The Association of Dental Education in Europe (ADEE), the European Dental Students’ Association (EDSA), and Henry Schein are pleased to announce an expansion of the Oral Health Educators’ Awards.
In addition to the continuation of the popular “Practice Green™” Awards, which recognise institutions embedding an ethos of sustainability within the educational lifecycle for oral health professionals at product, institution, and curriculum level, this year’s awards will include the introduction of an additional category, the “Social Excellence” Awards to feature the social responsibility initiatives of dental schools and societies and help drive change.
Expanding the parameters of the award to encompass both environmental and social impact reflects the shared values of the three presenting organisations. By incorporating a social excellence component, the award will better reflect the impactful contributions dental schools and societies are making towards sustainable practices as well as towards meaningful social responsibility.
AWARDS AIM
In joining forces with EDSA and Henry Schein for the Oral Health Professional Educators’ Awards, we strive to recognise, reward, and reflect the impactful contributions dental schools and societies are making toward sustainable practices as well as toward meaningful social responsibility and how they were able to drive change.
The original Oral Health Educators' “Practice Green” Award, established in 2023, was inspired by Henry Schein’s global sustainability initiative, Practice Green™. Through this initiative, Henry Schein seeks to empower the health care sector with ways to reduce their environmental footprint while providing high-quality patient care. Practice Green provides customers and suppliers with products, solutions, and resources, enabling health care professionals to create a greener practice. By expanding the award to include a social impact category, it now serves as a more comprehensive tribute to Henry Schein’s broader corporate citizenship initiatives.
All awards are granted at the institutional level and recipients must be ADEE members.
The Oral Health Professional Educators’ “Practice Green” Awards recognise two ADEE member institutions that have demonstrated excellence in integrating sustainability across the educational, clinical, and operational practices. This award celebrates institutions that actively contribute to environmental stewardship, with initiatives that encompass sustainable campus management, eco-conscious procurement, and the integration of sustainability principles into the educational programmes.
Institutions are encouraged to showcase comprehensive efforts that reduce environmental impact, such as energy conservation, waste reduction, and the adoption of more sustainable materials and resources. Additionally, the awards highlight the importance of embedding sustainability into the curriculum, preparing future oral health professionals to practice in ways that benefit the environment.
By participating, institutions can share how the innovative strategies have created a positive, lasting impact on the campus, clinical settings, and the broader public. This can include either a clinical or departmental approach.
ADEE members have been advocates for sustainability change for many years, and the Association’s special interest group in sustainability has recently finalised an update to the Graduating European Dentist that embeds and further enables sustainable education and clinical practice for oral health professionals of the future. It is thus an appropriate time to recognise leaders in the field of environmental and sustainable practices.
This category aims to embed an ethos of sustainability within the education lifecycle for oral health professionals and within the educational and clinical practice settings. Best practice examples will be showcased and recognised through participation in this programme.
The Oral Health Professional Educators “Social Excellence” Awards recognise two ADEE member institutions that have demonstrated exemplary dedication to integrating social responsibility across the educational, clinical, and operational practices. These awards celebrate institutions that actively contribute to societal well-being through initiatives that enhance access to care, promote inclusion, and foster a culture of equity and support for underserved populations.
Institutions are encouraged to showcase efforts that positively impact local communities, such as programmes that provide equitable access to dental care, outreach to underserved populations, and initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion within the profession. Additionally, the awards emphasise the importance of preparing future oral health professionals to practice in ways that benefit society.
By participating, institutions can highlight how the innovative strategies have fostered meaningful, lasting change within the communities, clinical settings, and the broader public. This can include increased access to care programmes or innovation resulting in improved health care outcomes.
This category aims to embed an ethos of social responsibility within the education lifecycle for oral health professionals and within the educational and clinical practice settings. Best practice examples will be showcased and recognised through participation in this programme.
HOW TO APPLY
Entry to the Oral Health Professional Educators’ “Practice Green” and “Social Excellence” Awards is limited to one application per institution per year - meaning each institution must select the one category that best reflects their initiatives - and must have the support of the Dean or equivalent. Entry must be made through the online portal, involves three stages, and requires the applicant institution to record a short 5-minute video outlining the institution’s initiative:
Verify your institution is an ADEE member and complete the online application form including agreeing to the terms & conditions and data privacy terms.
Upload the letter of support from the Dean or equivalent that verifies they support this application and give the applicant authority to apply.
Upload your pre-recorded video and any accompanying brief text you wish to add (Maximum 100 words). Check our Video Recording Guide with tips for recording your submission.
Examples
The Oral Health Professional Educators’ “Practice Green” and “Social Excellence” Awards provide ADEE member institutions specific areas of focus to showcase and highlight the work in the areas of environmental sustainability and social excellence and how this drives change:
“Practice Green” Award recognition examples may include a faculty campus initiative emphasizing waste reduction, removal of single use products, energy conservation and alternative methods of supply, carbon footprint reduction initiatives, or faculty curriculum initiatives to demonstrate how the concept of sustainability was integrated within the curriculum for oral health professionals. In addition, it can feature a faculty procurement and product use initiative to highlight the work on sustainable procurement, repair, and reuse of equipment, or the replacement of product and services with sustainably sourced alternatives.
“Social Excellence” Award recognition examples may include institutional initiatives that positively impact local communities, such as programmes that provide equitable access to dental care, outreach to underserved populations, and initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion within the profession and/or curriculum.
ADEE Member institutions can apply by using the online portal. Entry is limited to one application per institution and must have the support of the Dean or equivalent.
Evaluation
Evaluation and shortlisting of submissions will be carried out by the Oral Health Professional Educators’ Awards committee. The committee is composed of nominated representatives from ADEE, a nominee from Henry Schein and a nominee from EDSA, all of whom have a specific interest in sustainability and social excellence.
To find out more about this Panel click here.
When reviewing the applications, the panel is in particular looking for:
- How the stated aims and objectives of the initiative meet wider sustainable and green policy or social excellence aims,
- How the initiative fits within a wider strategy for sustainability/social excellence and its alignment with international policy,
- How the wider faculty and student body have been engaged in the processes of this initiative,
- How the initiative has had
- Environmental impact
- Financial Impact
- Educational Impact
- Process Impact
- Cultural Impact
- Societal
- How the institution tends to advance this initiative going forward.
We therefore recommend that your video (which cannot exceed 5 minutes) at minimum addresses the following headings:
- Context
- Aims and objectives
- Process
- Engagement
- Change and Impact
- Next Steps and Conclusions
Closing date for the 2024 Oral Health Professional Educators’ Awards is 30th June. Presentations will be made in person at ADEE's 2025 Annual Meeting in Dublin in August.
