THE finalists for the third year of The Herald’s Higher Education Awards have been announced.
The awards, in association with the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), were launched to recognise the outstanding achievements of colleges and universities.
Supported by Universities Scotland, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), City of Glasgow College and technology provider Jisc, the awards comprise 15 categories that look at how institutions develop innovation in teaching and research.
Backed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education Scotland (QAA) and Anderson Strathern the event also highlights the use of technology, partnerships with employers, student support, community engagement and widening access.
This year the judges have been overwhelmed by the quality of the 115 entries received.
Professor Craig Mahoney, principal of UWS, said: “The interest in this competition has once again been fantastic and the quality and breadth of entries is astounding.
“It is a true reflection of the calibre of Scotland’s higher education sector and the hard work that is being undertaken to support students.”
Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland congratulations all the finalists who won through from a strong field of entries.
He said: “The judging panel knew from the outset that it had a challenging task ahead, but the quality and range of entries is a reflection of the excellent and diverse work taking place throughout Scotland’s university and college sector.”
Ailsa Crum, head of quality and enhancement with QAA Scotland, said: “The entries provide a remarkably vibrant and positive picture of the breadth, ambition and creativity of the work going on in our college and university sectors.”
A spokesman for City of Glasgow College added: “We are delighted to support these awards and our congratulations go to all the finalists, each of whom deserves this recognition for their incredible contribution to education and their determination to make Scotland’s tertiary sector the best in the world.”
Fiona Killen, education governance lead for Anderson Strathern, also congratulated the finalists.
She said: “As sponsors it is great to see such a diverse range of nominees.”
Alistair McKay, regional manager at the SQA added: “The quality of the entries has been impressive, making the judging very difficult.
“We have read about some great work in Scotland’s colleges and universities, the high standard of education being offered, the level of learning that is produced and how they engage with employers and support students.”
Head of Jisc Scotland and Northern Ireland, Jason Miles-Campbell, said: “It’s a pleasure to be recognising the deserving finalists as part of these awards.”
The awards take place on Thursday, July 6 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow. To book tickets contact Claire Hunter on 0141 302 7319.
The Shortlist
Student Support Team of the Year – Sponsored by Universities Scotland
Edinburgh Napier University - Learning and Research Services Team
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland - Transitions 20/40 Mentoring Team
University of Stirling - Student Support Services Team
University of the West of Scotland - Student Services at UWS
Academic Support Team of the Year
Glasgow Caledonian University - Learning Development Centre (School of Health and Life Sciences)
Robert Gordon University - Academic Development Team
The University of Glasgow - English for Academic Study
University of Dundee - The STEP UP Module
Outstanding Contribution from a Student
Iain Scott - Queen Margaret University
Kayleigh Haggo - Ayrshire College
Kieran Gemmell - University of Strathclyde
Miura Suazi Lima de Costa - Glasgow Caledonian University
Enhancing Student Learning Award – supported by QAA
Robert Gordon University - Organisational Development in the Undergraduate Curriculum
The University of Glasgow - Closing the Feedback Loop
University of Stirling - An Enhancement-Driven Review of the Student Representative System
University of the West of Scotland - Learning Conversations
Outstanding Employer Engagement in Universities - Sponsored by SQA
Edinburgh Napier University - e-Placement Scotland
Robert Gordon University - Talent Exchange
University of Strathclyde - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) partnership
University of the West of Scotland - RAFT/Gaiety Theatre
Outstanding Employer Engagement in Colleges - Sponsored by SQA
City of Glasgow College - Creating a 21st Century Workforce through Industry Academies
Edinburgh College - Transition Interactive Design Showcase
West College Scotland - The Designers of Tomorrow
West Lothian College - Employer Engagement for Foundation Apprentices
Research Project of the Year
Heriot-Watt University - Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick - The Homelessness Monitor
The University of Glasgow - UK Biobank Team
University of Dundee - Smoke alarm research helping save children’s lives
University of the West of Scotland - Nanokicking
Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community
Ayrshire College - Get East Ayrshire Active
Edinburgh Napier University - The outsideworld.cloud
The University of Glasgow - Chasing the Waves
The University of Glasgow - Zombie Science
Partnership Award
Lews Castle College University of the Highlands and Islands - Far Flung Corners
The University of Glasgow - East Project
University of Stirling & Stirling Students' Union - Preventing & Tackling Sexual Violence & Misconduct Strategy
West Lothian College - Training for the future - Children’s Hearing Scotland (CHS)
Campaign of the Year
Ayrshire College - Get East Ayrshire Active
Edinburgh Napier University - “The Big Read”
The University of Glasgow - The Simpsons Campaign
University of Stirling - The Peter Mackay Archive Crowdfunding Campaign
Best use of Articulation Award
To be announced on the night.
Widening Access Award
Edinburgh Napier University - HMP Polmont YOI Media Project
Robert Gordon University - ‘Access To’
The University of Glasgow - Early Secondary Programme
West College Scotland - Access to Primary Education
Innovation Technology Excellence Award – Sponsored by Jisc
Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) - Practical Contract Management (PCM) Project
The University of Glasgow - ViRES
The University of Glasgow - Clinical Genomics Apps
University of Aberdeen - Learners’ Toolkit
Lifetime Achievement Award – Sponsored by City of Glasgow College
To be announced on the night.
Higher Educational Institution of the Year – Sponsored by Anderson Strathern
To be announced on the night.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here