British Council launches international awards to celebrate UK alumni achievements
ISLAMABAD: The British Council in Pakistan is proud to announce the eleventh year of its Study UK Alumni Awards, recognising the outstanding achievements of UK alumni worldwide. These awards honour leaders who have leveraged their UK education to make significant contributions to their communities, industries, and countries.
This year’s categories include business and innovation, culture and creativity, science and sustainability, and social action. Applications open on 1 September 2024 and close on 21 October 2024. Eligible applicants will be considered for both national Alumni Awards in participating countries and the global Alumni Awards. The global award winners list for 2024 also includes 2 of our esteemed Pakistani UK Alumni.
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Global Awards
The finalists and winners of the global Alumni Awards will be announced in 2025 and celebrated through a digital campaign highlighting their remarkable stories and successes. As part of their award, winners will be invited on a trip to the UK, where they will re-connect with their universities, meet and inspire current GREAT scholars, and engage with other global winners. This prestigious visit not only offers a chance to enhance their international profiles and advance their careers, but also fosters meaningful connections within the academic community.
National awards
In addition to the global awards, a small number of countries will host national ceremonies. Finalists for the national awards will be announced between December 2024 and March 2025. The national awards are generally hosted by the British Ambassador or High Commissioner, with VIPs attending as special guests, leading to extensive press and PR coverage of finalists.
What our award winners say
‘I am very humbled and honoured to be here. This award really means a lot to me as it connects to very important pillars in my scientific career, my UK education that really impacted me and my comeback to my roots from the UK…. I hope to be a worthy representative of this award’.
Dr Freideriki Michailidou
National winner, Greece, Science and Sustainability Award
University of St Andrews alumna
‘Honestly, I am speechless. The most prestigious thing about this award is the recognition that it comes with. It is the acknowledgement of the work I was doing so far. This award has increased my credibility which I can’t even explain. The recognition from British Council is a massive achievement. This award has increased my credibility in many levels that I can’t even explain. This will create further opportunities for me. This will help to achieve my target faster than I expected’.
Mohammad Taqi Yasir
National winner, Bangladesh, Social Action Award
City, University of London alumnus
For full details on the eligibility criteria and participating countries, please refer to https://study-uk.britishcouncil.org/alumni-awards
For more information please contact:
Study UK Alumni Awards team
StudyUK.Alumni@britishcouncil.org
Media enquiries:
Dorota Drajewicz, Study UK Alumni Manager
Dorota.Drajewicz@britishcouncil.org
Check out a list of previous Alumni Award winners on our website
Follow the Alumni Awards on Study UK’s social media channels: X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
ENDS
Notes to editors
Alumni Award categories
• Science and Sustainability Award – recognising alumni who have distinguished themselves through their career and achievements in the world of science and sustainability, and who can demonstrate the impact and scale of their achievements in their profession, and beyond.
Areas of work could include, but are not limited to: climate action, clean energy, medicine, sustainable cities and communities, engineering, industry and construction.
• Culture and Creativity Award – recognising alumni who have carved a career for themselves in arts and culture. We are looking for individuals who can demonstrate their artistic ingenuity, influence and creativity.
Areas of work could include, but are not limited to: arts, design, humanities, traditional media, music, video, TV, sports and online content and audiovisual media creation (e.g blogging, vlogging including for YouTube and social media).
• Social Action Award – recognising alumni who have made an exceptional contribution and commitment to creating positive social change and improving the lives of others.
Areas of work could include, but are not limited to: education, peace and justice and reducing inequality, poverty and hunger and broader humanitarian work or work for social good.
• Business and Innovation Award – recognising alumni who are active in initiating and contributing to innovative or creative new ideas, solutions or business opportunities, that have the potential for growth.
Areas of work could include, but are not limited to: entrepreneurship, business, technology and finance.
About Study UK
Study UK is a global campaign that promotes the UK as the first-choice study destination to international students and their influencers. It is the UK’s only national-level campaign that showcases the UK’s outstanding higher education offering and the life-changing opportunities it brings. Study UK is led and delivered by the British Council in partnership with the UK government’s GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland Campaign.
For more information visit https://study-uk.britishcouncil.org/ . You can also keep in touch with Study UK through https://x.com/StudyUKBritish and https://study-uk.britishcouncil.org/blog.
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education, and the English language. We work with people in more than 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2022-23 we reached 600 million people.
For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through https://x.com/britishcouncil and http://blog.britishcouncil.org/.
