School of Law celebrates success at 2026 Leeds Partnership Awards

The School of Law proudly celebrates its staff, postgraduate researchers and students who won the Student-Staff Partnership of the Year Award.

Celebrating partnership and collaboration across the University 

Winners of the 2026 Leeds Partnership Awards were announced during a special ceremony held on campus on 5 May, and the School of Law is delighted to highlight the success of our colleagues and students among this year’s outstanding winners. 

Shortlisted individuals gathered at Leeds University Union (LUU) to celebrate those who exemplify the values of the Leeds Partnership: a shared commitment by students and staff to work collaboratively in support of the University community. Over 3,000 nominations were submitted this year, reflecting the remarkable breadth and impact of contributions across the institution. 

The Leeds Partnership Awards are an annual celebration of the exceptional work of staff and students, recognising achievements in areas including teaching excellence, equality and inclusion, wellbeing, research innovation, and community engagement.  

The Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Student Education and Experience, Professor Kenneth McDowall, said of the Awards: 

They’re an excellent opportunity to recognise the people at the heart of our learning community who exemplify our shared commitment to working in partnership to further enhance the outstanding education we deliver at Leeds.

Student-Staff Partnership of the Year 

The School of Law was delighted to win the award for Student-Staff Partnership of the Year for its “Open Access International Human Rights Law Textbook”. 

This pioneering project reflects a truly collaborative approach, bringing together staff, postgraduate researchers (PGRs), and undergraduate and postgraduate taught students to co-create a freely accessible educational resource. 

One of the nominations highlighted the scale and impact of this work: 

“The International Human Rights Law open access textbook has been developed by staff, PGRs and taught students in the law school. Staff (from grade 7 to Grade 10) and PGRs have written chapters; TPGs and UGs have acted as paid research assistants; feedback has been provided by TPGs on Human Rights modules. This work demonstrates a better way of creating teaching materials and textbooks. Students can freely access, use and engage with this material, which is all supported by open access sources. The textbook has already received positive feedback from a number of peer-reviewers at other Universities. Many peer-reviewers have indicated they will use the book as a resource on courses they teach. This book will be accessible to all, free of charge, and can be adapted and updated without a new edition being published.” 

The work on this textbook demonstrates what collaboration between staff and students can achieve and provides a valuable resource for anyone interested in human rights.

A genuine team effort 

The success of the project lies in the depth of its partnership, with contributions from across the School at every level. 

Dr Stuart Wallace, one of the textbook’s editors, reflected on the achievement: 

It is really nice to be recognised in this category. It is cliché to say things are a team effort, but this project really has been. We could not have written the book without the help of students at every level helping with research assistance and editing, colleagues contributing chapters reflecting their expertise and peer reviewers to help enhance our work in so many ways.  This project has been the most fulfilling exercise of my entire career. Human Rights are universal, knowledge and understanding of them should be universal too.

Postgraduate researcher Erika Moranduzzo also emphasised the importance of collaboration across the academic community: 

This award is a source of immense pride because it reflects what this project truly was: a genuine partnership across every level of our university community. I had the privilege of contributing two chapters on subjects at the heart of my PhD research, with full creative autonomy, supported by students whose research assistance sharpened my thinking and by senior colleagues whose peer review elevated the final work.

A collaborative academic achievement 

The textbook was edited by School of Law academics Dr Stuart Wallace, Dr Clare James and Dr Nazia Yaqub. 

Chapters were authored by the editors and other academics working in the School, Professor Ilias Trispiotis, Dr Zoe Tongue and Dr Nina Herzog alongside postgraduate researchers Colin Gregory and Erika Moranduzzo.   

A dedicated group of students contributed as Research Assistants, including: Valeria Caroli, Mark Fa, Nithyakalyani Narayanan Vinod, Rhea Ramos, Alice Clements, Oliver Keane, and Harry Roberts Percy. 

Their combined efforts have produced a dynamic, open-access resource that will continue to evolve and support learning both within Leeds and beyond. 

School pride 

Reflecting on this achievement, Head of School Professor Louise Ellison told us:  

The School of Law is incredibly proud of its staff, PGRs and students, not only for winning the award but for creating the textbook itself. This success demonstrates the strength of partnership at Leeds and showcases what can be achieved when staff and students work together to innovate, inspire, and make knowledge accessible to all.

Explore more stories of impact, innovation, and collaboration from the School of Law here.