University shortlisted for two Royal College of Midwives Awards
The University of Leicester's Midwifery team
The University of Leicester has been shortlisted in two categories for the prestigious Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Awards 2026.
The awards celebrate and reward outstanding achievements within midwifery and are a benchmark for excellence.
Winners will be announced at a special ceremony in London next month (6 February).
The University’s entire Midwifery team is up for the ‘Educator of the Year’ award for its innovation, dynamism, commitment, and enthusiasm for education to benefit student midwives.
Student Emma Healey, has also been shortlisted in the ‘Student Midwife of the Year’ category. In all there are 63 nominees on the shortlist across 13 categories.
A delighted Professor Jayne Marshall, Lead Midwife for Education at the University of Leicester who pioneered the MSci Midwifery with Leadership programme, said: “It’s wonderful to receive these prestigious nominations out of hundreds of nominees.
“The Midwifery team at Leicester now led by Lucy Bradley, works extremely hard to ensure the course continues to be of the highest quality and that students enter their profession fully equipped to excel in their chosen field, not only with the necessary midwifery knowledge and skills but with empathic and leadership training that is second to none.
“Not only that, but Emma’s nomination in the extremely competitive category of Student Midwife, is truly fantastic. Her dedication and enthusiasm to ensure the best for fellow students and parents to be has clearly shone through.”
Emma Healey
Emma, 32, a mum of two from Leicester, is in the fourth year of the Midwifery with Leadership course and will graduate this summer.
She said: “It was wonderful to discover I’d been nominated by two people for this award. To be put forward for something like this by my peers is very humbling. I’m extremely honoured. I’m close to facilitating my 40th birth and looking forward to taking up a midwifery career.
“The course provides you with Masters level leadership skills and I’ve loved every minute of it. It was the leadership element that attracted me to the course in the first place and it’s given me lots of opportunities including co-chairing the NHS England Midlands Multiprofessional Learner Council and sitting on the NHS England National Nursing and Midwifery Student Shared Decision-Making Council.
"I’ve been able to lead national webinars about anti-racist practice and put forward my thoughts on retention and recruitment in the profession at a national level – none of which I would have done without this course. It’s been such a positive experience and this nomination really is the icing on the cake.”