UCLan wins prestigious THE award for excellence

The University has been crowned a winner at the 2016 Times Higher Education (THE) Awards for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts.

UCLan beat off competition from five other UK universities to win the award at what is widely regarded as the Oscars of the higher education sector.  It won the arts category prize for its Global Sound Movement (GSM) project, a unique digital arts initiative that captures the sounds of rare and exotic musical instruments from remote villages across the globe for commercial use with profits donated back to the communities.   

Led by UCLan’s College of Culture and the Creative Industries, the project travels to international areas where music is intrinsic to the communities’ individual culture; often where hand-built instruments are constructed from locally sourced materials forming the basis of the unique sound of that location.  As well as providing a way for remote, economically deprived communities to showcase their rare and distinctive music to a global audience, GSM provides local musicians with a sustainable income stream which could help lift them out of poverty.

Senior lecturer in Brand Management Paresh Parmar is one of the leaders on the project.  Speaking at the THE Awards ceremony he said: “To win this award is absolutely brilliant.  The Global Sound Movement project connects people through music and everyone involved benefits, from the communities we visit to our students who themselves learn so much from the whole experience.  It truly transforms lives and that is something I think really resonated with the judges.”

The project, which brought together a multidisciplinary team of staff and students in a highly collaborative process of teaching, learning and research, was praised by the judges for realising UCLan’s innovative vision of learning taking place ‘in the wild’.

UCLan’s win was one of six gongs handed to North West Universities at the event, reflecting the region’s buoyant and vibrant higher education sector.  The University was also shortlisted in the Entrepreneurial University of the Year category for the third year in succession, reflecting UCLan’s growing status as one of the most innovative institutions in the higher education sector.

UCLan Vice-Chancellor Professor Mike Thomas said: “I am delighted the University has won this award in recognition of such a unique and ground-breaking project that truly reflects our international outlook and has proved to be a revolutionary sustainable fundraising platform. 

“The THE Awards attract hundreds of talented entrants every year so to be nominated in two categories and go onto win one is fantastic and reflects the hard work and commitment of our dedicated staff and students.”

The black-tie event took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane in London, and was hosted by actor Richard E. Grant. Over 1,200 guests – including the great and good of the higher education sector as well as shortlisted teams from institutions across the UK – gathered to celebrate the extraordinary talent, creativity and resourcefulness of our universities.

Winners were chosen by a panel of judges including Alison Johns, chief executive of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, Joanna Newman, vice-principal (international), King’s College London, and Malia Bouattia, president of the National Union of Students.

John Gill, editor of THE said: “The spirit of relentless improvement, of competing but also working together for the greater public good, will be vital for our universities and the country in the months and years ahead. Universities face major challenges as a result of Brexit, but as can be seen from the extraordinary group of winners this year, the THE Awards serve as a timely reminder of just how strong they are as a group: “world class” is a cliché, but an apt one in this case”.

The list of this year’s winners

University of the Year – London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Entrepreneurial University of the Year – London South Bank University
Most Innovative Teacher of the Year – Sara Wolfson, Canterbury, Christ Church University
Outstanding Digital Innovation in Teaching or Research – University of Leeds and Leeds College of Art
Outstanding Contribution to Leadership Development – Royal Holloway, University of London
Business School of the Year – Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde
THE DataPoints Merit Award – University of Surrey
Outstanding International Student Strategy – Royal Northern College of Music
International Collaboration of the Year – The Royal College of Pathologists
Outstanding Support for Students – University of Wolverhampton
Outstanding Contribution to Innovation and Technology – Nottingham Trent University
Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year – University of Winchester
Most Innovative Contribution to Business-University Collaboration – Dairy Crest, in collaboration with Harper Adams University
Most Improved Student Experience – Ulster University
Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year – Alys Young, University of Manchester
Research Project of the Year – University of Salford
Excellence and Innovation in the Arts – University of Central Lancashire

Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community – Edge Hill University
Outstanding Employer Engagement Initiative – Liverpool John Moores University
The Lord Dearing Lifetime Achievement Award – Lord Sainsbury of Turville

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston was founded in 1828 as the Institution for the Diffusion of Knowledge. Since those early days it has grown into one of the UK’s largest universities with a staff and student community approaching 38,000 and an employment-focused course portfolio containing over 350 undergraduate programmes and nearly 250 postgraduate courses. The University has an established research reputation with world-leading or internationally excellent work taking place within the areas of Business, Health, Humanities and Science.

As a truly global institution with an established campus in Cyprus, UCLan’s student body includes 120 nationalities and its partnership network extends to 125 countries. In 2013 the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings awarded UCLan the full five stars for its global outlook in all aspects of international educational provision. In 2015 the Centre for World University Rankings placed UCLan in the top 3.8 percent of all worldwide universities.

The University has a strong focus on continually improving the student experience and recently unveiled a 10-year, £200 million plan to redevelop its Preston Campus to create an attractive and inviting, world-class campus helping to create jobs, kick-start regeneration and attract inward investment into the City.