The University of Strathclyde has become the first university to win the coveted Times Higher Education University of the Year title twice – in 2016 and now 2019.
Strathclyde Business School also won the Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year award for our Breaking Barriers initiative, a pioneering programme which gives young people with learning disabilities access to education and work experience opportunities.
The awards were made at the Times Higher Education Awards 2019 on November 28, beating off stiff competition from universities around the country.
Judges praised Strathclydes’s commitment to our founding vision of being the place of useful learning, adding that the university “set itself the task of reiving Scotland’s traditional industrial base with a scale of ambition that has multiplied rapidly over the past decade.”
The University of the Year award honours our success in creating a series of collaborative research centres that share expertise and equipment with industry and developing Scotland’s first innovation district. The University’s influence on policy was also praised, with special mention to Professor Sir John Curtice.
Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal of the University of Strathclyde, said, “We are delighted to be awarded this honour which reflects the educational, social and economic contribution of our staff and students over the last year.
“Our vision as a leading international technological university is being realised and we are proud to be delivering technological and socially progressive solutions to global challenges, alongside our partners.”
Strathclyde Business School has offered the Breaking Barriers programme for three years in collaboration with ENABLE Scotland. The pioneering programme enables young people with learning disabilities to attend university, achieve an accredited qualification and gain real work experience with two of Scotland’s largest employers, Scottish Power and Marriott Hotel, Glasgow.
As a socially progressive institution, Strathclyde is committed to inclusion and opening higher education to all. Unique to the UK, Breaking Barriers develops opportunities and takes positive action to address the low number of young people with learning disabilities attending university in Scotland. The programme won the Youth Employment Award at the 2018 Herald Diversity Awards and has now won this year’s Times Higher Education Awards.
Students are paired with third year peer-mentors from Strathclyde Business School’s Management Development Programme Social Pathway who are trained by ENABLE Scotland. They help deliver a freshers’ week, inducting their mentees into university life, answering queries, and assisting with their studies to help them be part of the Strathclyde community and enjoy their student experience.
Once the taught element of the programme is complete, applied learning with industry partners ScottishPower and Marriott Hotels follow, where the learners put their newly-acquired skills into practice. On successful completion of their placement and assignment, the learners graduate in the autumn with a Certificate in Applied Business Skills and a 20 credit SCQF level 4 qualification, in a fully-inclusive graduation ceremony at the University’s Barony Hall.
See the full list of THE award winners here and more about the Breaking Barriers programme click here