Queen Mary wins two London Higher awards for student employability and research collaboration, and is highly commended for wellbeing support 

Winners of Research Collaboration Award

Dr Philippa Lloyd, Vice-Principal (Policy and Strategic Partnerships) at Queen Mary University of London, said: “We are so pleased to receive these awards, recognising the role our local communities allow us to play in civic life. Neither the Student Knowledge Exchange programme (SKETCH) nor the Health Determinants Research Collaboration  would be possible without the engagement and enthusiasm of local groups and residents. Congratulations to all the colleagues involved in both projects.”

Outstanding Contribution to Student Employability: Winner
Queen Mary won for their interdisciplinary Student Knowledge Exchange programme (SKETCH) in which students work with organisation to solve real-world problems. This programme, initially funded by the Office for Students and Research England, is made up of six strands of work, spanning legal, business and financial and tech advice. SKETCH provides particularly valuable real-world work experience for students, in order to boost their employability post-graduation, and provide support for external, and often local, organisations.

What is distinctive about SKETCH is its interdisciplinarity, in response to both the need for higher level employability skills that can be developed through the connection across subject boundaries, and the attractiveness of such skills to employers. Last year, 700 students took part in the programme and developed 11 key employability skills, including communication, team-working, and creative problem solving, which has enabled them to go on to successful graduate roles. The pillars of SKETCH are: the Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre, qLegal, qNomics, qTech, SBM Entrepreneurship Hub and the Student Consultancy Project. 

Best Research Collaboration in London: Winner 
Queen Mary University of London,  London Metropolitan University and University of East London won this Award  for their work together  on the Tower Hamlets Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC). Funded by NIHR for five years, the HDRC is led by Tower Hamlets Council in partnership with Tower Hamlets Council for Voluntary Service (THCVS) and the three universities.

The HDRC  aims to make Tower Hamlets a ‘go to’ place in which to conduct co-produced, high quality and impactful research on health determinants to improve health outcomes, service provision and policy.

Queen Mary’s role on the HDRC is rooted in our civic commitment to healthy futures in East London and Tower Hamlets Council and THCVS are two of our strategic civic partners.   

Wellbeing Support for Students: Highly Commended 
This was for Queen Mary’s Sexual Assault and Harassment Advice (SAHA) Service, which was set up in May 2022 in our Advice and Counselling Service. The SAHAs provide specialist practical and emotional support to students who've experienced sexual assault and / or harassment, including signposting and support on how to report this.

At the time of the application, it had supported 154 students over 21 months with high satisfaction rates recorded, with improvements to mental health, coping strategies, and a sense of safety, and half saying that the service helped them stay in education.  The service also trains University staff in responding to reports, with 300+ trained so far; and it has campaigned to raise awareness and combat sexual violence and harassment. Finally, the service has developed working relationships with a wide range of external experts and services to help students access holistic support. 

Read more about the awards  

Read more about Queen Mary University of London’s Civic University Agreement which aims to strengthen our local area in London through five key themes, including health, culture and employment.