Realworldmagazine.com

TALENTED STUDENTS WIN REAL WORLD GRADUATE AWARDS

The cream of the UK's talented students gathered last night for the Real World Awards, held at the Design Council in Covent Garden. The competition, now in its fifth year, recognises that there is more to university than just academic achievement. The shortlisted candidates - eleven students - were chosen for extra-curricular, work-based or campus activities that demonstrate their attitude, energy and commitment whilst at university; whether through voluntary work, setting up a business, student union activities, environmental work or other contributions to society at large.

Darius Norell, founder of Real World magazine says, "The calibre of the students who have made it to the final list is exceptional. While making the most of their time at university they have developed new skills that can only benefit them in the future. They share a confidence and determination to succeed that defies the lazy student stereotype."

The prize fund for each of the categories was awarded to a project or business rather than to an individual, and candidates' decisions as to how that money would be put to its best use were considered during the judging process.

Of a total prize fund of £16,000, provided by sponsors Enterprise Rent-A-Car and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, £5000 was given to the Socially Responsible Student of the Year category, with a total of £5,000 awarded to Entrepreneur of the Year and £5,000 to Most Improved Club or Society. A fourth category, Contribution to University, received a total prize fund of £1,000, awarded directly to the winning individuals.

The format for entry to this year's competition lent itself to the current trend for reality TV shows - to enter the competition the candidates were asked to upload a picture or video and answer four questions, varying slightly according to each category. Candidates' university peers were encouraged to vote online and the entries with the most votes within each category made it through to the final round. The shortlisted candidates were then invited to a face to face interview in London with a panel of judges.

Candidates were asked how they had made the most of their time at university, which achievements they were most proud of, what they had learnt about themselves through working on their various projects and how they would apply this learning to life after graduation. They were also asked how they would use the prize fund awarded to their category.

Winners and Runners-up

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AWARD

JOINT WINNERS
Chris Skilton, Nottingham
Laura Sterling, Birmingham

RUNNER-UP
Jason Davies. Keele


ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD

WINNER
Jonathan Francis, Nottingham

RUNNERS-UP
Gillian Ferguson, St Andrews
Timothy Ngwena, York


CLUB AND SOCIETY AWARD

WINNER
Rob Smith, Warwick

RUNNERS-UP
Louis Brough, Derby
Yuliana Topalzy, Kingston


CONTRIBUTION TO UNIVERSITY AWARD

JOINT WINNERS
Sean Nuzum, Southampton
Joel Raffel, Oxford

The Real World Awards 2008 are jointly sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.