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UALL & SCUTREA  Awards 2026

The UALL and SCUTREA Awards 2026 have once again highlighted the outstanding work taking place across the adult and lifelong learning community. These awards celebrate individuals and initiatives that have made a significant contribution to the field through innovation, leadership, research, teaching, and practice.

Huge congratulations to all this year’s winners and nominees. We are delighted to recognise and celebrate their achievements.

And the winners are…

UALL Awards 2026 Winners

Research

This award recognises specific research or evidence-based activity that promotes the significance of Lifelong Learning at local, national or international levels.

Bonnie Slade, Glasgow University

Innovation

This award recognises innovations or creative initiatives that seek to expand Lifelong Learning.

Melissa Highton, Fiona Buckland, Lauren Johnston-Smith, University of Edinburgh Online Course Production Team

Quiet Achiever

This award is nominated by a senior staff member or colleague(s) in recognition of outstanding contribution to lifelong learning by an individual or team whose work is largely unnoticed.

Darren Morley, Bangor University

Sustainability

This award recognises creative Lifelong Learning initiatives with proven impact and demonstrable sustainability.

Dr Nalita James and Professor Ruth Hewston, Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of Warwick

Partnerships

This award recognises innovative partnership working and engagement that creates change in an international, transnational, national, regional or local context.

Dr Sarah Bloomfield, Dr Fran Myers, Yvonne McCreadie, Jenifer Oshima, The Open University & Dr Mandy Crawford Lee & Dr Nicky Westwood, UVAC

Co-Creating a Work-Based Learning Research Community – The Open University Work-Based Learning Research Cluster and the University Vocational Awards Council

Institutional Partnerships

This award recognises innovative institutional/cross-institutional partnership working and engagement that creates change in an international, transnational, national, regional or local context.

The University of Manchester & The Bank of England

SCUTREA Awards 2026 Winners

Ian Martin Award

The Ian Martin Award recognises work that makes an outstanding contribution to the theory, practice, or understanding of adult education and lifelong learning. The award honours Ian Martin’s enduring legacy of critical scholarship, intellectual generosity, and commitment to social justice within adult education.

Iain Jones & Sharon Clancy

Tilda Gaskell Award for Outstanding Early Career Research

Recognises outstanding emerging and early-career research that advances adult education and lifelong learning.

Winner: Abigail Green
Runner-up: Huafeng Yu