Alfred Hermida, co-leader of the Global Journalism Innovation Lab, was recently recognized by the University of British Columbia (UBC) with two major awards in teaching and research.
In February 2025, Hermida was named a recipient of the 2025 Dean of Arts Mentorship Award at UBC. This award celebrates members within the UBC Faculty Arts who have made transformative contributions to educational leadership, teaching and learning, research, or community engagement.
Hermida is being acknowledged for his “tremendous contributions to mentoring the next generation of scholars.” Since joining the UBC School of Journalism, Writing, and Media (JWAM) in 2006, Hermida has been dedicated to making a positive impact on students’ lives, helping shape future journalists and media professionals.
The Dean of Arts Mentorship Award recognizes his commitment to promoting students’ academic and personal growth as a mentor and teacher, as well as fostering a community of inclusion and respect.
On March 11, Hermida was also named a recipient of the 2024 UBC Killam Research Prize, an award recognizing scholarly achievements across disciplines.
Established in 1986 through the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Fund, the Killam Research Prize is awarded annually to ten researchers at UBC who exemplify excellence and innovation.
The prize recognizes Hermida’s influential work on how digital technologies and social media have altered journalism and public communication in the 21st century.
Both of these awards reflect how Hermida’s work at the UBC JWAM and the Global Journalism Innovation Lab bridges the gap between research and practice. Before academia, he had a 16-year career as a reporter, producer and editor at the BBC. He also co-founded The Conversation Canada in 2017 to create a platform for academic knowledge mobilization.
As a scholar, Hermida has published some of the most cited journalism research in leading academic journals including Digital Journalism, Journalism Studies and Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. He ranks in the top 2% globally as one of the most cited scholars in media and journalism. He has also single-authored and co-authored three books.
These recent awards also add to Hermida’s list of accolades. In 2024, he was named a Fellow of the International Communication Association, joining a distinguished group of academics recognized for their outstanding contributions to communication research and education.