Blackboard Announces Winners of 2019 Catalyst Awards for Europe

Last week (16 May) Blackboard announced the winners of the 2019 Blackboard Catalyst Awards for Europe.

Founded in 2005, the annual Catalyst Awards recognise and honour innovation and excellence in the Blackboard global community of practice, where millions of educators and learners work every day to redefine what is possible when leveraging technology. Winners are selected by a cross-functional team of Blackboard experts. The honourees from across the Europe were recognised during Blackboard’s annual Teaching & Learning Conference held in Newcastle on 14 to 16 May.

“I am thrilled to recognise this year’s Catalyst Award winners for their innovative accomplishments and commitment to leveraging technology to enchance the overall teaching and learning experience,” said Lee Blakemore, Chief Client Officer and President, Global Client Operations & Success at Blackboard.

“These award recipients have delivered significant value to their institutions and learners. We look forward to continuing to work together to further improve student success..”

Below are the winners, listed by category:

Community Engagement

This award recognises customers who are dedicated to improving student achievement by fostering a connection between school districts, institutions, educators, students, and their communities. The winners are:

• Bloomsbury Learning Environment– Sarah Sherman
• University of York – Amy Eyre
• Durham University – Malcolm Murray, Julie Mulvey, Ross Parker and Candace Nolan-Grant

Teaching & Learning

This award recognises those who have adopted flexible, distance and online delivery, including using mobile technologies to positively impact the educational experience. The winners are: 

• University of Liverpool – Xiaobei Wu, Will Moindrot and the Postgraduate Careers Team, University of Liverpool Management School
• University of Edinburgh – Lucy Gaunt and Law School Online Learning VLE Migration Project Team

Inclusive Education

The Inclusive Education Award honours those customers whose methods have ensured their pedagogy, content, technology, and educational services are fully inclusive and supportive of all learners with disabilities. The winners are:

• Bishop Grosseteste University – Dr Claire Thomson, Dr Sue Cordell, Adam Elce, James Duke, Mark Hall, other members of the VLE Implementation Group, which was led by CELT, and included representation from across the institution.
• University of Derby – Claire Gardener, Laura Hollinshead, John Hill and Chris Bell – Centre for Excellence in Learning & Teaching (CELT)

Whoop! @DerbyTelTeam @Cl4ireG @ljhollinshead are Blackboard Catalyst Award winners for #inclusive education #BbTLCEUR. Well done! go team @DerbyUniCELT @DerbyUniPress @DerbyUni @FeefeeShelts @TBowersBrown pic.twitter.com/QGWPYQb4R5

— Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (@DerbyUniCELT) May 16, 2019

 Optimising Student Experience

This award honours those institutions whose educational and administrative innovations have markedly improved the total learner experience. The winners are:

• University of Reading – MA Programme Team, led by Emma Mayhew, Academic Director and Shelley Connor, Programme Management Consultant

About Blackboard: Our mission is to partner with the global education community to enable learner and institutional success, leveraging innovative technologies and services. With an unmatched understanding of the world of the learner, the most comprehensive student-success solutions, and the greatest capacity for innovation, Blackboard is education’s partner in change.