Prizes

Worcester Prize for DICE

This prize is awarded to the best undergraduate student taught by DICE on any of its undergraduate courses. The prize is judged on the basis of the following criteria: all module marks, taking into account difficulties and challenges faced by the student in fieldwork, laboratory techniques or other aspects of the course; the contribution of the candidate as an undergraduate student to personal development and progress; and, contribution of the student to their class and the DICE community. The prize is named after the former Chancellor of the University of Kent, Sir Robert Worcester.

Gerald Durrell Prize

A prize awarded for the best student gaining a First on the BSc in Wildlife Conservation or BA in Environmental Social Sciences (and cognate programmes) with the School of Anthropology and Conservation.

Maurice Swingland Prize

This prize is awarded to the best postgraduate student taught by DICE in its postgraduate programmes involving coursework and dissertation. The prize is judged on coursework and dissertation marks, the extent to which the student used their time at DICE for personal development and the contribution of the student to the wellbeing of DICE. The Maurice Swingland Prize is named after the late father of Ian Swingland, DICE’s Founder.

Mike Walkey Prize

This prize is awarded to the best postgraduate student completing an MSc, MPhil or PhD by research in DICE. The prize is judged on thesis quality, time to submission, examiners’ reports, the extent to which the student used their time at DICE for personal development and the contribution of the student to the well-being of DICE.

The prize was originally named after Fiona Alexander (*), the daughter of Sandy, our former University Treasurer, and Meg Alexander. It was renamed the Durrell Trust for Conservation Biology Prize (†) in 2014 and then in 2019 it was renamed again to the Mike Walkey Prize, in honour of DICE’s first Director.

Ellya Mustafa Staff Award

The Ellya Mustafa Prize was created by DICE students to recognize the efforts of staff members towards the DICE mission and the student experience at DICE. The prize is the most recent DICE award, having been awarded for the first time in 2011, and is attributed through a direct vote from all DICE students. The award is named after Ellya Hafidzah Haji Mustafa, a conservationist from Brunei, who completed her MSc in Conservation Biology at DICE in 2006/2007. Ellya passed away in January 2011 due to sudden illness and this prize is in honour of her and organized by her fellow DICE colleagues.