The decision was made in 2019 to combine Union Awards with the Student Academic Choice Awards and create a new awards evening celebrating both Imperial staff and students. Find out more about the Student Choice Awards here.
Celebrating the huge impact and hard work of our volunteers, the Union Awards are the annual showcase of the best of Imperial College Union and our membership. We have a range of awards across the board, all designed to recognise the great work that students do at the Union.
The Union Awards are nominated by students, decided by students and awarded at our Union Awards Evening on June 6th 2019.
Find the answers to some frequently asked questions pertaining to the awards on the Union Awards FAQs page.
The Categories
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Campaign of the Year
A campaign or project delivered to the local or Imperial community for the broader benefit. Impactful and enduring, the campaign will have delivered real change and an increase in awareness on a particular issue, topic or interest and bring positive outcomes for the people or cause it aims to support.
- Your nomination should outline the issue that the campaign or project aimed to address.
- Your nomination should demonstrate the impact this campaign or project has had on the community.
The winner for 2018/2019 is: Believe and Do Good, hosted by Muslim Medics and the Imperial Islamic Society.
This campaign was a week-long event that reached beyond the Imperial campuses and incorporated volunteering within the local community, delivered health awareness talks, and lifting spirits of elderly hospital patients.
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Contribution to College Life Award
A new and lasting idea or initiative that has benefitted the College and its students. The winner(s) will have made a real improvement to life at the College, creating a more welcome and diverse student community.
- Your nomination should clearly demonstrate how the individual or group has tackled the problem.
- Your nomination should identify the impact that the individual or group has had on the Imperial community.
- Your nomination should show how the individual or group has demonstrated effective leadership in their approach.
The winner for 2018/2019 is: Diversity in Engineering by by CGCU and DocSoc (Department of Computing Society)
This initiative was commended by students for having a lasting legacy and impact to current and future students of Imperial. Through hosting an event with important sector firms and companies, the CGCU and DocSoc were able to promote the values of inclusion in the field of Engineering and at Imperial College.
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Event of the Year
A stand-out, student-led event or series of events that showcased the Union and its activities. Acting as ambassadors of their group, the Union and the College, this event will have delivered positive impact.
- Your nomination should demonstrate how the event delivered a positive impact on the student body.
- Your nomination should demonstrate how the event was inclusive to all students.
- Your nomination should clearly show how the organiser(s) has effectively worked with others to deliver this event
The winner for 2018/2019 is: Dance Imperial Show
This was a true collaborative event organised by different societies, representing different disciplines and styles. The talent and skills of the volunteers and dancers ensured every night was a sell-out success.
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New Club, Society & Project of the Year
A Club, Society or Project that has delivered an improvement to the student experience and is either in the New Activities Incubator or has left it within the two academic years (after 1 August 2016). This Club, Society or Project has identified an area in which to improve the student experience and has already had an impact.
- Your nomination should demonstrate how the Club, Society or Project has had an impression on the student body.
- Your nomination should demonstrate what the Club, Society or Project is doing to ensure it is working to its Aims and Objectives.
- Your nomination should demonstrate how the Club, Society or Project has provided the best opportunity for continued success in the future.
The winner for 2018/2019 is: ICSM Coding
This society has done an amazing job over the past two years by running weekly coding sessions for beginners. All their activities have been well attended by a range of students across different cohorts, all of which have given amazing feedback on their experience. This has been one of the fastest growing new CSPs we have seen and the committee have gone above and beyond the expected activities required.
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Club, Society & Project of the Year
A Club, Society or Project that has delivered a significant improvement to the student experience at the College through their events, activities and initiatives. They do not need to have reached every student, but they need to have had a positive impact on as many as possible.
- Your nomination should demonstrate how the Club, Society or Project has had an impact on the student body.
- Your nomination should demonstrate what the Club, Society or Project has done to ensure that it is run effectively and working above and beyond the expectations of Clubs, Societies or Projects.
- Your nomination should demonstrate how the Club, Society or Project has guaranteed that its activity will continue for the future.
The winner for 2018/2019 is: Design Engineering
Described as “inspiring a culture of innovation” through their initiatives, Design Engineering has devised a new matrix team structure to ensure smooth operations in an agile way. They have collaborated with representation networks and academic staff, have run very well attended social events, have done effective community and alumni outreach on different sites and have built up a network of sponsors and industrial partners that will benefit the society and its members, and ultimately wider society.
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Academic Representation Network Rep of the Year
An exceptional individual Academic Representative who has engaged with departmental/faculty staff, their students and the Union to bring clear & measurable benefit to the learning & teaching experience of their constituency.
- Your nomination should clearly demonstrate the dedication of the individual to improving the academic experience of peers within their department.
- Your nomination should show how the individual has demonstrated effective representation in their approach.
- Your nomination should outline the impact the Rep has made within their department.
The winner for 2018/19 is: Bogosi Shashane (Mathematics)
Bogosi paid great attention to the needs of his students and used different effective ways to gather feedback. He then promptly, successfully and continuously advocated for the students’ needs by working with coordinators and academic staff to improve the standard of teaching and adapt deadlines, in addition to bringing the cohort closer together by organising social events.
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Academic Representation Network Postgraduate Team of the Year
A team that has ensured democratic and effective representation of the views of their constituency, and has improved the research & learning experience of their students in a lasting & measurable way.
- Your nomination should clearly demonstrate how the Rep Team has worked together to tackle a problem relating to the academic experience of their peers.
- Your nomination should highlight the benefits brought about by the solutions delivered by the Rep Team.
The winners for 2018/2019 are: Agustin Ruiz Lopes and Julia Moeller (Geotechnics)
Agustin and Julia organised a range of initiatives to bring the community of Postgraduate students together through gaining funding to host board game evenings, socials, football matches in addition to weekly researcher meetings and colloquiums and lab tours. The team was reported to pay great detail to listening to and acting on feedback from Geotechnics Postgraduate students.
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Academic Representation Network Undergraduate Team of the Year
A team that has ensured democratic and effective representation of the views of their constituency, and has improved the teaching & learning experience of their students in a lasting & measurable way.
- Your nomination should clearly demonstrate how the Rep Team has worked together to tackle a problem relating to the academic experience of their peers.
- Your nomination should highlight the benefits brought about by the solutions delivered by the Rep Team.
The winners for 2018/2019 are: ICSMSU Rep Team
The ICSMSU Rep Team were described as being very dedicated to improving the student experience within their department through going above and beyond what was expected of them. A group of academic officers furthered educational access by organising and funding 3 mock exams with Medicine, no small feat to achieve!
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Wellbeing Representation Network Team of the Year
A team that has ensured democratic and effective representation of the views of their constituency, and has improved the wellbeing of their students in a lasting & measurable way.
- Your nomination should clearly demonstrate how the Rep Team has worked together to tackle a problem relating to the wellbeing of their peers.
- Your nomination should highlight the benefits brought about by the solutions delivered by the Rep Team.
The winners for 2018/2019 are: Mathematics
The Mathematics Wellbeing Team has been recognised by Imperial College staff and students as outstanding because of advocating for better support and integration initiatives and specific awareness and social events at different times of the year, of which the Well Fair was considered a great success.
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Wellbeing Representation Network Rep of the Year
An exceptional individual Wellbeing Representative who has engaged with departmental/faculty staff, their students and the Union to bring clear & measurable benefit to the wellbeing of their constituency.
- Your nomination should clearly demonstrate the dedication of the individual to improving the wellbeing of peers in their department.
- Your nomination should show how the individual has demonstrated effective representation in their approach.
- Your nomination should outline the impact the Rep has made within their department.
The winner for 2018/2019 is: Arman Sarjou
Arman is an incredibly enthusiastic and thoughtful wellbeing Rep who has continued to demonstrate his dedication to improving the student experience outside of academic excellence and improving inclusivity, diversity and widening participation within the RSM. He actively engaged with the Union to ensure he had the skills necessary to represent all ESE students, attending supplementary training sessions and working closely with staff. He collaborated with the Materials Dep Rep to facilitate student-staff talks whereby there would be a different focus each fortnight, ranging from safe sex to mindfulness practice and healthy sleep habits. These initiatives helped build trust between staff and students, as well as serving as an informal platform for student feedback. Additionally, he was one of the drivers of the planning for a Diversity Campaign within the RSM. Arman demonstrated innovative ideas and interactive ways to bring more cohesion amongst the RSM cohort.
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Colours
The Union Colour is awarded to those individuals who have given significant and repeated outstanding contributions to the student experience at Imperial and the life of the Union throughout the year.
- Your nomination should demonstrate the impact the individual's contribution has had.
- Your nomination should demonstrate how they have worked with others throughout the year.
- Your nomination should clearly show how this individual has demonstrated effective leadership in their approach.
The winners for 2018/19 are:
Aditi Reddy
Aishwarya Chidambaram
Adil Ali
Aisha Ahmad
Aisha Hussain
Alice Jackson
Amy Tall
Bartu Akcaba
Chimdi Igwe
Chloe Lewis
Christopher Carter
Douglas Addy
Elizabeth Ellison
Emma Couves
Fawaz Shah
George Soteriou
Hitesh Kumar
Izabella Higson
Jayati Sarkar
Joe Arrowsmith
Koh Young Kuan Alexander
Krystal Law
Marion Artigaut
Marta Wolinska
Melisa Mukovic
Nicholas Humphreys
Naomi Pratt
Owen Harcombe
Schan Dissanayake-Perera
Serene Chongtrakul
Shifa Bangi
Simran Kukran
Thomas Phillip
Yizhou Yu
Paulina Cecula
Viet Nguyen
Yin Chan
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Outstanding Service Award
The Outstanding Service Award is awarded to those individuals who have, in addition to the requirements for a Union Colour, gone above and beyond their role, repeatedly, to enhance the student experience and life of the Union across a broad spectrum of areas during the year.
- Your nomination should identify the individual’s contribution across a range of areas, and the impact this has had.
- Your nomination should demonstrate how they have worked with others throughout the year.
- Your nomination should clearly show how this individual has demonstrated effective leadership in their approach.
The winners for 2018/19 are:
Adam Collins
Alessandro Bonardi
Alistair Ludley
Ansh Bhatnagar
Daniel Wigh
Edmund Jones
Fatima Khan
Hafiza Irshad
Inara Ramji
Jack Hall
Kishan Patel
Matthew Homburg
Michael Hofmann
Michaela Flegrova
Muntaha Naeem
Olivia Revans
Timothy Marley
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Fellowship
The Imperial College Union Fellowship is awarded to those individuals who have continuously served the Union and/or enhanced the student experience in an exceptional manner, usually over a number of years. Each individual, so awarded, will be granted Honorary Lifetime Associate Membership of the Union. If the panel feels a nominated individual has gone above that of Fellowship, they can choose to award Fellowship with Distinction.
- Your nomination should identify the individual’s contribution across a range of areas, and the impact this has had.
- Your nomination should demonstrate how they have worked with others and demonstrated effective leadership throughout their time here.
- Your nomination should demonstrate how this individual has championed the values of Imperial College Union throughout their time here.
The winners for 2018/19 are:
Alex 'Chippy' Compton
Chippy is no stranger to the Union: she has served in many leadership roles, be it in societies, the Medics or Business school, or Imperial College Union. Her achievements are countless, and her style and approach has ensured that the work she started and/or completed is leaving a legacy for an incredible amount of Imperial students.
Andrew Hill
Andrew has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the students of the City and Guilds College Union. In the various roles he has occupied, they have always strived to improve the experience of students and upping the profile of the Union in many ways. He has continually inspired other volunteers to strive for excellence through revitalising ‘Guildsheet’, improved collaborations within the committee, shaping policy pertaining to academics, wellbeing, and social life.
Gargi Samarth
Gargi is described as "a force to be reckoned with” by being highly organised and dedicated to the community of students she serves. She spent her time being a mentor, organising events, being part of the admissions and curriculum review process for the Faculty of Medicine while remaining committed to her many roles within the Union.
Joseph O'Connell-Danes
Joseph is described as “the heart and soul of the newspaper” and as a Management Group Chair, he has not only been very effective but has made his voice heard as Club, Society, and Projects Board this year. As the Arts and Entertainment Management Chair, he took great pride in getting to know clubs and societies on a personal level and facilitated greater collaboration within that group. As a result of his leadership, he has been able to provide greater exposure for artists and performers and ensured some of the events were held this year were the best yet.
Kathryn Chang
Having taken on 3 successive roles within ICSMSU, Kathryn has left a lasting impact and legacy. She has successfully supported 18 volunteer officers and has continuously supported and developed these and other individuals. She is incredibly respected within the whole ICSM community- be it students, alumni, or faculty-wide, and her approach, organisational skills, her welcoming attitude has left a lasting effect on individuals and groups.
Karmanya Sareen
Karmanya embodies all values of the Union- leadership, partnership, democracy, and inclusivity- in his actions and words. He has been involved in many ways: through being an academic rep, year rep, CGCU rep and in the Imperial College Kabaddi Club. Karmanya's peers consider him to be humble, highly accountable, and an effective networker that puts individual and team growth at the forefront of what he does.
Owen Heaney
Owen knows our Union inside out from many angles. Through his involvement and leadership in Union Council, the Board of Trustees, different CGCU committee positions and CSPs and other committees. One of his nominees stated “Whilst the volunteers who can attest to his impact in earlier roles have left Imperial College, his record shows a rarely seen drive to get involved in the student community and to repeatedly give back to it.” He is an ambassador of the Imperial community through their club work, taking major roles in national competitions, making it more accessible to interested students and revitalising a valuable engineering experience. He has been a true asset because of his encouragement of high levels of inclusion and collaboration.
Thomas Fernandez-Debets
Thomas has contributed to the Union across a huge range of roles and activities and has improved lives of other students in doing so. His attention to detail, incredible work ethic and commitment to inclusion is what stands out for those nominating him. He committed himself to streamline large processes and events thus taking their responsibility very seriously. His leadership and professionalism has left a true legacy, which he will be able continue in his role next year as Deputy President Clubs and Societies.