Lecturer wins prestigious Times Higher Education award for innovation in teaching

A senior paramedic science lecturer at UWE Bristol has been named the most innovative teacher of the year at the Times Higher Education Awards 2025.

Jon Newton was recognised with the accolade for the major incident clinical care simulations he has run at Glenside campus.

He received the prize at the award ceremony in Edinburgh, ahead of competition from seven other shortlisted entries from universities across the UK and Ireland.

Judges were impressed by his transformative impact on major incident clinical care education at the university, providing hundreds of students with real-world experience in a psychologically safe environment.

Jon introduced a new six-week module - consisting of lectures, discussion-based learning, a table-top exercise and a multi-professional major incident simulation - to bridge student learning with practical experience.

Integrated into the simulation exercise were 19 external partner agencies, a mock major trauma hospital and full deployment of the emergency services. The activity includes students collecting police statements about the incident and then participating in subsequent courtroom simulations, having been summoned to give evidence in a public inquiry. 

The approach grabbed the attention of the NHS and Bristol Airport, which awarded Jon external funding for further projects. He also won a student experience grant to deliver an exercise working in partnership with Avon Fire & Rescue Service and the Ministry of Defence.

Jon, a lecturer in the School of Health and Social Wellbeing, created a suite of digital artefacts that has provided additional innovative training for students following the simulation.

Professor Sir Steve West, UWE Bristol's Vice-Chancellor, said he was 'blown away' by the simulation and described it as 'truly transformational'. Students gave positive feedback, saying they 'loved every second of it'. The initiative has helped drive student recruitment in paramedic science at the university.