OBI Awards

Recognising UHI Perth's Outstanding, Best and Inspiring staff and students!

Congratulations to all nominees and winners in this years OBI Awards!

OBI Award winners 2026

These awards celebrate the Outstanding, Best, and Inspiring students and staff who make a real difference within the UHI Perth community.

Congratulations to all our 2026 award winners and nominees!

We all had a brilliant time at our awards ceremony on 18 May celebrating the exceptional achievements and contributions from across UHI Perth.

This year’s event welcomed Colin Munro, Chief Executive Officer of HISA, as keynote speaker. Colin joined HISA in March and works with student representatives, staff, trustees, and UHI colleagues to turn strategy into action and build strong relationships across the partnership. Guests also heard from Jill Elder, Depute Principal, who delivered opening remarks. Closing remarks were delivered by Chris Whatley, Vice Chair of the UHI Perth Board of Management and one of Scotland’s leading historians. A former Vice Principal at the University of Dundee, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, an OBE recipient, and a widely respected public speaker and author.

Andi Garrity, HISA Perth President, explained: “Last year we achieved a record number of nominations, and we’ve continued by breaking the record again this year. Every single one of you have made a significant impact at UHI Perth this year, and whether you are an award winner or a nominee you are all amazing!

“Handing out the nominee invitations was very rewarding to see the warmth and appreciation felt by recipients when reading the thoughtful comments written about them.”

Catherine Etri, Interim Principal and Chief Executive of UHI Perth, added: “The OBI Awards is one of the moments in the year when we step back and recognise what truly makes UHI Perth special - our learners, our staff, and the community that surrounds us.”

The event also showcased the collaborative effort behind the awards, with a judging panel and event contributions from across the UHI Perth staff and student community.

2026 Award Winners:

Outstanding Student Voice Representative (BSTW)

  • Winner - Dylan Halliday - Administration and IT
  • Highly commended - Millie Barr-McIvor - Hairdressing

Outstanding Student Voice Representative (AHE)

  • Winner - Nathalie Kirk - Childhood Practice
  • Highly commended - Daniel Roberts-Tennant - Childhood Practice

Best Student Club or Society

  • Winner - Tuesday Art Club
  • Highly Commended - Netball

Most Inspiring Student (BSTW)

  • Winner - Maddy Moffat - Access to Health and life Sciences
  • Highly commended - Chlöe Jenner-Parson - Outdoor Activities and Leadership

Most Inspiring Student (AHE)

  • Winner - Daniel White - PGDE Primary
  • Winner - Dawid Ekiert - Computer Science
  • Highly commended - Amy Owens - Social Sciences
  • Highly commended - Arran McConnell - Next Steps to Learning

Outstanding Student Support

  • Winner - Lindsey Brown - Active Campus Coordinator
  • Winner - Suzanne Wilson - Student Development Worker
  • Highly commended - Mig Sherrit - Estates

Best Personal Academic Tutor (BSTW)

  • Winner - Dr Joanne Mathers - Science
  • Highly commended - Liz Courtney - Business and Accounting
  • Highly commended - Shirley Simpson - Hospitality

Best Personal Academic Tutor (AHE)

  • Winner - Tracy McGregor - Early Years and Education
  • Highly commended - Aga Styczen - ESOL

Most Inspiring Lecturer (BSTW)

  • Winner - Hamish Herbert - Sport and Fitness

Most Inspiring Lecturer (AHE)

  • Winner - Steven Reid - Technical Theatre
  • Highly commended - Gareth Whitehead - Music
  • Highly commended - Lewis Cairns - Humanities and Social Sciences

 

Below is a summary of previous OBIs. For more information, please email hisa.perth@uhi.ac.uk

OBIs 2025

OBIs 2025

We were honoured to welcome the First Minister to our 2025 OBI Awards, where we celebrated the Outstanding, Best and Inspiring students and staff which took place in the Goodlyburn Theatre on 28th May.

With a record-breaking 498 nominations, this year’s ceremony was our biggest yet — recognising inspiring lecturers, dedicated tutors, standout student reps, and amazing clubs and societies!

Huge congratulations to all our nominees, winners, and runners-up. It was a fantastic celebration of the people who make UHI Perth such a vibrant and inspiring community!

Best Student Club or Society

  • Winner - Volleyball Club

Outstanding Student Voice Representative (BSTW)

  • Winner - Ali Al Masri - Accounting
  • Highly commended - Boudi-Harry O-Neal - Administration and IT

Outstanding Student Voice Representative (AHE)

  • Winner - David Leslie - Sound Production
  • Highly commended - Kseniia Huba - English as a Foreign Language

President's Special Award

  • Winner - Michael Hill - Stepping Out

Most Inspiring Student (BSTW)

  • Winner - Violet Sparks - Access to Health and life Sciences
  • Highly commended - Shannon Telfer - Social Services
  • Highly commended - Toni Hoggins - Access to Nursing

Most Inspiring Student (AHE)

  • Winner - Lewis MacFarlane - Skill Up
  • Highly commended - Olguta-Bianca Gliga - Childhood Practice

Outstanding Student Support

  • Winner - Arlene McArthur - Reprographics Technician
  • Winner - Lynne Pert - Aramark
  • Highly commended - Karen McPhail - Learning Zone
  • Special Commendation - Fiss the Guide Dog

Best Personal Academic Tutor (BSTW)

  • Winner - Alison Kirk - Business
  • Highly commended - Shirley Simpson - Hospitality

Best Personal Academic Tutor (AHE)

  • Winner - Magnus Collie - Sound and Audio Engineering
  • Highly commended - Tracy McGregor - Early Education and Childcare

Most Inspiring Lecturer (BSTW)

  • Winner - Jordan Waugh - Health and Social Care
  • Highly commended - Ines Caetano - Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

Most Inspiring Lecturer (AHE)

  • Winner - Victoria-Lee Rice - Musical Theatre
  • Highly commended - Jason Wotherspoon - Music

OBIs 2024

OBIs 2024

The 2024 OBI awards ceremony at UHI Perth recognised Outstanding, Best and Inspiring staff and students on Thursday 6th June.

Led by HISA Perth - the Highland and Islands Students Association, staff and students put forward nominations in various categories celebrating teaching staff, non-teaching staff, Personal Academic Tutors, Student Voice Representatives and Sports Clubs and Societies.

Most Inspiring Lecturer

  • Laura Kelly & Ricky Neil

Best PAT

  • Lynn Mulholland

Best Student Voice Representative

  • Dagmara Dabrowska-Kochanek

Most Inspiring Student

  • Zbigniew Ksiazak

Outstanding Education Support (Professional Services)

  • Sharon Mcguire

Best Wellbeing Support (Professional Services)

  • Suzanne Wilson

Best Impact on the Student Experience

  • Trina McFarlane & Chris Heaney

Club/Society of the Year

  • UHI Perth Boccia

Best Overall Student

  • Debbie Matthew

Most Recognised

  • Lindsey Brown & Becky Angus

OBIs 2023

OBIs 2023

Group of people in front of large screen

An Awards ceremony at UHI Perth recognised Outstanding, Best and Inspiring (OBI) staff and students on Wednesday 31 May.

Led by HISA Perth - the Highland and Islands Students Association, staff and students put forward nominations in various categories celebrating teaching staff, non-teaching staff, Personal Academic Tutors, Student Voice Representatives and Sports Clubs and Societies. Xander McDade, Provost of Perth and Kinross also attended the ceremony to honor and acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the winners.

Dr Margaret Cook, UHI Perth Principal and Chief Executive said:

“These awards celebrate the amazing staff, students and student groups that help make UHI Perth a fantastic community. The ceremony is a timely reminder to appreciate and reward the hard work and dedication of our staff and students in creating the best student experience possible, and how we work hard to embed student engagement in partnership with our students. Many congratulations to all the nominees, winners and runners up.”

Todor Pavlov-Kennedy, HISA Perth President explained:

"I’m delighted that we have reached this time of year to host our OBI Awards, and the very special atmosphere they bring to our campus at UHI Perth. This year is the tenth year since the awards first began, designed to celebrate student and staff achievements.

"Bringing together the UHI Perth community for this special occasion highlights the amazing work students and staff have done this past academic year. We look forward to another ten years of OBI Awards to come so we can continue to celebrate the accomplishments of our wonderful UHI Perth community!"

Most Inspiring Lecturer

  • Joe Burman

Best PAT

  • Nicola Coffield

Best Student Voice Representative

  • Katrina Irvine

Most Inspiring Student

  • Tina Monaghan

Outstanding Support (Non Teaching)

  • Alex Weir

Club/Society of the Year

  • Creative Writing Club

Best Student Event

  • Sharon's Shindig

Outstanding Research or Dissertation Supervisor

  • Liz Courtney

Outstanding Feedback

  • Yunior Perdomo

Best Overall Student

  • Angelique Grant-Omotosho
  • Iryna Khudan

OBIs 2022

OBIs 2022

A group of people holding trophies and certificates smilingAn Awards ceremony at UHI Perth recognised Outstanding, Best and Inspiring (OBI) staff and students on Wednesday 1 June.

Led by HISA Perth - the Highland and Islands Students Association, staff and students put forward nominations in various categories celebrating teaching staff, non-teaching staff, Personal Academic Tutors, Student Voice Representatives and Sports Clubs and Societies.

Dr Margaret Cook, Perth College UHI Principal and Chief Executive said:

“These awards celebrate the amazing staff, students and student groups that help make Perth College UHI a fantastic community and showcases how excellent a place Perth College UHI is to study and work in.

“The ceremony is a timely reminder to appreciate and reward the hard work and dedication of our staff and students in creating the best student experience possible, and how we work hard to embed student engagement in partnership with our students. Many congratulations to all the nominees, winners and runners up.”

Todor, HISA Perth President explained:

“Here at Perth College UHI, the OBI Awards are close to all of our hearts. At this key event, we at HISA, recognise the outstanding contributions, and inspiring efforts, our staff and students make to ensure our college community is the best it can be. This is now our ninth year celebrating the amazing achievements of our staff and students, and it is my hope that we will continue to do so for many years to come!”

Most Inspiring Lecturer

  • Adele MacDonald

Best PAT

  • Scott Innes
  • Caroline Cowe

Best Student Voice Rep

  • Shannon Kerr
  • Winfrida Mwongela

Most Inspiring Student

  • Anna Croll
  • Omar Nomoko

Outstanding Support (Non Teaching)

  • Claire Nelson
  • Mandy MacDonald

Club/Society of the Year

  • Volleyball

Best Student Event

  • Author Event - Tawona Sithole

Outstanding Research or Dissertation Supervisor

  • Kyle Smith

Outstanding Feedback

  • Simon Fraser
  • Ricky Neil

Overall Student Winner

  • Anna Croll
  • Omar Nomoko

OBIs 2021

OBIs 2021

Representatives of the Highlands and Islands Students Association at Perth College UHI hosted their annual OBI Awards on Friday 28 May - bringing students and staff together online despite ongoing challenges due to COVID-19.

The HISA Perth team transitioned the celebration online for the first time in 2020, to ensure the winning staff and students were given the recognition they deserved throughout the pandemic. An integral aspect of the Perth College UHI calendar, the OBI Awards acknowledge the Outstanding, Best and Inspiring staff and students, who dedicate their time to making the college more diverse and inclusive for all.

The awards allowed students to nominate in nine different categories from ‘Most Inspiring Lecturer’ to ‘Best Student Event’, and entries were judged by a panel consisting of staff, students, and student officers from Perth College UHI.

Commenting on the OBI Awards, HISA Perth President, Alex Wilson, said:

"Despite the challenges both staff and students have experienced, we were overjoyed to see the number and quality of nominations we received this year and how much our college community has supported each other during these difficult times.

“We were keen to replicate the face to face awards ceremony we would normally have in an online setting, so we're pleased that some of the nominees were able to make it along and give their thanks. Our biggest thanks go to those who took the time to submit a nomination form - this year more than ever it has meant a lot to those who received them."

Dr Margaret Cook, Perth College UHI Principal, added:

“The past year hasn’t been easy for our staff and students, but the OBI Awards shine a light on the very best of college life. There were many outstanding testimonials describing the excellent work of our staff and students that contribute to the student experience in Perth, and we are so appreciative of those that have helped us to foster a supportive college community throughout the challenges of the pandemic. We congratulate all those who were awarded an OBI, recognising the best, most inspiring and outstanding people within Perth College UHI.”

Text saying OBI award and HISA logo

This years winners were:

Most Inspiring Lecturer: Kirstie Burn and Chris Heaney

Best Personal Academic Tutor: Scott Innes and Tracy MacGregor

Best Class Representative: Sarah Melvin and Lawrence Mullen

Most Inspiring Student: Debora Lato and Elliot Ralston

Outstanding Feedback: James Alexander and Laura Kelly

Outstanding Support Award (Non-teaching): David Gourlay

Best Research or Dissertation Supervisor: Nick Green

Best Club or Society: ESOL Book Club

Best Student Event: The Christmas High Tea organised by Professional Cookery

Best Overall Student: Winfrida Mwongela and Elliot Ralston

You can watch the awards ceremony here.