Helen Gleeson from University of Leeds Named Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year 2018
Helen Gleeson from University of Leeds Named Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year 2018
We’re very proud to announce that Helen Gleeson from University of Leeds has won the Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year award at this year’s Times Higher Education Awards.
This award recognises Helen Gleeson for her outstanding supervision and support of PhD students past and present.
Currently head of the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leeds, Professor Gleeson previously worked at the University of Manchester, where she was the physics department’s first female lecturer.
Testimonials for Professor Gleeson’s nomination highlighted her involvement in improving the level of support at Leeds for students from a diverse range of backgrounds.
She spearheaded the creation of her department’s postgraduate tutors groups for international students and for women, which give students access to a support network of academics who have faced similar situations and experiences.
Since 1990, Professor Gleeson has supervised 31 PhD students, several of whom have gone on to work for world-leading technology companies or have become highly regarded academics leading their own research groups.
Dr Gill Houston, Chair of the UKCGE, said of Professor Gleeson:
“Any of this year’s six shortlisted nominees for Outstanding Research Supervisor would have been a deserving winner. It was an exceptional field, nominees characterised by their ‘above and beyond’ approach to doctoral supervision.
In the year when a woman was the joint Nobel Prize winner in physics for the first time in over half a century, Helen Gleeson’s nomination was of its time. Helen is head of the School of Physics and Astronomy at Leeds University. During her prolific research career she has supervised over 30 research candidates and was nominated for the award by her doctoral researchers.
Helen stood out for several reasons: as a role model for young women scientists; her innovative approach to research education in physics, including creating a new ‘PhD Plus’ for international candidates incorporating support for English language and academic writing; and sustained engagement with industry, where many of her researchers have found successful careers.
Perhaps most importantly, Helen’s supervisees appreciated her mentoring approach, challenging and encouraging them to do things they could never have imagined, while being constantly supportive before, during and after their PhD.”
Claire Honess, dean of Leeds Doctoral College, commended Professor Gleeson’s “selfless” approach to ensuring that students’ work is funded and supported, noting that her “sensitivity to the needs of postgraduate researchers…has inspired her to develop new PhD formats”, including a four-year course aimed at making sciences more accessible to international researchers.
The judges said that Professor Gleeson’s students “appreciated her mentoring approach, challenging and encouraging them to do things they could never have imagined while being constantly supportive before, during and after their PhD”.
Many congratulations to Professor Gleeson from everyone at the UK Council for Graduate Education.
