News

Community champions for 2026 announced

We are excited to reveal Jisc’s community champions for 2026, 15 exceptional individuals that inspire and empower their communities.

Now in its sixth year, our community champions programme is designed to highlight the work of individuals who go above and beyond to provide exceptional support for their peers across education and research institutions.

These latest 15 champions take the total to more than 70 individuals who have been celebrated by the programme for making a real difference to education and research. Each year, we invite the new intake of community heroes to Digifest for a VIP experience with travel, accommodation and celebratory evening meal included.

This year, the nominations highlighted individuals who are bringing their community together on topics that cover AI design and policy, digital wellbeing and research, immersive technologies, libraries, and more.

Our most popular champion category was community innovator: an individual who is at the forefront of change, helping open new lines of activity or thought. This included:

  • educators who showcase new ideas and technology to enhance the learning and teaching experience
  • librarians who experiment with new formats for collaboration, bringing energy and creativity to inspire community members.
  • lecturers who are championing the ethical use of AI, creating agile approaches with care and consideration.

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to make a nomination and look forward to learning more about the 2026 champions’ accomplishments at Digifest 2026.

Natasha Veenendaal, head of community engagement at Jisc, said:

“Watching the cohort of our community champions grow is a delight. We have had yet another year of exceptional nominations, with the champions and finalists standing out as stars for their communities who deserve the recognition. We are looking forward to meeting everyone to celebrate at Digifest and learning more about their work.”

Our 2026 community champions

Community advocates

  • Helen Thorham, professor, University of Leeds
  • Lilian Joy, digital accessibility manager, University of York
  • Owen Crawford, Cardiff University
  • Professor Sacha Hassan, assistant professor, Heriot Watt University

Community connectors

  • Rosemarie McIlwhan, associate professor of digital pedagogies and practices, Heriot Watt University
  • Sue Beckingham, associate professor, Sheffield Hallam University
  • Suzanne Galloway, learning teaching and quality manager, Forth Valley College
  • Zoe Tierney, learning technologist, Burton and South Derbyshire College

Community innovator

  • Dr Brian McGowan, lecturer, Ulster University
  • Clark Mitton, digital experience design lead, Bradford College
  • Dan Owens, digital wellbeing officer, Coleg y Cymoedd
  • Dustin Hosseini, lecturer, University of Cumbria
  • Louise Ord, learning resource centre manager, Exeter College
  • Steve Wileman, head of digital learning, South Staffordshire College

Community tech experts

  • Alison Fawdrey, lecturer, South Staffordshire College

Our finalists

  • Cheryl Lamb-Evans, head of digital innovation services and transformation, South Thames Colleges Group
  • Darren Flynn, lecturer, University College London
  • Jim Harris, learning designer, learning and teaching enhancement, library and learning services, University of Northampton
  • Katie Kendrick, digital learning advisor, Heart of Worcestershire College
  • Tony Libbey, programme and operational delivery lead, University of Salford
  • Alistair MacNaught, Alistair McNaught Consultancy Ltd
  • Ron Mitchell, Mitchell Media

Find out more

Attendance at Digifest counts towards continuing professional development (CPD) accreditation.