All teaching is a conversation, and I am very fortunate to be having those conversations with the exceptional, diverse and energising students who make Cambridge such an exciting place to work and learn.

Julian Allwood, Professor of Engineering and the Environment

The winners of this year's Pilkington Prizes have been presented with their awards at a special event hosted by St Catharine's College. 

The prizes, which have been awarded annually since 1994, recognise individuals who make a significant contribution to teaching at the University of Cambridge. The awards were presented by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, who praised the winners for their transformative and visionary approach to teaching. She told them "you all share a gift for explaining complex subjects lucidly". 

In a citation, Professor Allwood was praised for delivering a high teaching load with clarity and humour.

The citation continues: For 25 years, Professor Julian Allwood has delivered a high teaching load with clarity and humour, initially in Manufacturing and the MBA, and subsequently Civil & Environmental Engineering.

During lockdown, Julian completely reinvented the IA Structures course, blending instructional videos with interactive exercises and entertaining application studies. He continues to offer hybrid delivery, although his in-person lectures are very popular. Out of his research and impact, he proposed, created and continues to deliver a new IIB / Master’s course on Climate Mitigation, attracting high numbers. The course uses flipped lectures, in-person updates and discussion, mid-term coursework with feedback, and a final essay. Following careful research, in 2025 Julian embraced informed use of ChatGPT as a ‘legitimate but untrustworthy’ source for students preparing their essays.

On the postgraduate side, Julian has created a groundbreaking course for the Future Infrastructure & Built Environment MRes, supporting students in collaborative research and leading to an industry-facing report and a Nature series journal paper.

More broadly, he runs a 16-hour writing class for PhD students in Environmental Engineering, created a public course on Climate Mitigation, and led a national outreach project for primary pupils. 

Reflecting on his Pilkington Prize, Professor Allwood said: "All teaching is a conversation, and I am very fortunate to be having those conversations with the exceptional, diverse and energising students who make Cambridge such an exciting place to work and learn."

Pilkington prize winners 2026

The Pilkington Prizes are awarded annually to members of academic staff in recognition of their contributions to teaching excellence in support of Cambridge undergraduate and postgraduate education. They were initiated by Sir Alastair Pilkington, who believed that the quality of teaching was crucial to the University's success.