Careers Awards

Careers recognise the hard work students, staff, alumni, employers and voluntary organisations make to enhance employability and increase the work-related skills amongst our students and graduates. The annual Careers Awards evening is our opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate this hard work and present awards to those who have made a valuable contribution to Careers at Edge Hill University.

Do you love your part-time job or voluntary role? Does your placement manager provide you with great support and on-going training? Have you taken the first steps into your future career and gone above and beyond in your graduate role? If so, when nominations open in Semester 1 2024, you can get involved to make our next Careers Awards evening bigger and better!

Careers Awards Evening 2024

On Wednesday 15th May 2024 Careers held the annual Careers Awards ceremony, which was an evening filled with inspiring stories, networking opportunities, and a celebration of excellence.

12 award categories were presented in front of a 180-strong audience, including students, staff, alumni, employers and voluntary organisations.

There were also 2 special recognition awards presented on the evening, as well as the celebration of success for the students who had taken part in the Oracle Mentoring Programme for 2023/24. Take a look below at the full list of winners and runners-up.

It was a fantastic evening that allowed us to say thank you to everyone involved in enhancing employability and increasing work-related skills amongst students and graduates at Edge Hill. The hard work from colleagues across EHU, the dedication of the employers and voluntary organisations who work in partnership with Careers, and of course the determination and resilience of our students and graduates does not go unnoticed.

Careers Awards Winners & Runners-up 2024

Alumni Award

• Winner: Alex Winstanley, co-founder, Happy Smiles Training CIC. Alex went on to teach after leaving EHU, and after witnessing a lack of opportunities and stigmas faced by disabled people, left their teaching role to co-found a social enterprise, Happy Smiles Training, positively impacting over 16,000 people and employing 20 local disabled people.
• Runner-Up: Sam Napier, Blackpool FC.
• Runner-Up: Charley Dolan, Therapeutic Practitioner.

“Being awarded Alumni of the Year at the Edge Hill University Careers Awards is a tremendous honour. It’s great to feel recognised amongst fantastic nominees and inspires me to continue empowering others, promoting inclusion and diversity through my books and through our work at Happy Smiles Training.”

Alumni Alex Winstanley

Alumni Award

Sandwich Placement Student of the Year

• Winner: Harry Bateman, Bradford City AFC sandwich placement. Harry was proactive in securing a placement with a provider who had never hosted a student, allowing them to shape their placement and to take the lead articulating, the value of the placement would to their degree programme, and also the value they could bring to the organisation.
• Runner-Up: Hannah Martinez, Enterprise Mobility sandwich placement.
• Runner-Up: Annabelle Williams, Co-op sandwich placement.

Best Department for Employability including Employability Lead of the Year

• Winner: Department of Computer Science, Lindsay Cumiskey. The Computer Science department has organised various employability activities over the course of 2023/24 to enable students to gain experience and develop their skills, such as a Tech Women Club, to help support females into tech roles, including guest speakers and insight days.
• Runner-Up: School of Law, Criminology and Policing, Jennifer Giblin.
• Runner-Up: Women’s and Children’s Health.

Student Volunteer of the Year (Individual)

• Winner: Libby Davy, Dandelion Days Equine Facilitated Learning. Libby has helped transform Dandelion Days from a small charitable entity to a thriving hub, offering a diverse range of courses and programmes that significantly impact those who seek support, playing a “pivotal role” in the growth of Dandelion Days.
• Runner-up: Charlotte Walters, Home-Start Southport & Formby.
• Runner-up: Marnie Osborne, SHOUT.

Student Volunteer of the Year (Team)

• Winner: Lancashire Special Constabulary Volunteers (Peter Brown, Elliott Cocking, Bradley Blane-Russell, Nicole Hartley, Harry Clayton). These students have collectively contributed over 1,000 hours of volunteering since joining as Special Constables with Lancashire Constabulary in 2023 which is a huge personal commitment, involving a long recruitment process, 12 weeks of initial training, and the commitment to volunteer a minimum of 16 hours per month.
• Runner-up: EHU Primary Student Academic Mentors.

Work-Related Learning Student of the Year

• Winner: Darren Lord, BA (Hons) Teaching Learning & Child Development. Darren was nominated for the work-related learning experiences they undertook with the EHU Faculty of Education during 2023/24, taking part in numerous activities, including becoming a Programme Feedback Ambassador, a Student Academic Mentor, as well as undertaking a 10 day enhancement experience British School of Kuwait.
• Runner-Up: Ella Louise Weatherburn, LLB (Hons) Law with Politics.
• Runner-Up: Rose Gilbert, BSc (Hons) Psychosocial Analysis of Offending.

Work-Related Learning Organisation of the Year

• Winner: West Lancashire Council Business Engagement Team. The West Lancashire Council Business Engagement Team work hard to cultivate relationships and develop opportunities for EHU students, including supporting with the newly launched Business Start Up Club and working with a group of students on a live brief for the Green Tourism Awards, helping prepare the awards submission.
• Runner-Up: Blackpool FC.
• Runner-Up: Edge Hill University Apprenticeship Team.

“I am immensely proud of the Council’s Business Engagement team in being awarded winners of the Work-Related Learning Organisation of the Year award! We value the strong partnership we have with Edge Hill University, to support a variety of departments, as well as students, with business start-up support, work placement opportunities and employability skills. This award is a credit to the team, and it’s a pleasure to have such a great working relationship across the University, that will only continue to grow.”

Lisa Ratican, Principal Business Engagement Officer at West Lancashire Borough Council

Work-Related Learning Organisation of the Year

Student Employee of the Year (Individual)

• Winner: Marnie Osborne, BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS. As well as studying Primary Education with QTS, and completing placements and volunteering, Marnie also works as a home-visiting carer, supporting vulnerable people who live at home, including elderly people with dementia or Alzheimer’s and young people with disabilities.
• Runner-Up: Angela Lennox, BA (Hons) Working & Teaching in The Early Years.
• Runner-Up: Harry Cannon-Noren, BSc (Hons) Sport & Exercise Science.

Graduate Employee of the Year

• Winner: Sian Johnston, Chartwells. Sian completed a project working with School Food Matters during the BSc (Hons) Nutrition & Health degree, which involved working with deprived schools in the local area, educating children about nutrition and where food originates from. Based on this experience, Sian applied, and was successful in gaining a graduate role with Chartwells, a UK-leading school and education catering company.
• Runner-up: Elysia Brown, Brontë Parsonage Museum.
• Runner-up: Ewelina Kopec, Education Facilitator.

Student Employee of the Year (Team)

• Winner: RSPB Student Biology Interns (Verity Carr, Marco Dobson, Ethan Mitchelle-Innes, Charlotte Devaney, Vichea Balch). Working with the RSPB, these students completed a hugely successful project within the Department of Biology to assist with data collection in the field and follow-up lab work, often working in unfavourable weather conditions, and consisting of long days and physically demanding work.
• Runner-Up: EHU Library and Learning Services Student Advisors.
• Runner-Up: EHU Student Life Campus Connectors.

Student Employer of the Year

• Winner: Edge Hill University Learning Technology & Development Team. The Learning Technology & Development Team provide many opportunities to students via their paid digital internships, allowing students to gain technical skills and digital literacy, whilst working in a familiar university environment. These digital internships offer students a positive working environment, continual support and training and numerous opportunities for personal growth.
• Runner-Up: School Food Matters.
• Runner-Up: P34B.

Graduate Employer of the Year

• Winner: British School of Kuwait. BSK has been a valued partner of the Faculty of Education since 2018, providing international enhancement experiences and full-time employment opportunities to students and graduates, with 27 alumni currently employed as Early Career Teachers, as well as, middle and senior leadership team members, teaching across all ages.
• Runner-up: BDO.
• Runner-up: Enterprise Mobility.

“We were truly delighted when we received our nomination for Graduate Employer of the Year. As a school we really value our partnership with EHU and so we were excited to be on campus for the event itself and truly honoured when we were announced the winners in our category. This has been a highlight of our partnership, which we look forward to developing further for many years to come.”

Emma Bowie, Principal, The British School of Kuwait

Graduate Employer of the Year

Special Recognition of Contributions to Employability Award

• Winner: Sharon McAvoy, Senior Lecturer in Law. Sharon works hard and always goes above and beyond what is expected, in order to improve the employability of her students, and this does not go unnoticed, with colleagues nominating Sharon for this special recognition award.

Special Recognition of Achievement Award

• Winner: Jimmy Rimmer, BSc (Hons) Nutrition & Health student. Jimmy demonstrated remarkable resilience, true determination, and outstanding achievement and has been a real inspiration to other students over the course of their degree programme.

Celebration of the Oracle Mentoring Programme

Careers Awards Winners & Runners-up 2023

Take a look at the 2023 award categories and our winners and runners-up below.

Student Volunteer of the Year

• Winner: Gabby Howson-Tax. Gabby works incredibly hard volunteering with the Scouts, from opening and running the first Squirrel Drey in Blackpool, to being the Blackpool District Youth Commissioner, Gabby represents what Scouts is all about, living the values of care, respect, integrity and cooperation, and inspires so many people within the Scouts.
• Runner-Up: Emilia McRobie, Uni Boob Team Volunteer.

Voluntary Organisation of the Year

• Winner: CoppaFeel! CoppaFeel! are a charity that work to raise awareness of Breast Cancer, and have provided volunteering opportunities that have allowed our students to learn new skills, such as event management and public speaking, grow in confidence, and build a successful team of on campus volunteers.

Sandwich Placement Student of the Year

• Winner: Élise Westbury-Jones. Élise faced strong competition but was successful securing a placement in a dream company, Gymshark. Élise then excelled, working in numerous sections of the Cyber Security team, making a substantial impact in each, as well as undertaking additional professional training, helping cement a career path following graduation.
• Runner-Up: Alexander Jay, VMware Sandwich Placement.

“I felt so grateful to be shortlisted for Sandwich Placement Student of the Year, and the awards evening was incredible! After I received my award, I had the opportunity to have professional photos taken and speak to my fellow winners and runners-up. It was lovely to hear about what everyone had achieved and be inspired by each of the award speeches. Throughout my placement at Gymshark, I have had countless opportunities to demonstrate what I have learnt at university, and I am so grateful to be recognised for my success by the Edge Hill Careers Team.”

Student Élise Westbury-Jones

Sandwich Placement of the Year Winner

Sandwich Placement Provider of the Year

• Winner: The Walton Centre. The Walton Centre provide a range of sandwich placement opportunities for Computer Science students, allowing them to gain invaluable knowledge and develop an understanding of real-world technology and gain hands-on experience working on projects, supporting their employability and enhancing their graduate career prospects.
• Runner-Up: VMware UK.

Student Employee of the Year

• Winner: Eleanor Rowell. Through part-time work, Eleanor has become an integral part of the Student Life and the Widening Access and Participation teams, working on a variety of projects helping support EHU students. Eleanor is passionate about improving the lives of current Edge Hill students and is a prominent ambassador for all things Edge Hill.
• Runner-Up: Maisie Gotham, Divine Days Community CIC.
• Runner-Up: Rhianna Walton, Springfield Montessori Nursery.

Student Employer of the Year

• Winner: The Media Store. Based in Creative Edge, The Media Store has employed students for the last five years and allows Film and Television students to loan equipment necessary for their course and projects. Through The Media Store, students can work flexibly around their studies and develop key skills, including industry essential equipment knowledge.
• Runner-Up: Student Life Team.

Graduate Employee of the Year

• Winner: Matthew Price. Matthew, a Mental Health Nursing & Social Work (Hons) graduate, was part of the first ever cohort of this course to graduate from EHU and now works for The Priory. Matthew is passionate about improving patient outcomes and has already made a big difference to the hospital.
• Runner-Up: Amber Humphries, JBA Consulting.
• Runner-Up: Ellis Kindred, Wigan Council.

Graduate Employer of the Year

• Joint Winner: D3t. D3t are a games company based in Runcorn that works with Computer Science students to boost their employability and offer careers advice. D3t have been committed to enhancing students’ employability, integral to enriching their experiences, and have participated in activities to develop skills, delivering lectures and live briefs, preparing students for graduate employment.
• Joint Winner: Everton in the Community. EitC is a top UK sporting charity that uses sport to motivate, educate and inspire vulnerable and underprivileged people in local communities. Their commitment to career development has enabled students and graduates access to unique and exclusive opportunities to develop skills, experiences and graduate attributes, and secure roles in sport, health, education and wellbeing.

Alumni Award

• Winner: Eleanor Groves. Eleanor is a qualified Solicitor at Express Solicitors and an exceptional role model for Law students at EHU. Eleanor continues to work with the department, including holding the role of Alumni President since September 2021 and regularly visits Edge Hill to give taster lectures to students and attend law Advisory Panels, helping the department build strong links with Express Solicitors.
• Runner-Up: Tenderfoot Theatre Company.
• Runner-Up: Andrew Harrison, Southport Bijou Cinema.

Best Department for Employability including Employability Lead of the Year

• Winner: Sport and Physical Activity – Employability Lead: Andy Smith. The Sport and Physical Activity department work collaboratively to deliver a wide range of quality employability activities and work-related learning experiences. This provides students with different opportunities to enhance employability, including working with major organisations such as Everton in the Community and the Tackling the Blues project.
• Runner-Up: Early Years Education – Initial Teacher Education and Early Career Teacher Employability Lead: Heidi Winrow.
• Runner-Up: Primary and Childhood Education – Strategic Employability Lead: Mark Sutcliffe.

“We were delighted to have been nominated, and win, the best Department for Employability (including Employability Lead) Award. This success reflects the considerable hard work all colleagues in the Department of Sport and Physical Activity have invested in enhancing our graduate employability work, especially with the support of the Careers Team. The increasing proportion of our students who go on to secure graduate employment after 15 months of being awarded their degree is testimony to the impact this work has had on students’ outcomes, and to the embedded nature of our employability and careers provision across all levels of study. We would like to thank all colleagues in the Careers Team for their support, and we look forward to working together in the future.”

Professor Andy Smith, Sport and Physical Activity

Best Department for Employability including Employability Lead of the Year Winner

Student Union Contributor of the Year

• Winner: Jack Richardson. As Arts & Sciences President for the Students’ Union, Jack has been an outstanding asset and has been dedicated to improving career prospects for students in the Faculty of Arts & Sciences. As part of this, Jack launched a consultation to explore placement and career opportunities, and as a result, has increased careers engagement from Faculty of Arts & Sciences students.
• Runner-Up: Amy Fox, Student Adviser.

Graduate Career Planning & Success Awards

Edge Hill University Lifetime Commitment Award 

• Winner: Jacqui Howe. In recognition of extraordinary service, contributions and many achievements at Edge Hill University. Jacqui’s lifetime commitment to Edge Hill University Careers is unparalleled.