Cardiff wins ‘University of the Year’

Cardiff University scooped four prizes – including University of the Year – at last night’s Business and Education Partnerships Awards

The University’s work to develop clinical wet wipes with GAMA Healthcare took the Research and Development Award.

Cardiff’s venture with IQE to develop the Compound Semiconductor Centre won the Partnership Award.

And the New Product Award went to Direct Healthcare Services with the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre, a subsidiary company of Cardiff University, for developing a mattress which helps prevent heel pressure ulcers.

“A great year for Cardiff University, ranked second in the UK for the impact of its research,” said the judges, who also recognized Cardiff’s contribution to the Welsh economy. A recent independent report found Cardiff University contributes £2.7bn annually to the UK economy, generating more than £6 for every £1 it spends.

Professor Hywel Thomas, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Engagement, said: “We are proud to receive these awards. They are not only testament to the talent of our researchers. They also show how our strategic approach to innovation and engagement is bringing social and economic benefits to Wales and beyond. We are creating a culture that powers invention, application and production. Driven by entrepreneurial students, our new £300m innovation campus will help turn research questions into ‘real world’ answers, transforming our work and driving economic growth.”

The Awards, run by Insider Media, celebrate collaboration between companies, universities and colleges. The event, held at the city’s Marriott Hotel, attracted hundreds of representatives from industry and academia.

Insider editor Douglas Friedli, compère for the evening, praised the "brilliant ways that companies, universities and colleges work together in Wales.”

"Universities and their students alone generated about £4.6bn of output in Wales in the year to 2014. Add in the colleges too, and you have a large and growing part of the economy. That economic impact is magnified when universities and colleges work with companies to create great products, boost productivity and develop the skills of the future."