Professor Felix Driver, from the Department of Geography at Royal Holloway, has been shortlisted for the Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year award by the prestigious THE Awards 2024, widely known as the "Oscars of higher education".
The Outstanding Research Supervisor award recognises an individual who has created the most supportive, stimulating and inspirational research environment for doctoral students.
Professor Felix Driver has supervised PhDs from the UK and abroad and has an enviable success rate, with his students moving on to incredible career journeys: from the British Library and Kew Gardens, to professorships at universities, with three former students becoming postgraduate research managers at Oxford, Bristol and a Collaborative Doctoral Partnership.
Felix has also made a notable commitment to Collaborative Doctoral Projects by devising and co-supervising collections-based doctoral research projects with external partners, including Kew Gardens, the Royal Geographical Society, Science Museum, National Maritime Museum and the British Library. He has, to date, won funding for 18 AHRC and ESRC Collaborative Doctoral studentships, 12 as lead applicant, including two new AHRC awards with Kew and the RGS starting in September 2024.
Professor Felix Driver commented:
“Of the many things that Universities do, the PhD is the most special. That is why many other organisations collaborate with universities to design and co-supervise PhD projects - including, in the arts and humanities, museums, libraries, galleries and botanical gardens.
“The collaborative PhD is one of the great success stories of UK higher education but we don’t celebrate it enough. I am very pleased to be shortlisted for this award as a way of highlighting the value of the PhD at a moment when UK higher education needs to show what makes our universities special places in which to learn, experiment and create better worlds.”
John Gill, Times Higher Education editor, said:
"This year’s THE Awards mark the 20th anniversary of the event, which over the last two decades has celebrated the wonderful achievements of a sector that has undergone extraordinary transformation without ever losing sight of the vital role it plays across the UK and Ireland.
“In 2024 it’s fair to say that higher education is going through a challenging period, but these awards are a constant reminder that we should never underestimate the dedication and drive of those who work in our universities to transforming lives for the better.
“Enthusiasm for these awards as a way to celebrate those achievements remains undimmed, with more entries in our 20th year than ever before.
“Our sincere congratulations to all those shortlisted in such a competitive year – it really is an achievement to have reached this stage, and we very much look forward to celebrating with you all at our 20th birthday party in Birmingham on 28 November.”
The winners will be revealed on 28 November 2024.
