SPRU news items

Prizewinner Thokozani Nokuzola Anne Makuyana

Prof Ingrid Woolard and Prof Jeremy Hall

Seun Osituyo, Deputy Director of Student Experience (left), and Jo Van-Ess, Director of Teaching and Learning (Postgraduate) (right)

Double prizewinner Emily Newton-Smith

Celebrating the exceptional academic achievements of postgraduate students, the annual prizegiving dinner for Business School graduates took place on 23 January at The Grand in Brighton.

Professor Ingrid Woolard, Executive Dean of the Business School, welcomed 120 guests to the event, which immediately followed the Business School graduation ceremonies. Alongside the prize winners, other guests included friends and family, Course Directors and Business School staff.

Each year, faculty recommend a graduate to speak at the event, and this year Stefanny Lopes dos Santos de Morais, MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Chevening Scholar, was recommended by Maja Golf-Papez, her dissertation supervisor.

“The award and the ceremony added another star to my journey as a Sussex student,” Stefanny said, reflecting on the event. “Beyond the award itself, having the opportunity to reunite with my supervisor and share this moment with my mother and my son made the night even more special.

“I took with me the thought that perhaps one day, I’ll be on the other side, as a professor, presenting awards to my future students!”

Faculty awarded 31 prizes to Business School graduates throughout the evening, in categories including Best Student, which recognised highest grade mean, Best Dissertation/Research Project, and the Consultancy Project Award, which recognised the best team from the MSc Management Consultancy module.

In addition, two SPRU – Science Policy Research Unit graduates received special awards for their excellent dissertations.

The Rothwell Prize was awarded to Thokozani Makuyana, MSc Strategic Innovation Management, for her dissertation titled “Innovation First Versus Regulation First: The effects of different government responses to artificial intelligence on algorithmic fairness”. The Rothwell prize is named in honour of Professor Roy Rothwell, a pioneering researcher in the field of innovation management, who taught in SPRU between 1977 and 1994.

The Oldham Prize, named in honour of Professor Geoffrey Oldham, co-founder (1966) and Director of SPRU (1982-1992), was awarded to MSc Science and Technology Policy graduate Moonju Nam, for his dissertation titled: “Digital Transformation and firm performance in the manufacturing sector - The mediating roles of servilisation and corporate entrepreneurship”.

Reflecting on the evening, Tarun Kachhwaha, who won Best Student in MSc Sustainable Finance and Accounting, said:

“Coming from a humble background and being the first person in my family to pursue international studies, this was a moment of immense pride for me. Having my classmates as my guests added to the joy of the evening.

“It was an honour to be surrounded by such brilliant minds, and I ended the eventful day feeling truly proud and content.”

Professor Ingrid Woolard added:

“It was a pleasure to attend the prizegiving ceremony for the first time as the new Executive Dean of the Business School. The enthusiasm and achievements of the students made the experience truly enjoyable and inspiring, and is a testament to the hard work of Professional Services staff to make such an event a success.”

Congratulations to all 2025 prize winners:

Best Student in Accounting and Finance

• MSc Sustainable Finance and Accounting: Tarun Kachhwaha
• MSc Fintech, Risk and Investment Analysis: (Joint winners) Waseef Mohammad Manzur, Piyapa Sangsakul, Mehmet Sertaç Uğrar and Suthisomboon Eua
• MSc Management and Finance: (Joint winners) Azizbeck Akbarov and Sima Amarkhail
• MSc Accounting and Finance: Ziyi Jiang
• MSc Banking and Finance: Kyi Thar Khin Zaw

Best Student in Management

• MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology: John Angus Good
• MSc Management: Aliya Mukhamediyeva
• MSc Global Supply Chain and Logistics Management: Sarah Saqib
• MSc Global Supply Chain Management (ODL): Matt Taylor
• MSc Human Resource Management: Vivek Athawale

Best Student in Strategy and Marketing

• MSc International Marketing (ODL): Emily Newton-Smith
• MSc Marketing and Consumer Psychology: (Joint winners) Sakthivel Shanmugam, Manasi Sushil Barmecha and Sophie Lloyd
• MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Stefanny Lopes dos Santos de Morais
• MSc International Management: (Joint winners) Zeynep Irem Canay, Cemre Aydin and Grishma Rajbhandrari
• MSc International Business and Development: Gülçinay Mumcu

Best Student in Economics

• MSc Development Economics: Chiyuka Ikeda
• MSc International Finance & Economics: (Joint winners) Yuta Samizo, Sara Emanuela White, Saleumphon Fongmany and Rownok Zahan

Best Student in SPRU – Science Policy Research Unit

• MSc Sustainable Development (ODL): Elizabeth Brown
• MSc Energy Policy: Ashley Fleming

Best Student in Master of Business Administration (MBA)

• MBA Master of Business Administration: (Joint winners) Shweta Sharma and Nirnay Godlaw

Best Dissertation/Research Project

• Management: (Joint winners) Caroline Macdonald and Sarah Saqib
• Accounting and Finance: Farukh Sheripbaev
• Strategy and Marketing: (Joint winners) Gülçinay Mumcu and Rita Lai, and Emily Newton-Smith

Consultancy Project Award – Best Team

• MSc Management students: Aidana Abdykadyrova, Tsz Fung Poon and Alessio Zabai

Rothwell Prize for Excellent Dissertation

• MSc Strategic Innovation Management student: Thokozani Nokuzola Anne Makuyana

Oldham Prize for Excellent Dissertation

• MSc Science and Technology Policy student: Moonju Nam

Back to news list