WAPCE Awardees 2026

The Warwick Awards for Public and Community Engagement (WAPCE), seek to recognise the vital contributions Warwick staff and students make in engaging the public – on an international and national level as well as crucially within our region and local communities – in our learning and discovery, with the goals of sharing and co-producing knowledge, strengthening the role we play in the region and showcasing the role Warwick plays nationally and internationally in making the world a better place.

Congratulations to all of the winners and highly commended awardees!

Inspiring Experiences

Educational and Training Innovation

Online Engagement

Keith Hyams and Jess Sutherland

Keith Hyams is a Professor of Political Theory and Ethics in Politics and International Studies, whose research focuses on democracy, climate change, AI, and ethical policymaking. Alongside extensive policy engagement with organisations including the UK Cabinet Office, UN FAO, and international NGOs, he created the public engagement initiative Democracy: Differently — a globally reaching podcast and digital platform exploring how democracy can better respond to contemporary challenges.

Co-hosted with Jess Sutherland, the podcast brings together academics, policymakers, and public figures to make complex political ideas accessible to wider audiences. Since launching in 2025, it has achieved over 8,000 full episode listens, significant international reach, Guardian “Podcast of the Week” recognition, and strong engagement across social media platforms. The podcast team also includes students Dan White and Woody Pal who work on research, production and content development, helping them gain skills in public engagement and digital communication.

Amrita Kulka and Nikhil Datta

Amrita Kulka and Nikhil Datta are Assistant Professors in Economics at the University of Warwick, leading research on UK housing affordability, housing supply, and spatial inequality. Supported by a £300,000 Nuffield Foundation grant, they have developed an interactive mapping tool, Where to Build, which uses large-scale housing and planning data to identify where new homes are most needed across Great Britain.

Their public engagement work translates complex housing market research into accessible insights for policymakers, industry professionals, and the wider public. Since launching in November 2025, the tool has been used more than 3,500 times and has informed discussions with organisations including 10 Downing Street, MHCLG, DEFRA, Homes England, local councils, and housing developers. Their work has also reached mass audiences through national media coverage, including ITV Tonight, The Sunday Times, and The Conversation.

Tara Morton

Tara Morton is a Teaching Fellow in Modern British History whose work focuses on women’s political history and the UK suffrage movement. She leads the public-facing digital project Mapping Women’s Suffrage, an interactive platform that enables people to research and share local histories of the fight for women’s voting rights. Through this project, she engages the public as “citizen historians,” combining digital mapping with community talks, workshops, and creative events.

In recent years, the project has concentrated on Warwickshire, Coventry, and beyond, uncovering hidden suffrage histories and inspiring exhibitions, educational activities, and local participation. This work has increased public awareness of the diverse, everyday individuals involved in suffrage campaigns, strengthened partnerships with cultural institutions, and contributed to academic research and teaching in digital humanities and feminist history.

Engagement and Involvement

Jackie Hodgson and Rachel Lewis

Jackie Hodgson (School of Law) and Rachel Lewis (Sociology) led an interdisciplinary project using creative and arts-based methods to explore policing, race, safety, and police-community relationships. Working with the Belgrade Theatre, West Midlands Police, local schools, and creative practitioners, they co-produced After Preston, a theatre project based on extensive research interviews with communities, police officers, and young people.

Through workshops, performances, and discussions, the project created safe spaces for dialogue on complex issues around policing and social justice, particularly for young people from diverse and marginalised communities. The work has had lasting impact, leading to further projects with schools and ongoing collaboration with West Midlands Police on anti-racism and Race Action Plan training.

This work has strengthened partnerships between Warwick, local schools, the police, and Coventry’s creative sector, while demonstrating how creative engagement can support community dialogue, public understanding, and meaningful institutional change.

Community Impact

Paolo Turrini

Paolo Turrini is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Warwick and Deputy Director of CAMaCS, leading research in Artificial Intelligence for social good. Alongside his academic work, he founded and chairs the Temperance Philosophy Club in Leamington Spa, a free monthly forum that brings together diverse local communities for inclusive, non-polarising discussions on ethical, social, and philosophical questions.

Since launching in September 2024, the club has engaged around 500 unique participants and fostered lasting community impact through dialogue, critical thinking, and lifelong learning. The club has strengthened connections between the University of Warwick and the wider public.

Youth Community Impact (The Lee Rogerson Award)

Lee Rogerson was a youth worker, educator and filmmaker, awarded an MBE for his work with marginalised young people. He worked with Warwick on a range of projects, as an advisor on youth engagement to research projects, supporting outreach projects and as a filmmaker, helping to empower young people and connect the University with outside audiences. He was a source of calm, wisdom and kindness for everyone he worked with, inside and outside the University, and a believer in the positive difference a University can make.

Martin Price, Sarah Newell and Lily Williams

Martin Price, Sarah Newell and Lily Williams led a University of Warwick community literacy initiative supporting children in areas of socio-economic disadvantage across Tile Hill, Canley, and Lillington. Working with local schools, the Tile Hill Community Partnership and student volunteers, the programme aimed to encourage reading for pleasure among young people with limited access to leisure reading opportunities.

Through weekly creative reading sessions and the “Bonkers Book Bash” celebration event, the project engaged 62 pupils across six schools in spring 2025, helping build confidence and enjoyment around reading. The project strengthened partnerships between the University and local communities, generated positive feedback from teachers and families, and has since expanded into a larger programme reaching more than 120 learners in 2025/26.

Staff Social Mobility Champion

Orla Whelan-Davies and Cathy Hampton

Orla Whelan-Davis and Cathy Hampton lead the School of Modern Languages and Cultures’ widening participation and outreach programme at the University of Warwick, supporting underrepresented students and promoting language learning in disadvantaged communities. Through partnerships with local schools, Routes into Languages West Midlands, and Coventry Cathedral, they deliver projects that aim to raise aspirations, improve access to language learning, and promote social mobility.

Their work includes the “Language Learners as Peacemakers” collaboration with Coventry Cathedral, which engaged schools and the wider public through creative multilingual activities, poetry competitions, workshops, and public talks exploring themes of peace and reconciliation. They also lead a student ambassador programme where Warwick students work with local schools to inspire younger pupils to study languages and consider higher education opportunities. Together, these projects engage thousands of pupils, families, teachers, and students each year, strengthening links between Warwick and local communities while promoting languages, cultural understanding, confidence, and aspiration among underrepresented groups.

Student Social Mobility Champion

Anna Morrison, Caitlin Libeaut and Ida Slavina

Anna Morrison, Caitlin Libeaut and Ida Slavina, third-year Psychology students at University of Warwick, played a key role in delivering the Mental Health Champions project, a youth-led initiative supporting mental health awareness and peer support among young people in local schools. Working with pupils from underrepresented backgrounds, including students from low socio-economic communities and a SEMH school, the project aimed to reduce stigma around mental health, build confidence, and empower pupils to support one another.

The team facilitated school focus groups and led an on-campus training day at Warwick, ensuring that pupils’ voices directly shaped the project’s content and delivery. Engaging 46 young people and six school staff from five schools, the project helped pupils establish wellbeing clubs, lead conversations with school leadership, and plan peer-led mental health activities.

The project strengthened relationships between Warwick and local schools and increased young people’s confidence in accessing university spaces.

Emily Maidwell

Emily Maidwell is a final-year History and Politics student at the University of Warwick and a passionate advocate for widening participation, social mobility, and inclusion in higher education. As a first-generation university student from a low-income background, in receipt of the Warwick Bursary and living with anxiety and depression, she has used her own experiences to support and empower other underrepresented students.

As a long-standing member of the Widening Participation Student Advisory Group and Senior Representative for the Widening Participation Student Network (WPSN), Emily has organised inclusive social, wellbeing, and careers events designed to help WP students feel welcomed, supported, and connected at Warwick. She has also represented student perspectives at national widening participation conferences and worked closely with university staff to advocate for greater inclusivity and awareness of challenges faced by WP students.

Through her leadership, advocacy, and community-building work, Emily has helped foster a strong sense of belonging among WP students, encouraged pride in underrepresented backgrounds.

Tani Ilemobola

Tani Ilemobola is a final-year Law and Sociology student at the University of Warwick who has led extensive widening participation and social mobility work throughout her degree, supporting students from underrepresented and low socio-economic backgrounds. Through programmes including Pathways to Law, Warwick Scholars, School Taskmasters, and Warwick Welcome Service, she has mentored school pupils, sixth form students, and Warwick undergraduates, helping to raise aspirations, build confidence, and demystify higher education and the legal profession.

In 2025/26, Tani founded Capital Sisters, a Warwick-affiliated community supporting black women and first-generation students through activities designed to build social and cultural capital. The project has created inclusive spaces for mentoring, cultural enrichment, personal development, and community-building, engaging more than 60 students in its first year.

Her work has reached over 1,500 individuals across schools, mentoring programmes and student initiatives.

Student Public Engagement Award

Oska Paul

Oska Paul leads a series of action-oriented public engagement projects based on his research into Black African men’s experiences of displacement in Athens, Greece. Working collaboratively with research participants, he co-created three major initiatives: Kypseli Mundial, a large migrant-led football and cultural festival; a multilingual oral history exhibition on African activism; and a three-part radio documentary series.

Kypseli Mundial, now the largest migrant-led festival in Greece, attracts around 2,000 attendees annually and brings together diverse communities through sport, music, workshops, and advocacy. The exhibition and radio series further share underrepresented histories and amplify migrant voices across local and international audiences.

Karis-Joy Chow

Karis-Joy Chow, a second-year Education student at Warwick, developed a public engagement project based on her URSS research, “Colouring the Glass Child,” which explores the experiences of siblings of people with disabilities. Drawing on both research and personal experience, she created a child-friendly zine and interactive activities to raise awareness and support “glass children.”

At the Resonate Roadshow in Leamington Spa (December 2025), Karis-Joy shared her research with around 100 members of the public through discussions and creative play-doh activities about family. Her work reached diverse audiences—including children, parents, teachers, and carers—and extended beyond the event, with participants taking resources back to homes and schools.

The project not only increased public awareness but also shaped Karis-Joy’s future research direction, highlighting the need for support for adult glass children.

Raphael Taylor

Raphael Taylor founded the Creatives Institute, a student-led social enterprise at University of Warwick designed to bring art, ideas, and career opportunities in the cultural sector to campus and beyond. Leading a team of over 20 students, he curated and delivered Belonging, a five-day exhibition in October 2025 showcasing eight emerging artists and exploring themes of identity, including work on the Windrush community.

The exhibition combined visual art, live events, music, and discussions, attracting over 1,000 visitors in person and reaching more than 150,000 people online. It also included initiatives such as a published magazine and a careers forum, providing students with hands-on industry experience.

Praised by academics and cultural leaders, the project enriched campus life, fostered community engagement, and established strong partnerships with major arts organisations.