UNIVERSITY STUDENT PRIZES
The criteria for the prize is that it should be awarded for an excellent ‘piece of work’ relating to aphasia. The ‘piece’ can be either for academic or practical work: an essay, a piece of research, clinical practice, conversation partners or similar scheme. It can be given to an undergraduate from any year, or post-graduate. This allows each University to adapt how the prize is awarded according to their approach and programme. The value of the prize is £300.
In 2011-2012 The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia carried out a review of the University Student prizes.
The unanimous response was that the prizes were valued and useful. In the light of the feedback, we are pleased to confirm that we are going to continue with the prizes for the foreseeable future.
The original idea behind these prizes was the hope that it might help raise the profile of aphasia amongst the speech and language therapists of the future.
Encouragingly, the universities thought that it did succeed in raising the profile of aphasia amongst students. Interestingly, other benefits have emerged, these include:
- When a student is awarded the prize, it can be added to their CV. In a very competitive job market this can be very helpful.
- Winning this prize can encourage students to want to pursue work in the field of aphasia.
- Recipients feel it is a privilege to receive this prize, that it is prestigious, quite apart from the generosity of the award.
- The prize can raise the profile of the department within the University.
- It helps students stand out from the crowd and can bring into focus those who might benefit from post-graduate work, etc.
- For the Universities in New Zealand, the prizes have a prestigious international status, which is valued.
From now on The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia will be giving a certificate with each prize. If any past recipient reads this, and has not received a certificate and would like one, they are welcome to contact our administrator, who will be pleased to send them their certificate.
The Trustees of the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia would like to thank all the staff and students from the participating Universities. We would also like to thank the Nigel and Lynn Ross Charitable Trust for their generous contribution to the New Zealand University prizes.
These prizes will be reviewed again in a few years.
WHAT THE UNIVERSITIES SAY ABOUT THE PRIZES
UNITED KINGDOM
“The Tavistock Student Prizes have been important in marking exceptional achievement by a student. The award of a prize and the recording of it on a student's CV allows an employer to identify individuals who show particular ability and motivation in the field of aphasia. It is helpful to universities in identifying people who stand out from the crowd when considering applications for PhD study or to work as a research assistant on an aphasia project. And probably most important, is that it indicates to the winner that he or she has that special blend of insight, ability and hard work that will allow them to go on to be an outstanding clinician/researcher in the field of aphasia.” University of Sheffield
“...We have greatly appreciated being able to award the Student Prize from the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia ... The Prize acts as a stimulus for students for high achievement in aphasia, makes them aware of the work of the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia, and is a great encouragement and reward for the recipient…” University of Strathclyde
“The impact of this award has been substantial and far-reaching. From the student’s perspective this recognition of their work is highly motivating and focuses their attention. As well as the substantial financial benefit, they comment on the honour of receiving the award, and they feel valued by the institution, the profession and the Trust. Following this they are more likely to be steered toward a career within aphasia therapy, and the enhancement of their CV provided by the TTA award increases their chances of securing employment in this field.
The broader impact of the TTA award relates to the way in which we are able to use it to profile Speech and Language Therapy at graduation events, and use the local media to promote SLT, aphasia therapy and the needs of individuals with communication impairment. ….. This type of publicity improves recruitment to the programme, and is also motivating for our current students. We believe that clients with aphasia would also be motivated through reports of this type. … would like to thank the Trust once again for their ongoing support through this generous award, which has proved to be beneficial at many levels.” University College Plymouth St Mark and St John
“The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Student Prize has made an invaluable contribution to the SLT programme at UEA, raising the profile of our course within the University and, more importantly raising the profile of aphasia, bringing to attention of staff and students alike the impact that aphasia has on the lives of so many people.” University of East Anglia
“… This award is considered to be highly prestigious by the speech and language therapy team and the students themselves. To have an award dedicated to work in aphasia raises the profile of this hugely important area and highlights to the students as they enter the working world the impact working with aphasia can have on individuals. Our programme committee see it as an important part of their role to consider all nominations and make this award with a lot of careful thought and consideration. Many thanks for giving us this opportunity to raise the profile of aphasia for the next generation of speech and language therapists...” University of Manchester
“We are very grateful to the Tavistock Trust for offering this prize, which encourages students to develop their skills and knowledge in the area of aphasia. We have received some fascinating and thought-provoking entries, illustrating the client-centred and holistic approach that our programme hopes to foster. Offering such a prize really encourages the students to stretch themselves beyond the curriculum and to expand their knowledge.” University of Greenwich/ Canterbury Christ Church University
“The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia University Student Prize provides Queen Margaret University with an opportunity to reward excellence in an area which students often find challenging. Benefits for recipients include support for ongoing study, enhanced employment prospects and increased confidence in their ability to undertake further work in the field of aphasia.” Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
“The staff here have really appreciated being able to award such a generous prize – our students work very hard and it’s been great to be able to offer such a prestigious award. With the job situation as it is at the moment, receipt of this prize acts as a real boost to students’ CVs. As the prize carries the Tavistock name, which is so well known and respected in the field of aphasia, it’s instantly recognised by those sifting the job applications as being an award which carries some weight, even if they hadn’t heard of the prize itself beforehand.
We also appreciated the broad remit given to us by the Trust – being able to award the prize to students in any year of study and for any piece of work on aphasia (provided it was innovative and truly excellent) presented some challenges but enabled us to make our own decisions. It was nice to feel that you trusted us … and gave us control – this is quite unusual these days, and showed that the Trustees understand the differences between SLT courses.“ Cardiff Metropolitan University
“... the prize motivates the students to produce an excellent piece of work which demonstrates the value of the profession when working with clients who have Aphasia. We feel that more students are choosing to submit work which would be eligible for this prize, which is raising the profile of the role of the SLT when working with clients with Aphasia, facilitating and enabling clients in all their environments…” Birmingham City University
“We feel that the Tavistock Trust prize is an excellent opportunity for our students. It is good for them to show enthusiasm for the teory and clinical work in the acquired neurological field, particularly as we often struggle for placement in this area.” University of Ulster
“The Tavistock Student prize raises the profile of aphasia not only within the student community but also within departments and universities. It is great that the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia is providing this important incentive to learning.” City University London
“The Tavistock student prize has enabled us to celebrate superb student work related to aphasia. The unique aspect is that the work can come from any stage of the programme. This allows us to nominate pieces from earlier as well as later stages of the course and allows creativity in acknowledging excellent work in areas of work not typically awarded prizes. Receiving this award has a highly motivating effect for the student concerned, and we hope for their peers. In addition, being awarded this prestigious prize can be extremely useful for the individual student, who will highlight it in future job applications. Thanks to the Tavistock Trust for the innovation in offering this prize.” The University of Newcastle
“We have been extremely pleased to be able to offer the Tavistock Student prize over the last two years and consider it a great opportunity to be able to reward exceptional work in the area of Aphasia. We feel that the award is unique in having the potential to recognise both academic endeavour and clinically based achievement. Past recipients of the prize at Essex have produced excellent and innovative work in the area, [and] we are confident has the potential to spawn valuable research and influence clinical practice. ….. The award continues to enable just reward for creative and valuable work in Aphasia as well as providing motivation for further research and development in Aphasia therapy.” University of Essex
"These prizes are highly valued by our graduates and are important in their careers as a mark of their clinical capabilities." University College London
“The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Student Prize is an excellent initiative. It raises the profile of aphasia and of the Tavistock Trust with speech and language therapy students.” De Montfort University, Leicester
The University of Leeds has chosen not to give TTA University Student Prizes.
NEW ZEALAND
“The student prize provides international recognition to young scholars who are pursuing a research career in aphasia. We have used the Tavistock Student Prize to help recruit some of the best and brightest students to our Department who have an interest in aphasia.” University of Canterbury, New Zealand
“…The students have been very excited to receive this award and we are pleased that the award has been made available as a means of raising the profile and recognition of excellent work in the area of aphasia at the University of Auckland. We know from research... that aphasia is a term that is still not widely recognised. The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia [Student] Prize is a very positive platform for promoting awareness of aphasia and aphasia research…” The University of Auckland, New Zealand
“Our department at Massey University is currently expanding the aphasia clinical and research opportunities for students and we are looking forward to making our first award...” Massey University, New Zealand
THE TAVISTOCK TRUST