Next generation of talent crowned at 2026 Create Student Awards

The awards, which celebrate the finest achievements of final year students and alumni from the University’s School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology, are a chance to pay tribute to their hard work over their time at Salford before they kickstart their careers.

This year’s ceremony was expertly hosted by children’s television presenter and producer Victoria Cook. The Salford alumna has been working in children’s television and comedy for 15 years, writing and performing on various CBBC, CBeebies and BBC Bitesize productions. Victoria was entertaining, engaging and passionate throughout the awards, encouraging many of the industry figures in attendance to engage with the nominated students.

The School Ambassador Award, presented by poet and playwright Louise Wallwein MBE, kickstarted the proceedings. The award went to MA Public Relations and Digital Communications student Cara Vose who has stood out for being a fierce advocate of her course and her other students in addition to organising multiple events and masterclasses with guest speakers. Her fellow finalists William Quail (BA Film Production) and Jeremy Goldsworthy (BA Television and Radio Production) were appraised for their respective efforts as advocates for their courses and extracurricular work.

The fiercely competitive Engagement with Industry Award was presented by Martyn Evans, Creative Director of Landsec, which acquired MediaCity in 2024. Martyn gave a touching speech in which he spoke about the value of Salford students to the future of the creative industries, highlighting that many of the University’s students have gone on to work at the globally significant media hub.

This year’s recipient was the hard-working BA Television and Radio Production student Kaden Ingleby, who has made a name for himself as one of MediaCity’s most trusted runners. Kaden has worked on The Voice, Your Song, Britain’s Got Talent, The 1% Club, Children in Need and so much more over his time at Salford. His fellow finalists were Gemma Gandy (BA Digital Video Production and Marketing), who took a year out of her studies to undergo a 15-month internship with BTW Alpine Formula One racing team & Leona Gasper (BA Television and Radio Production) who was an Assistant Editor on the BAFTA-awarding winning short animation Two Black Boys in Paradise and has since started working with the BBC World Service.

It was then time for this year’s Alumni Rising Star Award winner – which went to Madalena Nicolau, a MA Documentary Production for, TV, Film and Digital Media alumna who has since risen up the ranks at Studio Lambert in London to become a developmental researcher. She was presented with the award by multi-Create Student Awards winner Noor Al-Naser, Scottish Peace Platform Manager at Beyond Borders Scotland.

The competition was also fierce for our Environmental Champion Award - presented by Professor Simone Buitendijk, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost at the University of Salford - which went to MA Fashion Business and Marketing student Emma Peacock. Emma has received recognition from the fashion sector for her sustainable brand, Daez, which aims to support sustainable practices in the industry by incorporating more versatility into the garments that she designs for her brand. The other finalists were Erin Huxley (BA Costume Design), who has been an advocate for plastic-free initiatives within the course community and Ruby Cooper (BA Fashion Business and Promotion), who developed a zine that highlighted the historic use of child labour within the fashion industry.

The International Student Award, presented by motivational public speaker Sandy Koujou, went to Gianella ‘Gia’ Espinoza Cama, a BA Dance student. Gia, who came to Salford from Peru, has thrown herself into a variety of extra-curricular work at Salford, working as a content creator for the course’s social media and the University of Salford Students’ Union and working with Cheshire Dance Young Producers to produce part of the 2025 Now Northwich Festival as well as gaining a place on Cheshire Dance’s Nexus Young Leader programme. She also was the lead choreographer and performer for the school-wide performance Univision this Spring.

Her fellow finalists for the award were Josh Chan (BA Animation), who has been a model ambassador for his course and Solome Ayele (MA Documentary Production for TV, Film and Digital Media) who has gone out of her way to take up a wide range of creative opportunities during her time as a student, such as the BEYOND Conference, Next Gen Cinema and Up North Creatives.

The Outstanding Commitment Award, presented by Julie Weir, Director of Music for Nations at Sony, went to BA Photography student Kiera Jones. Kiera was praised for her meaningful and impactful work despite facing a number of obstacles at home. Her fellow finalists were Lucy Lavery (PhD English) who has carried out exceptional work in her studies at Salford despite facing permanent brain damage after suffering from a stroke whilst as a student and Shyra Sylfai (MA Creative Writing: Innovation and Experiment), who has been exemplary at Salford as an undergraduate and now postgraduate student despite becoming a fill-time carer to her mother, who sadly passed away in the final year of her undergraduate degree.

BA Digital Media and Extended Reality student Randa Hamdan won the Civic Engagement Award. The award, presented by Lord Keith Bradley, Chair of Council at the University of Salford, was given for her notable professional experiences, including her delivery of a virtual reality showcase for Imperial War Museum North which explored women’s experiences in wartime and her internship at Al Jazeera English, where she crafted social media videos and delivered other broadcast content.

Sophie Hollis (BA Television and Radio Production) and Anoosh Ariamehr (MA Socially Engaged Photography) were the other finalists for the award. Sophie was acclaimed for her work on the National College Podcast and her continuous civic engagement through her endeavours at Utter Radio whilst Anoosh has worked tirelessly with other migrant and refugee community groups on a host of photography projects, including placements with Open Eye Gallery and the Salford Museum and Art Gallery.

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award was presented by John Tomlinson and Rosie MacPherson, the founders of Stand & Be Counted Theatre – the UK’s first Theatre Company of Sanctuary. The category was won by PhD English student Alexandra Mary Burke. The MA Literature and Culture graduate was awarded in recognition of her outstanding work to promote neurodiversity and inclusion within the University and beyond.

Alex is currently undertaking the first major study of contemporary fiction written by and about the autistic community, has been working in autism advocacy since the age of 17 and has spoken in various seminars and workshops across the University about neurodiversity and inclusion.

The award’s other finalists were Alfie Kovacs (BA Creative Music Technology) for his work on the ‘What About Me?’ project with Breaking Barriers Rochdale which captured the voices of Salford’s youth through a multimedia immersive experience and Clark Limer (MSc Games and Extended Reality), who has been exploring how accessibility barriers can be used creatively as catalysts for designing inclusive immersive experiences.

Finally, the prestigious Dean’s Award was handed to MA Dance: Performance and Professional Practice student Teresa Nazare by Professor Allan Walker, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of the School. Teresa originally arrived as an undergraduate student with a clear determination to raise her young daughter whilst pursuing a dance career.

Teresa has been praised by her lecturers for her outstanding commitment to her training, as she has performed in extracurricular dance groups, contributed to events at The Lowry and thrived as part of the Emergence dance programme that is touring the country this summer.

The other finalists for the award were Alfie Naylor (BA Theatre and Performance Practice) who has been an influential and support figure for his fellow students across multiple performance opportunities whilst facing serious health challenges and Trinity Morgan (BA International Relations and Politics) who has impressed her lecturers by delivering exemplary work over her time at Salford and submitted a major study of the social media coverage of political scandals for her final project.

At the awards’ conclusion, Professor Allan Walker, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of the School, thanked all the staff that had been involved in organising the gala event and said: “Over the eleven years of the Create Student Awards, I’ve always been impressed by the incredible creativity and passion of our students and the wonderful professionalism of our staff and the way they work so naturally with our students.

“The Create Student Awards are a rare event for a university to put on and the level of talent that I’ve seen tonight has been quite amazing.”

To find out more about all the finalists and to watch short videos about their stories, please head to our dedicated Create Student Awards 2026 page.

Images below courtesy of Further Works/Sam Michael Wood.