Changemaker Awards 2015
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- Changemaker Awards 2015
In 2015, there were 6 awards given out to 7 deserving recipients.
Look through all the winners below to discover what they do that makes them Changemakers.
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Winner – Kim Stuart
Kim’s work represents a team approach to Changemaker because Occupational Therapy were one of the first programmes to embed social entrepreneurship into their programme directly, first with a few classes led by Tim Curtis and Wray Irwin in 2011-12 and then into a module that supports OT students in understanding how their work connects to the world of social enterprise. The OT group have helped dozens of students in starting or working for social enterprises and produced the University’s first social enterprise PhDs.
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Winner – Rachel Maxwell, Head of Learning & Teaching: Policy Development
Rachel is Head of Learning & Teaching Policy Development at the University and is currently working on The Change programme amongst other things. Building on the work of her predecessor (Bethany Alden Rivers) she is working to embed Changemaker, Employability, and digital literacy within the curriculum by reviewing and redefining learning outcomes. But Rachel’s involvements goes back much further than her current role, and she is nominated for the skill she has in connecting people across campus to create new ways of working, opening up new ways in which Changemaker can be developed within Curriculum, working with colleagues through the learning design process to help academic colleagues understand how to build Changemaker into their programmes.
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Winner – Abide Zenenga and the Golden Academy
Abide graduated from the University of Northampton with a PhD in 2015 and has a passion for working with young people with Special Educational Needs. He has a strong belief that young people with SEN have the potential to do better for their country if they are provided with the right education and environment. It is because of this passion and belief that Abide identified that provision for young people with SEN could be improved so that it was more person-centred and enabling; so that young people could learn and develop in the way that is right for them rather than driven by what could be provided to them. Abide has successfully raised capital, developed the business model and built networks and partnerships to ensure young people with SEN get the best education they can. Earlier this year, having successfully navigated OFSTED and other regulatory authorities, the Golden Academy was opened in Birmingham: being one of the first, if not the first, specialist free school for children with Autism in the UK. None of this would have been possible without the drive, determination and the team Abide and the Golden Academy team has pulled together to deliver this new venture.
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Winners – Angela Prouse and James Wyatt for developing Singing4Breathing
Angela and James have demonstrated persistence, entrepreneurialism, passion, professionalism, and out-and-out audacity in furthering an idea they developed as part of an assignment. They saw a model that could have a direct impact on individuals’ health and wellbeing, decided to enhance it and bring it to Northampton. They have shown their ability to sell a vision and to leverage funds which has helped them to prototype and pilot their idea, and are now looking to grow it. They have developed their idea by connecting it back to research and continually reshaping their professional practice. They have shown that they are in it for the long haul, evaluating the effectiveness of their pilot and building understanding of how to measure the social impact. They continue to build networks and contacts to help them further, and have recently been approached by a national charity that have identified their work as successful and want them to advise the charity on how to improve their offer.
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Winner – Stephanie Nixon, Joint Honours Education Studies/Criminology
Stephanie started the first-known student society in the UK focussing on students who are on the Autism Spectrum. She was an elected RAG officer who got involved in various volunteering activities within the university and the county. She is currently involved with the Crime Stoppers campaigns and started a petition to make it compulsory to teach consent within Secondary Schools which got over 150 sign-ups. She is also the first student to complete the Change Maker Leadership Program at the University.
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Winner – Eunice Lumsden, Subject Leader: Early Years
Back in November 2013 Eunice was instrumental in staging the Northampton Summit on Early Years. She obtained the backing of the University to embark on a campaign that was a real catalyst for change, by providing a platform that enabled others to move the debate on Early Years provision forward globally. The passion, commitment, and willingness of those involved to work together as a result of the resulting conversation was incredible. The summit connected with politicians, practitioners, and the public (through a wishing tree that went viral) which led to a network of people all lobbying to ensure that the importance of Early Years provision lobbied at the highest possible level. Two years later, the United Nations have recognised the importance of including Early Childhood Development and Care in the next global agenda. There remains a long way to go in making this goal achievable, but we are also a long way further forward in making it a reality but getting early childhood development and care included is an amazing collective historical achievement. Whilst recognising the ‘collective nature’ of this achievement the genesis and initial opportunity recognition would not have happened if it hadn’t been for the recipient of this year’s Special Achievement.