Merton-College-620The new award for University of the Year has revealed its shortlist of top universities to celebrate the achievements of higher education establishments in the North of England.

Newcastle University, Lancaster University and the University of York have all been shortlisted for the award which is one of 17 categories up for grabs.

Other categories include Research Team of the Year and Specialist Institute of the Year.

In order for universities to win the top award they must demonstrate outstanding achievement in their teaching, student experience, and research.

Educate North

The awards are set to be given out in June this year after a panel of experts from both the business and education worlds decide the results.

One of the panellists and Executive Director of the Business Research Institute at the University of Chester, Professor Phil Harris, noted that the top award had been a “very difficult category to judge” due to the large number of excellent applications which had been put forward.

The awards are set to be a part of a new education conference, aptly named Education North, which is run in conjunction with The Telegraph.

Speaking about the new awards, Professor Harris said he welcomed the recognition which is being given to northern education establishments.

He said the awards will help northern institutions compete with the “golden triangle” of universities: Cambridge, Oxford and London.

World class institutions make a difference

Professor Harris added that, as a country, we should be proud of the number of further education establishments in the North of England which are making a huge difference to education; especially in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects.

These institutions will hopefully get the praise they deserve in the new awards which look to honour top performing universities in the area.

The full list of categories being awarded are:

  1. University of the Year
  2. New University of the Year
  3. Specialist Institute of the Year
  4. Business school of the Year
  5. Further Education College/Sixth Form of the Year
  6. Research Project of the Year
  7. Research Team of the Year
  8. Lecturer of the Year
  9. Student Union of the Year
  10. Student Experience Award
  11. Academic Co-operation Award
  12. Employer Engagement Award
  13. Commercial Engagement Award
  14. Innovation Award
  15. Leadership Award
  16. Access award
  17. Environment Award

Are you a recent graduate? Do you think your university deserves to be recognised for its hard work? Which university would you vote for in these awards?