After a year like no?other, the shortlists for the 2021 Times Higher Education Awards ¨C the ¡°Oscars of higher education¡± ¨C have been announced.

Seventy-eight institutions and teams are in the running across 20?categories, with the nominees having been picked from a?record haul of nearly 600 entries. Institutions in the Republic of Ireland have been able to enter for the first time in the awards¡¯ 17-year history, alongside their UK?peers.

The awards will celebrate achievements during the 2019-20 academic year, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced widespread campus shutdowns. As ever, they cover the full range of university activity ¨C both academic and professional services, from front-line staff through all levels of leadership and management.

This year¡¯s shortlists are topped by the universities of Nottingham and Reading, which make five appearances each, while Newcastle and Salford universities both get four mentions. There are hat-tricks for five more ¨C Anglia Ruskin and Sheffield Hallam universities, the universities of Central Lancashire and St?Andrews, and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

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In the running for the coveted 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of the Year title are Aston and Cardiff Metropolitan universities, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Open 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ, and the universities of Sunderland and York.

John Gill, THE¡¯s editor, said this year¡¯s awards would ¡°reflect a?period of turmoil and innovation necessitated by the pandemic¡±, yet the record number of entries was a?sign of ¡°the brilliance of universities across the whole of the UK and Ireland¡±.

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¡°With almost 600 institutions, teams and individuals nominated, it really is a fantastic achievement to make it on to this year¡¯s shortlists,¡± Mr Gill said.

¡°We look forward to celebrating the incredible response of university staff in exceptionally tough circumstances when we gather for the ¡®Oscars of higher education¡¯ in November.¡±

In another break from THE?Awards tradition, this year¡¯s awards will be presented at a new venue ¨C the Hilton London Metropole ¨C on 25?November. The awards will follow the two-day event, held at the same venue.

For more information, and to register, visit .

Business School of the Year

• Aberystwyth Business School, Aberystwyth 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• School of Management, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Bradford
• School of Business, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Dundee
• Imperial College Business School
• Leeds 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Business School
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Sussex Business School

International Collaboration of the Year

• Birmingham City 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• The universities of Kent and Cambridge, on behalf of the GCRF COMPASS project
• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
• N8 Research Partnership
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Salford
• Sheffield Hallam 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year

• Aberystwyth 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Edinburgh Napier 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Glasgow (Edify)
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Glasgow (Lighthouse Laboratory)
• London School of Economics and Political Science
• The Open 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Most Innovative Teacher of the Year
Sponsored by Advance?HE

• Paul Driver, Anglia Ruskin 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ ARU
• Liam Jarvis, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Essex
• Chris Jones, Pearson College London
• Sara Namvar, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Salford
• Alexia Petsalis-Diomidis, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of St Andrews
• Cath Seeds, SRUC (Scotland¡¯s Rural College)
• Rhianedd Smith, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Reading
• David Wareing, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Central Lancashire

Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Sponsored by Advance?HE

• Birmingham City 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Edinburgh Napier 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Leeds Trinity 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Royal Holloway, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of St Andrews
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Strathclyde

Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community

• Birmingham City 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Central Lancashire
• Edge Hill 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• London Metropolitan 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• National College of Ireland
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Outstanding Entrepreneurial 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
Sponsored by the National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education

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• Anglia Ruskin 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ ARU
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Edinburgh
• Oxford Brookes 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Sheffield Hallam 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Swansea 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Teesside 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Outstanding Estates?Team

• Canterbury Christ Church 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Harper Adams 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Newcastle 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of St Andrews
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Salford
• York St John 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Outstanding Library Team
Sponsored by Kortext

• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Essex
• Lancaster 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London
• Newcastle 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• UCL
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of the Arts London

Outstanding Marketing/Communications Team

• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Derby
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Reading
• Swansea 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of the West of England
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of the West of Scotland

Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year
Sponsored by Elsevier

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• Ravinder Anand-Ivell, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Nottingham
• Richard Godwin, Harper Adams 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Will Harvey, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Exeter
• Lorraine Hope, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Portsmouth
• Luca Longo, Technological 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Dublin
• Clive Palmer, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Central Lancashire
• Corina Sas, Lancaster 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Rachel Tolhurst, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Outstanding Support for Students

• De Montfort 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Edge Hill 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Glasgow Caledonian 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Portsmouth
• RCSI 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Medicine and Health Sciences
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of the West of England

Outstanding Technician of the Year
Sponsored by Technician Commitment

• Trevor Carey, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ College Cork
• Andrew Filby, Newcastle 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Steve Florence, Sheffield Hallam 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Abbe Martyn, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Surrey
• Manisha Patel, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Salford
• Paul Rowley, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
• Kerry Truman, Nottingham Trent 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Andy Whittam, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Reading

Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

• Bournemouth 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ and the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Strathclyde
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Manchester
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Nottingham
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Strathclyde
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Sussex
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Westminster

Research Project of the Year: STEM
Sponsored by Elsevier

• De Montfort 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ, in collaboration with Anglia Ruskin 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Glasgow
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Manchester
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Population Health
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Reading
• Royal Holloway, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London, in collaboration with the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of York, Leeds Museums and Galleries, and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year

• Durham 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Heriot-Watt 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• King¡¯s College London
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Plymouth and Plymouth College of Art
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Reading
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of West London

THE DataPoints Merit Award
Sponsored by THE DataPoints

With COP26, the UN Climate Change summit, coming to Glasgow this autumn, our data team decided to look at how UK and Irish universities performed on relevant measures in the THE Impact Rankings. The shortlisted institutions are leading the way on practices such as energy efficiency, sustainability, environmental education and net-zero carbon commitments.

• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Aberdeen
• Bournemouth 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ College Cork
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Dundee
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Exeter
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Manchester
• Newcastle 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Surrey

Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year

• Brighton and Sussex Medical School
• Cardiff 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Dundee
• Manchester Metropolitan 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Nottingham and partners
• Waterford Institute of Technology

THE Outstanding Achievement Award
Sponsored by Anderson Quigley

There is no shortlist for this category. The winner, chosen by THE, will be announced at the awards ceremony.

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51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of the Year
Sponsored by Adobe

• Aston 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• Cardiff Metropolitan 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• The Open 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Sunderland
• 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of York