Success for Cardiff University in Higher Education ‘Oscars’

Cardiff University has enjoyed a hugely successful night at the Oscars of Higher Education, the Times Higher Education Awards, winning two major honours.

The University lifted the International Collaboration of the Year trophy and Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community at a glittering ceremony in London.

The University’s partnership with the University of Namibia, the Phoenix Project, which seeks to improve health and reduce poverty in Namibia, was described as the “stand-out” entry for the International Collaboration award.

Prior to the Phoenix Project, there were only a handful of part-time state anaesthetists in Namibia. Now, over 100 medical students and medical officers have been trained in anesthesia.

Phoenix has also created a Cardiff Trauma Pack to help save lives following road crashes, set up an annual open-source software conference to encourage software programmers in southern Africa, and driven a project to study and support languages in Namibia.

The judges said that the partnership, led by Professor Judith Hall from the School of Medicine, was “truly an outstanding example of international collaboration”.

The University’s CAER Heritage Project, a collaborative partnership between Cardiff University, community development charity Action in Caerau and Ely, local schools, community groups and major heritage organisations in Wales, took the Local Community award.

The project focuses on Caerau Hillfort, a nationally important heritage site located between two Cardiff housing estates that are among the most socially and economically challenged wards in Wales.

The scheme puts local people at the heart of archaeological and historical research through excavations, artefact analyses, exhibitions and films.

CAER, led by Dr Dave Wyatt from the School of History, Archaeology and Religion, has built partnerships with seven local schools involving 1,538 pupils in joint activities, and engaged with almost 15,000 visitors at its events.

Meanwhile, Professor Jon Anderson, from the School of Geography and Planning, was shortlisted in the Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year category for his excellent work supervising the diverse research of students from many different backgrounds.

GW4, a research and innovation alliance of the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, was shortlisted under the category of Technological Innovation of the Year for its world-first supercomputer, Isambard.