The Estelle Brisard Memorial Prize for excellence and promise in research has become a fixture in the annual academic calendar for us here at SERA. Estelle was a much valued and much loved member of SERA until her untimely death in 2006. You can read more about Estelle and the award on our website. The call or applications for this year’s award has just been opened on our website. The competition is open to early career researchers and educational practitioners however, full details of eligibility to enter can be found here.

Last years winner of the award was Denise McGee-Dewar. Denise is a Teaching Fellow in Physical Education at Moray Hose School of Education. Here is a short comment from Denise about what winning the Estelle Brisard Memorial Prize meant for her.

“Entering the Estelle Brisard has been an amazing experience. My supervisors suggested that I should apply but I had absolutely no expectation of winning the prize. It was such an incredible surprise when the emailed popped through. Winning the prize has enabled me to connect with lots of new people, including some of the previous winner and also to bring my findings to a wider audience. It was so touching to be presented the award by Aileen Kennedy and hear about Estelle and her legacy. I am looking forward to being part of the SERA Early career researchers network going forward. The award has also given me more confidence in my work, and I am currently working on some articles for publication. Thanks to everyone at SERA for the opportunity, I feel so honoured.”

The closing date for applications for this year’s award is Thursday 31st August.