Dental academic awarded prestigious National Teaching Fellowship

Celebrations for Professor Sally Hanks

12 August 2025

A dental academic from the University of Plymouth has won higher education's most prestigious UK teaching excellence award.

Professor Sally Hanks has been named a National Teaching Fellow for her transformative work in dental education and commitment to empowering others.

Awarded by Advance HE, the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) celebrates and recognises individuals who have made an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession in UK higher education.

Sally was praised for her focus on patient-centred care with person-centred development and student-centred learning. She becomes the University’s 29^th NTF recipient – and one of just four awarded in the South West this year.

I’m beyond delighted to have been awarded a National Teaching Fellowship.

Since starting with the University’s Peninsula Dental School in 2010, I’ve been keen to ensure that our students are fully prepared for real-world dental practice, adapting successfully to challenging and unfamiliar environments and learning from events that it’s difficult to teach in a traditional lecture.

Our consistently high scores in the National Student Survey show that students appreciate their student experience here, and I’m pleased to have developed resources and practices that have had a national impact too.

Professor Sally Hanks
Professor of Primary Care Dentistry

Education that empowers

In 2010, Sally joined the Peninsula Dental School, playing a pivotal role in developing the School’s new curricula, later becoming Associate Head of School for Teaching & Learning. Her innovative teaching resource, Daybook, is instrumental in preparing students for real-world primary care dental practice.

Her pioneering work on the concept of capability, emphasising the integration of multiple competencies and attributes to adapt successfully to challenging and unfamiliar environments, has transformed clinical education. Sally's leadership in developing the national Education Transition Document (ETD) has supported over 1200 Newly Qualified Dentists annually, enhancing their transition into independent clinical practice.

Watch Professor Hanks’s inaugural Professorial lecture, entitled Beyond exams: education that empowers.

As a School we are incredibly proud of Sally’s work, and the impact she’s had, locally, nationally and internationally.

It’s clear that her leadership and mentorship with the focus on empowering others have been pivotal in creating supportive and inclusive learning and working environments, making her a respected figure in dental education and beyond.

Professor Ewen McColl
Head of Peninsula Dental School

The University is rightly proud of its record of National Teaching Fellowships because it recognises the number of outstanding practitioners we have here across subjects and disciplines.

Teaching is our bedrock, and it is academics like Professor Hanks that ensure that our student experience is founded upon the very best in research, innovation and creativity.

Professor John Curnow
Deputy Vice Chancellor, Education and Student Experience

Teaching excellence recognised across sector

Sally is one of 61 academics across all UK universities to receive the 2025 National Teaching Fellowships, and one of just four in the South West.

As well as National Teaching Fellows, 17 winning teams of the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) were recognised this year for their outstanding contribution to excellent teaching in higher education in the UK.

We are delighted to announce the 2025 awards to those with an unwavering commitment to teaching excellence.

These newly awarded National Teaching Fellows and CATE teams represent the very best of UK higher education, demonstrating remarkable innovation, dedication and impact on student learning.

Their achievements not only benefit their own institutions but inspire excellence across the entire sector. At a time when higher education faces unprecedented challenges, these awards celebrate the transformative power of outstanding teaching and collaboration.

Kathryn Harrison-Graves, Deputy Chief Executive at Advance HE

More related information

National Teaching Fellowship Scheme and Plymouth recipients

Teaching and research opportunities in our Faculty of Health

Peninsula Dental School