New College Lanarkshire (NCL) has been named as a finalist in four categories at The Herald Higher Education Awards 2022.
The college has been shortlisted for ‘Outstanding Business Engagement in Colleges’, ‘Marketing/PR Campaign of the Year’, in the ‘Partnership Award’ category alongside North Lanarkshire Council and the University of Strathclyde, and in the ‘Widening Access Award’ category alongside University of the West of Scotland and North Lanarkshire Council.
NCL’s Pathways to Textile Care and Warehousing programme has been chosen as a finalist for ‘Outstanding Business Engagement in Colleges’, a category which celebrates innovative approaches to delivering employers’ workforce development and student employability.
The programme, which is delivered in conjunction with sustainable fashion company ACS Clothing and North and South Lanarkshire councils, provides training opportunities to increase employment pathways, particularly for young people with additional support needs.
Students learn skills and knowledge to prepare them for a career in warehousing, logistics or sustainable fashion, undertaking a live work placement while attending college two days a week.
The college’s You’re Not Alone campaign has been shortlisted in the ‘Marketing/PR Campaign of the Year’ category. The multi-channel campaign was driven by the college values and has successfully raised awareness of the mental health support in place for students and staff at NCL.
Smart Hub Lanarkshire - a partnership between NCL, North Lanarkshire Council and the University of Strathclyde - picked up a nomination in the ‘Partnership Award’ category.
The hub supports manufacturing SMEs to modernise, digitise and automate to improve efficiency, boost productivity and grow, and is home to a robotics and automation training facility.
The hub will also offer learning opportunities for local school pupils to encourage an interest in STEM subjects as potential career options.
A finalist in the ‘Widening Access Award’ category, the North Lanarkshire Pathways and Partnership Project is a tri-partite joint venture between NCL, North Lanarkshire Council and University of the West of Scotland.
The project focuses on those most at risk of not achieving a positive destination post-school by creating an innovative fast-track qualification route.
Participating S6 pupils complete an HNC while still in school, an HND in first year at college and go into the third year of study at UWS to complete their degree, with the opportunity of achieving an honours degree only three years after leaving school.
All participating students have employer placement opportunities, and are guaranteed an employer interview at the end of the programme.
The Herald Higher Education Awards are now in their seventh year of recognising outstanding higher education institutions in Scotland.
There are 16 categories which aim to help build future excellence by highlighting examples of good practice. The winners will be announced at an awards event at the Radisson Blu in Glasgow on May 31.
Professor Christopher Moore, principal and chief executive of NCL, told Lanarkshire Live : “I am thrilled and proud that four entries from NCL have been chosen as finalists in these prestigious awards.
"Each of these initiatives is a shining example of the excellence that NCL is striving to achieve.
"I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all those involved, especially the partners who work so closely with us on three of our shortlisted projects.
“We look forward to meeting our fellow finalists at next month’s ceremony and to learning more about the best practice that’s going on across the higher education sector.”
The awards' judging panel includes Donald Martin (Newsquest Scotland), Jason Miles-Campbell (Jisc), Mhairi Harrington OBE, Dr Stuart Fancey (Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council), Roy Gardner (City of Glasgow College), and Shona Struthers (Colleges Scotland).
NCL took home two awards at the Herald Higher Education Awards 2021 - Outstanding Business Engagement in Colleges for Lanarkshire Business Hub, and Innovative Use of Technology for the Virtual Autodesk Digital Construction Challenge.
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