• are engaging, informative and knowledgeable, and encourage students’ creative development;  
• apply cutting edge developments in their field to their teaching;  
• surpass traditional ways of teaching to make their subject accessible, diverse, inclusive, and sustainable. 

For the staff members who:

give and enable outstanding technical and/or operational support by working with students and staff;
exceed expectations to equip students with expertise in and aside from curriculum;
use innovative methods to find creative solutions, and enhance the student experience;
foster a sense of community.

For the staff members who:

actively supports postgraduate students throughout their postgraduate journey;
supports postgraduates with their personal and career development, as well as with research projects;
has a pioneering approach to supervision;
goes the extra mile to help postgraduates navigate their student experience and get involved with the student community.

For the staff members who:

• have a positive impact on students’ experiences by having regular conversations with students to understand their feedback;  
• work with students and Course Reps to continuously review and adapt teaching practice to improve the student experience;
• go the extra mile to acknowledge and address student concerns;  
• are friendly and welcoming, making students feel comfortable to approach them;  
• show students that they understand the pressures they face and recognizes students’ individual needs;
• provide opportunities for students to co-create and develop the curriculum.

For the staff members who:

• demonstrate their commitment to social justice and sustainability through and outside of their practice;
• challenge the status quo in their discipline through developing accessible and inclusive methods or practices that surpass expectations;
• exceed the threshold expectation of embedding social justice, decolonisation and sustainability into the curriculum;
• support students to push for social justice causes and improved sustainability at their college or the university level.

For the staff members who:

• have truly exceeded expectations within their role and are therefore recognised outside of the other categories.

For the staff and students who:

• have collaborated on a project, campaign or event, which could be related to teaching, wellbeing, community, or something else that has contributed to improving the student experience;
• used formal or informal student feedback to inform the direction and aims of their project;
• created a positive change for students as a result of their joint efforts;
• set an excellent example of a positive working relationship between staff and students and what can be achieved in collaborative working.

For the student who:

• champions community building at UAL to develop communication and collaboration that meets pre-covid levels;
• develops new or continuing communities in either their course, school, college, or liberation group;
• fosters an inclusive and accessible environment in their community;
• establishes creative ways to bring their community together and foster a collaborative environment.

For the student reps who:

• go above and beyond to champion the views and interests of students in the school or on their course;
• work with staff and students collaboratively to escalate and resolve issues affecting the student experience;
• communicate updates and information to students to close the feedback loop;
• consult a variety of students in their school or on their course to ensure they can represent the whole student voice.

For the student who:

• has identified a key issue affecting all UAL students and initiated a campaign to resolve it, including all students, not just reps;
• developed a campaign idea which resulted (or is resulting) in tangible positive change;
• led their own campaign, which could include a campaign initiated on the SU ideas page, and mobilised clear student support;
• embeds inclusivity, accessibility, and sustainability into their campaign

This award does not have any set criteria, and will be awarded to a member of staff, or team, at the discretion of the Arts SU elected officers.