‘Groundbreaking’ research among WELS projects nominated for 14 Research Excellence Awards

Research by WELS academics has resulted in 14 nominations for this year’s Open University Research Excellence Awards (REAs).

Among these is the project Dame Elizabeth Fradd DBE called ‘groundbreaking’, which explores sex and relationships for young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.

End-of-life care, home education, and perinatal mental health are some of the other studies to receive a nod.

Held annually, the REAs recognise outstanding research and celebrate achievement within the OU research environment. The panel reported particularly strong submissions this time around, with 138 people or projects up for consideration.

Professor Lesley Hoggart, Associate Dean Research for WELS, led in congratulating the nominees, saying:

“I am incredibly proud of the high-quality research that is a feature of WELS and has been recognised by a number of our colleagues being shortlisted for the Research Excellence Awards.
"Combined with our excellent REF results, we can confidently say WELS is producing research that makes a difference.”

Of the twelve categories, WELS features across eight:

Postgraduate Research (PGR) Student Award

Research Student Dr Ayomide Oluseye works in the field of sexual and reproductive health (SRH), with a focus on marginalised women and girls in low and middle-income contexts. She is nominated for contributing to the OU’s rising profile of international SRH research through her publications, conference presentations and participation in collaborative research within the OU. Ayomide said of the news: “I consider it a privilege to be nominated for this award. This shows a recognition of my work and inspires me to keep improving.”

Also in this category is Katie Jones, a Research Student with an interest in perinatal mental health. She was put forward by WELS Professor Emeritus of Developmental Psychology, John Oates, who recognised Katie’s large-scale, cross-sectional, survey-based methods and use of state-of-the-art statistical modelling. Katie’s work has also included giving presentations to NHS primary care practitioners in the north-east of England and assisting in running a workshop for the Society of Reproductive and Infant Psychology (SRIP).

PGR Supervisor Award

Dr Philippa Waterhouse, Senior Lecturer in the School of Health, Wellbeing & Social Care (HWSC) is acknowledged for the academic and personal-welfare support she offers her students. Philippa’s contribution to the wider OU PGR community is also noted, where she has judged the online Graduate School PGR poster competition, as well as delivered training on quantitative methods as part of the School’s training programme.

Early Career Researchers

HWSC Senior Lecturer Dr Erica Seruset Borgstrom’s contribution to helping position the OU as an internationally renowned lead in the field of death studies and end-of-life care research is the reason behind her nomination. Fellow HWSC Senior Lecturer Dr Liz Tilley, who put Erica forward, highlighted how Erica’s research is “transforming” critical end-of-life care studies.

​Best External Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange Award

In the first of two nominations, HWSC Senior Lecturer Dr Jitka Vseteckova is acknowledged for the Ageing Well Public Talks (AWPT) Series. More than 30,000 people have engaged with it so far, which includes a portfolio of work shared via multiple external partners including The Parks Trust MK, Carers Centre Tower Hamlets and Age Scotland.

Senior Lecturer Dr Simon Cross (Institute of Educational Technology- IET), Professor Freda Wolfenden (ECYS) and Senior Lecturer Dr Lina Adinolfi (LAL) are jointly shortlisted for their project Digital Badges for Teacher Professional Development in India. Working in partnership with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, sustained knowledge exchange, capacity building, and applied research resulted in teachers from over 220 schools in Assam completing digitally badged professional development, and helped to reframe understanding of how teachers’ developmental trajectories can be recognised, individualised and shared at scale in low-resource contexts.

Dr Margaret Ebubedike (ECYS) and Dr Saraswati Dawadi (IET) were nominated for their research into empowering victims of human trafficking. Dr Ebubedike said "We hope to not only help these young girls and women in the short term, but to create long lasting, sustainable change.”