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• The Adam Weiler PGR Impact Award
• • The Adam Weiler PGR Impact Award - previous winners

The Adam Weiler PGR Impact Award

Recognising and celebrating outstanding academic impact among postgraduate researchers

The Adam Weiler Impact Award is available to exceptional researchers currently registered for a postgraduate research degree at Sussex, who demonstrate the potential to achieve outstanding impact in their field. 

The annual award is offered as the result of a generous donation to the University in memory of Adam Weiler, a former student at Sussex. 

On offer are four prizes of £1,000 in four discipline-based categories:

• Media, Arts and Humanities
• Social Sciences, including Business School
• Sciences, including Engineering and Mathematics
• Clinical projects

Postgraduate researchers (PGRs) must be nominated by their supervisor or School's Director for PGRs, and the prize money must be put towards the recipient's research.

Prizes will be handed out during the Sussex Awards ceremony in May, and award recipients will share their work and its impact at a panel session during the Summer of Research in June.

Guidance for nominations

Supervisors or Directors for PGRs are invited to submit nominations for PGRs who are able to demonstrate the following:

• Notable innovation in research (e.g. use of innovative methods for conducting research, or conducting research on a highly innovative topic)

• Conducting high-quality research with significant or ground-breaking implications for theory or practice, or important implications beyond academia

• Evidence of outstanding public engagement or other knowledge transfer activity, going beyond the simple dissemination of their research

• Evidence of exceptional achievement during their postgraduate research (e.g. writing journal articles or conference papers, leading research groups, involvement in national bodies, influencing policy etc.)

Evidence or a clear statement must be provided for each criterion. A nominee may not meet all four criteria but can still receive an award if they are exceptional in other categories. See the list of previous winners for examples of the impact PGRs can make. 

For 2025, nominations must also include a single image showing the impact of the nominee's work. This will not be assessed as part of the submission. In providing the image, permission is given for it to be used in publicly available Sussex Researcher School communications relating to the Award across the website and other channels.

This year's deadline for nominations is Monday 3 March at 5.00pm.

If you have any questions about the nomination form or the award, please contact researcher-development@sussex.ac.uk.

Selection process

Nominations will be assessed according to the degree to which the postgraduate researcher meets the eligibility criteria outlined in the Guidance for nominations section above.

Membership of the 2025 selection panel will be drawn from academic staff covering all four Sussex faculties.

Terms and conditions

Awards are offered subject to the following terms and conditions:

• The awarded funds must be used towards the recipient's research (for example conference attendance or purchase of essential equipment). This must be agreed with the Sussex Researcher School (SRS) before funds are spent, or you may not be reimbursed.
• The awarded funds must be spent in a timely manner, within this financial year; by 15 July 2025 at the latest.
• Recipients are expected to attend the University's Sussex Awards ceremony on Tuesday 6 May, to receive their award, or to nominate a stand-in if they are unable to attend.
• Recipients are expected to take part in a panel discussing their work and its impact at an event during the Summer of Research in June; and to be interviewed for the SRS and/or University website about their research and the impact of winning the award.