A celebration of excellence with education finalists

The stage is set for the Scottish education sector’s event of the year, The Herald Higher Education Awards 2024

The finalists have been announced for this year’s The Herald Higher Education Awards.

This is the ninth time that these prestigious awards have taken place and the numbers of entries from educational institutions across Scotland continues to grow.

This year the panel of expert judges, which includes Herald Education Writer, James MacEnaney: Kathryn O’Loan, Director of QAA; Isabelle Bristow, Managing Director, Studiosity and Jason Miles-Campbell, Managing Director, Jisc, had to work their way through 120 submissions in order to come up with a shortlist that reflects the high standards and exceptional achievements of Scotland’s higher education sector.

In total, more than 60 entries from 23 different establishments will be represented when the awards are announced on Tuesday, 28 May at the Radisson Blu in Glasgow.

It promises to be an exciting evening for those who have made the list and also for the organisations that they represent and on hand to ensure that the proceedings go smoothly will be host Fred MacAulay.

The Herald Higher Education awards celebrate the extraordinary things that are going on in universities and colleges across Scotland. They highlight innovation in teaching and explore how colleges and universities market themselves, support students, and engage with employers, as well as recognising those amazing students who make a significant contribution to student life as well as academia.

By highlighting these achievements, the awards help to build future excellence through sharing good practice and enhancing the status of learning and teaching in the Scottish higher education sector.

Amongst the categories this year are the Enhancing Student Learning Award – sponsored by QAA; Supporting Student Wellbeing Award – sponsored by Studiosity and Innovative Use of Technology Award – sponsored by Jisc, where finalists in the latter category include an initiative launched by Glasgow Clyde College to empower its staff through the use of Generative AI.

During the evening, outstanding contributions from students and staff will be celebrated and there will be awards for the best examples of where colleges and universities have taken the lead on projects that benefit society as a whole.

These include awards for educational institutions that have gone beyond the lecture halls to develop business engagement models with third parties. Contenders in these categories include Abertay University’s spearheading low carbon initiative with Transform Net Zero and Dumfries and Galloway College’s project to back-fill the NHS whilst training new Health Professionals at the College.

Meanwhile, in a separate Partnership category the finalists include Edinburgh College for the Sports Therapy Degree Programme that it has developed in collaboration with Scottish Rugby Union and NHS Scotland.

Awards such as these demonstrate the important contribution that forward-thinking educational institutions can make to Scotland as a whole, while the Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community Award, where the finalists include New College Lanarkshire’s ‘Caring for Carers’ initiative and the University of Dundee’s ‘Active Living and Seniors Programme’ demonstrate the positive impact that many are having on their local neighbourhoods.

Being active in the community is an important way for colleges and universities to break down the barriers that can exclude some people from accessing higher education and three institutions, Dundee and Galloway College; Edinburgh Napier University and Forth Valley College share the shortlist for this year’s Widening Access Award, while Edinburgh College, the Universities of Glasgow, Stirling and Dundee are all finalists in the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award.

Research is an important function of higher education and the contenders for the Research Project of the Year award include Edinburgh Napier University for its investigation into the carriage of Naloxone by police officers to address drug-related deaths in Scotland and Robert Gordon University for work on the policing of gender-based violence in remote, rural and island communities in Scotland during and after COVID-19.

In their role as educators, colleges and universities have a platform to talk to both students and the wider community and how effectively they achieve this will be recognised in the Marketing/PR Campaign of the Year Award, where the contenders include Fife College’s ‘Reassurance’ campaign that aimed to help students face the cost-of-living crisis and the University of Stirling, with its campaign aimed at looking beyond drug and alcohol statistics.

Meanwhile, the winners of two of the most prestigious awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Higher Educational Institution of the Year Award will both be announced on the night.

Kathryn O’Loan, Director, QAA for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who is both a judge and sponsor of the Enhancing Student Learning Award, said: “We are looking forward to celebrating with the award winners on 28 May. The quality of the submissions received was very high and it was inspiring to learn more about the diverse range of projects and approaches being adopted across Scotland. All of the finalists should be very proud of their achievements.”

Isabelle Bristow, Managing Director, Studiosity for UK and Europe, said: “This is now Studiosity’s third consecutive year of being a proud sponsor of the Herald Higher Education Awards – and for me personally, the second year of being on the judging panel – and as fully expected, this year’s submissions have once more been of an exceptionally high standard. A hearty congratulations to all 2024 finalists.

“These annual awards are a wonderful opportunity for reflection, both by the individuals and teams in writing their submissions, and by the wider Scottish HE community as the finalists are announced. Improving life chances is Studiosity’s mission and as such it is an honour to be part of this wonderful opportunity to shine a spotlight on all the great work ensuring all students feel supported, confident and that they belong – all essential elements for success. We would like to wish an extra special congratulations to the finalists of our sponsored category, Supporting Student Wellbeing.”

And Liam Earney, Managing Director – higher education and research at Jisc, sponsors of the Innovative Use of Technology Award said,

“Congratulations to the five finalists in this year’s Jisc sponsored innovative use of technology category. I have been impressed by the many ways in which this year’s frontrunners are using digital across higher education in Scotland to enhance teaching and learning, improve the student experience, and support local communities and the wider economy, and I look forward to hearing more about the fantastic projects showcased.

“Good luck to all the finalists, and well done to everyone nominated.”

The event itself promises to be an evening of celebration as well as a chance to network with colleagues and peers from across the higher educational landscape.

Tickets are available now and these can be accessed, along with full information about the Awards ceremony, from: https://newsquestscotlandevents.com/events/heawards/

#Heraldheds

Enhancing Student Learning Award – sponsored by QAA

Abertay University – Co-creating student success through credit-bearing microcredentials
Edinburgh College – Creative and Critical Thinking Qualifications
Robert Gordon University – The Future of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
University of Glasgow – Enhanced Learning for All: Student Learning Development

Supporting Student Wellbeing Award – sponsored by Studiosity

City of Glasgow College Students’ Association – Student Pantry
Edinburgh Napier University – Keep on Track
Fife College – Supporting students with the cost-of-living
University of Edinburgh – Student Counselling Service – Skills for Life and Learning

Outstanding Contribution from a University Student

George Hassall – University of Stirling
Erica Lo Presti – UHI Perth
Shalu Madan – Edinburgh Napier University
Laura Young – Abertay University and the University of Dundee

Outstanding Contribution from a College Student

David Butler – City of Glasgow College Students’ Association
Kenneth Tong – New College Lanarkshire

Outstanding Contribution from a Staff Member

Professor Bill Buchanan – Edinburgh Napier University
Julie Cooper – West College Scotland
Usha Mani – University of Dundee
Vikki McCall – University of Stirling
Michelle Skotzen – Edinburgh College
Rik Weightman – Edinburgh College

Research Project of the Year

Edinburgh Napier University – The carriage of Naloxone by police officers to address drug-related deaths in Scotland
Robert Gordon University – The Policing of Gender-Based Violence in remote, rural and island communities in Scotland during and after COVID-19
University of Dundee – Professor Jill Belch
University of Dundee – iPlacenta
University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business School – NHS Menopause and Menstrual Health Policy

Outstanding Business Engagement in Universities

Abertay University – Spearheading low carbon innovation with Transform Net Zero
Edinburgh Napier University – Applied Management in Football
Glasgow School of Art – Glasgow School of Art x Daydream Believers

Outstanding Business Engagement in Colleges

Dumfries and Galloway College – Back Filling the NHS whilst training new Health Professionals at College
Fife College and Babcock International Group – Production Support Operative Programme
Glasgow Kelvin College – Get into Employment: Rail Industry
New College Lanarkshire – Film and TV for all
West College Scotland – James Paterson & Sons Skills Academy

Innovative Use of Technology Award – sponsored by Jisc

Edinburgh Napier University – The Virtualised Security Operations Centre Integration with Information Services
Glasgow Clyde College – Empowering Staff Through Generative AI
University of St Andrews – The Graduate Attribute Platform
University of Stirling – Innovation in learning spaces through technologies and pedagogy
West College Scotland – DIGISKLS at West

Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community

Edinburgh College – EC Sessions
Glasgow Kelvin College – Glasgow Kelvin College Community and Youth Hubs
New College Lanarkshire – Caring for Carers
Queen Margaret University in partnership with STV Children’s Appeal – The Enhanced Learning Tutoring Initiative (ELTI)
University of Dundee – Active Living and Seniors Programme

Partnership Award

Edinburgh College – Sports Rehabilitation Degree Programme partnerships with Scottish Rugby Union and NHS Scotland
Glasgow Caledonian University – Transforming Health at GCU: Collaborating for Wellness
Glasgow School of Art – Glasgow School of Art x Daydream Believers
New College Lanarkshire – Women’s Aid Project

Marketing/PR Campaign of the Year

Abertay University – Abertay A to B campaign
Fife College – ‘Reassurance’ – helping students face the cost-of-living
Glasgow Kelvin College – National Opportunity Day
New College Lanarkshire – We are New College Lanarkshire
University of Stirling – Seeing beyond the drug and alcohol statistics

Widening Access Award

Dumfries and Galloway College – Dumfries and Galloway College – HE for All
Edinburgh Napier University – HUB for SUCCESS
Forth Valley College – Widening Participation Project

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award

Edinburgh College – Women in Digital and Data Innovation
University of Glasgow – James McCune Smith Scholarship and Development Programme
University of Stirling – Stirling Cares Programme
University of Stirling – Visibility of Inclusion for Boosting Equity (VIBE)
University of Dundee – EMBEDD (Engaging Minoritised Beneficiaries in Engineering Diversity Development)

Lifetime Achievement Award

Announced on the night

Higher Educational Institution of the Year

Announced on the night