Keele wins prestigious THE award
We are delighted to win this award – we are dedicated to providing a quality service for our partner schools and colleges, and take our responsibility of raising the aspirations of the young people in our area very seriously.
Keele University has won the prestigious Times Higher Education award for Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year.
The THE Awards are widely recognised as the Oscars of the higher education sector - each year they attract hundreds of entries that exemplify the talent, dedication and innovation of individuals and teams across all aspects of university life.
The Keele Outreach Team was nominated for its Stardome project, where young people are taken on a visual trip around the Galaxy in an inflatable dome.
The dome, which was partially funded by Keele Alumni, reached 34 schools in the last academic year, with 12 wider community events and has been experienced by over 14,000 people since the launch in 2010.
The session is delivered by a team of student ambassadors and Keele Astrophysics lecturer and world-leading Astrophysics researcher, Professor Rob Jeffries.
Professor Jeffries said: "I was really pleased to accept the award on behalf of a great team or people, who have helped establish the Stardome as a fixture in Keele's WP activities. I feel privileged to be able to present the work of the Keele Astrophysics Group to so many youngsters and it is fantastic to achieve this national recognition. Keele has been very supportive in giving me the time to combine my research. teaching and outreach roles, and the latter is becoming more and more important both in terms of widening access to higher education but also forming a key part of the societal impact that our astrophysics research has.
"I would also acknowledge the financial support of the STFC (Science and Technology Facilities Council) through a "Science in Society" award to me and also the support of the Keele Alumni fund."
Ant Sutcliffe, who managed the Stardome Project, said: “We are delighted to win this award – we are dedicated to providing a quality service for our partner schools and colleges, and take our responsibility of raising the aspirations of the young people in our area very seriously.”
The award was presented at special ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London last night.