UCB shortlisted for Whatuni University of the Year | News

April 2022

University College Birmingham shortlisted for University of the Year in Student Choice Awards

By Melanie Hall

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University College Birmingham has been shortlisted for University of the Year in the 2022 Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCA), the leading higher education awards ceremony based solely on student choice.

The University has also been shortlisted in five other categories – Students’ Union, Career Prospects, Student Support, Lecturers and Teaching Quality, and Facilities – demonstrating its commitment to excellence in higher education.

Each year, the WUSCA team receives approximately 35,000 verified reviews from on-campus visits across the country and online submissions via the whatuni.com website.

The student-led approach of review collection means that shortlisted universities are uniquely recognised by students for delivering an exceptional experience.

Crucially, they are the only annual awards that are based solely on the views of real students studying in the UK and that allow students to access honest, unbiased data to make the right choices about their future on the Whatuni platform.

"Through tireless work, we have delivered the academic experience and support services our students expect"

Alice Wilby Pro Vice-Chancellor for Access, Participation and Student Experience

Simon Emmett, Chief Executive at IDP Connect, which hosts the awards, said: “Being shortlisted for one of our Whatuni Student Choice Awards is exceptional.

“To be recognised so highly by your students is the pinnacle of excellence. Institutions should be proud of making it to this stage in the process and should celebrate the experience they’ve delivered for their students over the past 12 months.”

Alice Wilby, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Access, Participation and Student Experience at University College Birmingham, said the news was fantastic.

“Despite the country being better prepared, the past year was a harder year to be a student than in 2020, with greater interruption from the pandemic over a full teaching year,” she said. “Through tireless work, however, we have delivered the academic experience and support services our students expect.

“Our Guild of Students is incredible, our support services including our Centre for Academic Skills and English (CASE) and our hired@UCB employability and careers service are first-class, and we’ve invested over £140 million into our state-of-the-art training facilities across our five campuses over the last decade, including £2 million on simulation and digital learning spaces.

“It is wonderful to be recognised by our students as we enter an exciting new era, bolstered by our strategic, new partnership with the University of Warwick and all the research and additional pathway opportunities this brings.”

This year’s Whatuni Student Choice Awards winners will be announced on Tuesday 24 May at a black-tie awards dinner at the East Wintergarden, London, hosted by a well-known television personality.

Winners will also be published on the whatuni.com site with a complete breakdown of all categories, including how the rest of the university sector performed.

University College Birmingham’s courses cover a broad range, from business, nursing, finance and accounting to aesthetics, aviation, sport and culinary arts.

The University has also introduced new curriculum areas, including engineering and construction, and highly-relevant digital fields such as cyber security and esports, with further investment in buildings and equipment.

You can read University College Birmingham’s Whatuni profile here.