University of Exeter celebrates a landmark year of award-winning student success

The University of Exeter is celebrating a remarkable year of student achievement, with projects, prizes and innovations across disciplines marking 2025 as one of its most successful years yet. 

From national competition wins in neuroanatomy to groundbreaking work in environmental research and public health, students and graduates have been recognised locally and nationally for contributions that stretch far beyond the classroom.

Five Exeter medical students secured a dominant performance at the National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition (NUNC), held in Glasgow in May. 

All five competitors returned with podium prizes, placing Exeter at the top of the national table for the second year running. 

Third-year BMBS student Arsh Thao won the Runner-Up Clinical Trophy Prize, while second-year students Sean Ho, Ismail Ahmad Shaikh, Ali Abusara and Ganesh Mistry claimed further trophy and distinction medal awards. 

The success followed months of weekend teaching sessions and preparation supported by student tutors and staff in the Anatomy Society. Dr Hope Gangata, Academic Lead for the NUNC preparation programme, praised the “special community of medical and neuroscience students who are passionate about neuroanatomy,” noting the team had travelled the furthest of all universities to compete.

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The university also recognised outstanding contributions from students across health-related degrees during a two-day awards celebration. 

Forty prizes were presented to students in medicine, nursing, radiography, medical sciences and sport sciences, highlighting academic excellence, professionalism and community impact. 

Citizenship Awards were given to medical students Tazeen Alim, for her work supporting ethnic minority women through the Inspiring Women Network in Cornwall, and Elisha Coen, who leads UK-wide mentoring initiatives for students from widening-participation backgrounds. 

The Duchy Health Charity Prize went to Alexandra Watkins for academic excellence in Cornwall, while dozens of other students were commended for research achievements, clinical performance, professionalism and sporting success. 

Professor Richard Holland, Dean of the University of Exeter Medical School, said the winners demonstrated “dedication, compassion and a commitment to making a genuine difference for their future patients.”

In postgraduate research, Devon-born PhD student Maeve Leith was awarded the prestigious NFU Mutual Charitable Trust Centenary Award bursary for her research into land-use decision-making on Dartmoor. 

Her work, based within the Centre for Rural Policy Research, will explore how farmers, conservationists and policymakers understand the concept of landscape “health” in protected upland areas. 

Maeve, who grew up on Dartmoor, said she hopes her research will support more collaborative and resilient approaches to land management. 

Professor Matt Lobley, Co-Director of the Centre, said her work continues the university’s long-running commitment to understanding the challenges facing rural communities.

Innovation also took centre stage as Medical Sciences graduate Kathryn Thomas won a national award for her FluoroGlow device, a prototype designed to rapidly detect Cryptosporidium contamination in water. 

The invention, developed after Kathryn saw reports of an outbreak in Brixham, aims to offer faster, more reliable testing at water sources, potentially preventing public health crises. 

Her success in the ESBF Champion of Champions competition places her among the UK’s most promising young innovators, with judges praising the project’s potential to save lives. 

Kathryn said she hopes to bring the device to market once further testing is complete, enabling earlier detection and giving communities “confidence that the water they drink is safe.”

These achievements collectively highlight a year marked by notable academic success, community contribution and research innovation across the University of Exeter. 

From advances in medical education to community support projects, rural policy research and new technological developments, students and graduates played a significant role in shaping the university’s activity throughout 2025.