Here’s our infallible recipe for a good higher education party: take hundreds of passionate people, mix them together in a beautiful building and keep the food and drink coming. Oh, and award them for their fantastic, life-changing work.
This is the story of the Guardian University Awards 2016.
On my way now to #GdnUniAwards. Should be a fab evening
— Mary Curnock Cook (@MaryCurnockCook) March 16, 2016
When we weren’t scoffing canapés, we were asking our guests what they love about higher education:
#GdnUniAwards Terri and Sarah @_UoW pic.twitter.com/6gP6OuYzwc
— Higher Education (@GdnHigherEd) March 16, 2016
#GdnUniAwards Sarah and Helen from @HarperAdamsUni say pic.twitter.com/Qna4I1uhDw
— Higher Education (@GdnHigherEd) March 16, 2016
#GdnUniAwards Julius from @KingstonUni pic.twitter.com/Mx5Z8bXIWy
— Higher Education (@GdnHigherEd) March 16, 2016
#GdnUniAwards Diana from @BradfordUni pic.twitter.com/AP1lPZoQGW
— Higher Education (@GdnHigherEd) March 16, 2016
.@Maddalaine from @UniAlliance says... pic.twitter.com/qbMYLRuXvE
— Higher Education (@GdnHigherEd) March 16, 2016
Host Paul Sinha, from ITV’s The Chase, talked about how he saved lives by quitting medicine and created a brand new surprise category: “sexiest man in the room”.
Have the honour of attending the Guardians Higher education awards and @PaulSingha is hilarious! #GdnUniAwards
— The Profs (@AskTheProfs) March 16, 2016
The wins came thick and fast, with lots of happy faces (and trophy selfies):
Rae and Harriet with our #GdnUniAwards for QConsult supported by @jpmorgan. CC @QMUL. Thanks! pic.twitter.com/cMCZDY5Rgn
— Careers & Enterprise (@qmcareers) March 16, 2016
.@hampson_katie with @MagangaSambo at #GdnUniAwards. Congratulations on your win—so well deserved! 💐 🏆🎉 pic.twitter.com/N1Ax7PC71X
— UofG BAHCM Institute (@IBAHCM) March 16, 2016
Absolutely thrilled to receive a @GdnHigherEd for our #sustainability initiatives! Well done to everyone involved! pic.twitter.com/PquK8wGcjM
— Royal Ag Uni (@RoyalAgUni) March 16, 2016
#GdnUniAwards Our thanks to everyone at The Guardian for their support for Open Book, and for a great night! pic.twitter.com/ErONwCrjah
— Neil Bradley (@openbookproject) March 16, 2016
NEWS: Guardian University Awards victory after entering for the 1st time! https://t.co/SdYAEdRCqa #GdnUniAwards pic.twitter.com/YE0tNo6bAg
— Harper Adams Uni (@HarperAdamsUni) March 16, 2016
Our final award of the evening, for the sector’s most inspiring leader, was chosen by the public and went to Ian Dunn of Coventry University. He told us why he loves his job so much:
#GdnUniAwards @CovPVCStudents Ian Dunn from @covcampus says... pic.twitter.com/hXPo1gGBi7
— Higher Education (@GdnHigherEd) March 16, 2016
And that was it. The flow of awards finally dried up, the champagne, however, kept going…
Such a good time tonight at the #GdnUniAwards with @SALTtool ☺️ 🌟 pic.twitter.com/XrLMiSKTy2
— Nadine. (@Nadine_Lara93) March 17, 2016
We didn't win the Business Partnerships category, but we had a wonderful evening at the #GdnUniAwards pic.twitter.com/fAyyA5cKWB
— Ingenuity Network (@ingenuityUoN) March 16, 2016
Travelling home on the train with our Guardian University Award.#GdnUniAwards pic.twitter.com/jgU7hQIgxY
— Neil Bradley (@openbookproject) March 16, 2016
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