UOWD Celebrates Excellence at the 2025 Staff Awards

Friday, 19 December, 2025

The University of Wollongong in Dubai recently brought the community together for the UOWD Staff Awards 2025, recognising the dedication, professionalism, and impact of its faculty and professional staff. The annual ceremony celebrates individuals and teams whose work reflects the university’s values and commitment to teaching, research, and professional excellence.

Staff Values Awards

• Passion Award: Ruchita Sharma
• Passion Highly Commended: Nikita Kirplani
• Courage Award: Dr Michael Mallory
• Collaboration Individual Award: Shilpa Chaly
• Collaboration Team Award: UOWD Film Festival Team
• Excellence in Professional Services Individual Award: Jacob Gutierrez
• Excellence in Professional Services Team Award: Facilities Team
• Innovation Award: Dr Vikash Ramiah
• Integrity Award: Jynor Khan
• Employee of the Year: Habiba Amanullah

Research Excellence Awards

• UOWD High Potential Researcher Award: Dr Lina Gharaibeh
• UOWD Industry Collaborations and Practice Impact Award: Dr Greig Taylor
• UOWD Research Excellence and Scholarly Impact Award: Dr Kamal Jaafar
• UOWD Research Excellence and Scholarly Impact Award Highly Commended: Dr Jaeyoung Cho

Teaching Excellence Awards

• UOWD Innovation in Teaching Award: Kiyan Afsari
• UOWD Innovation in Teaching Award: Dr Prithvi Bhattacharya
• UOWD Teaching and Research Nexus Award: Dr Ruwan Bandara

The UOWD Staff Awards continue to highlight the people behind the institution’s success, recognising the contribution of those who support students, advance knowledge, and strengthen the university community every day. UOWD extends its warmest congratulations to all award recipients and sincere appreciation to every nominee for their dedication and service.