There were nearly 170 award entries across the 13 categories this year, with more than 1,000 individuals included in the nominations. They were assessed by stream judging panels made up of colleagues from across the central University, divisions, colleges and GLAM. The winners and highly commended nominees will be announced at a special ceremony hosted by the Vice-Chancellor at the new Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities on Thursday 4 June.
Congratulations to the following teams, which include members of NDCN, nominated in the 2026 awards:
AI-Simulated Patient for Medical Education - shortlisted for the Education and Learning award
NDCN nominees: The Sleep Medicine team including Sofia Pereira, Anna Szabo, Dimitri Gavriloff, Simon Kyle and Sumathi Sekaran.
An AI simulated patient tool enabling healthcare students to practise clinical communication skills effectively, sustainably and equitably.
Graduate Programme in Brain Imaging - shortlisted for the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Award
NDCN nominees: Thomas Okell, Kamila Szulc-Lerch, Frederik Lange, Rezvan Farahibozorg, Paul McCarthy, Benjamin Tendler, Wenchuan Wu, Jesper Andersson, Rogier Mars, Gwenaelle Douaud
Oxford’s volunteer-led programme delivers world-class MRI training, cultivating leaders in cutting-edge brain imaging research. The MRI Graduate Programme, organised by the Oxford Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, is a set of courses designed to teach new researchers the theory and practice of MRI neuroimaging, from introductory courses on neuroscience and statistics, to MRI physics and analysis.
Widening Methods of Medical Teaching - shortlisted for the Support for Students Award
NDCN nominees: Gina Hadley
Developing programmes and initiatives that substantially improve the training of Oxford medical students. This is both for her pastoral role at Harris Manchester College and initiatives on the Year 5 Clinical NEO (Neurology, ENT and Ophthalmology) course under the mentorship of Professor Gabriele De Luca whereby students are taught things they cannot learn from textbooks to sustain them in throughout their careers.
The Centre for Global Epilepsy - shortlisted for the Making a Difference Globally Award
NDCN nominees: Arjune Sen, Tim Denison, Anna Minarik
An interdisciplinary hub advancing global equity in epilepsy through health-systems strengthening, sustainable and locally led care initiatives and collaborative research. The Centre for Global Epilepsy (CGE) at Wolfson College, University of Oxford is the world’s first centre dedicated to improving epilepsy research and care across marginalised communities, be that in low to middle income countries or resource underprivileged populations in high income settings. Launched in 2025, CGE brings together interdisciplinary expertise to address gaps in diagnosis, treatment, education and policy. Its work spans research, capacity sharing, education and policy engagement, supporting equitable access to care and strengthening global partnerships to improve outcomes for people living with epilepsy worldwide.
Oxford Crisis Education Programme (OxCRED) - shortlisted for the Making a Difference Globally Award
NDCN nominees: Helen Higham
OxCRED (Oxford Crisis Education) is an education-in-crisis initiative based at Oxford Lifelong Learning, Department for Continuing Education. It builds on a one-year pilot project launched in January 2025 to support students during the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and enhance Oxford University’s response to the events in Israel, Gaza and the Middle East. OxCRED offers a flexible and scalable model of online education that enables students affected by crisis, whether through conflict or displacement, to continue their learning and academic engagement.
Everyone is invited to attend the Awards Showcase in the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities on Tuesday 2 June 2026, where shortlisted nominees will have an opportunity to demonstrate and discuss their work. The showcase will be open to all University staff as well as members of the public.
Read about all the teams and individuals nominated on the VC Award website.