Double celebrations for Edge Hill's innovative teams

It's a double celebration for Edge Hill University with news today (18^th March) that it has been short listed for two awards in the Oscars of the educational world.

The Institution is competing for the titles of Outstanding Finance Team of the Year and the ICT Initiative of the Year in the crème-de-la-crème Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards (THELMAs).

Vice Chancellor John Cater said: "To be nominated for such prestigious accolades against stiff competition from across the country is an achievement in itself and reflects the innovative thinking of these teams."

In times of global recession, the finance team's inclusive approach to budgetary control contributed to record surplus levels for 2008/09 of over 10% of total revenue, which was a deciding factor in their nomination.

The principles of accountability, openness, clarity and engagement have driven the finance team's approach as it has sought to ensure that budget holders spend only what is needed as effectively as possible with those needs being driven by an overarching strategic context.

Carl Gibson, Director of Finance, said: "Our approach has served the University well to date and has put us in a good position to weather the challenges of tighter government funding. To be shortlisted for this award really cements the University's reputation for excellence and is a reflection of the hard work of the whole team. The aim continues to be to deliver a budgetary control environment that optimises the effectiveness of decision making at every level."

The innovative use of technology to enhance the student experience in the new Founders Court residential accommodation was what clinched the nomination for the IT Services team.

Many students are away from home for the first time and computers with high-speed internet access are a great way to communicate with family and friends, and are an invaluable tool to support academic studies. Recognising this, the University installed PCs in each of the 240 new student study bedrooms pre-loaded with academic software as well as MSN, Skype and other social networking applications to enable students to stay connected with their online communities.

Student views were sought before the scheme was implemented to ensure that the plans would meet the needs of new students. In line with the University's low carbon agenda, the PCs selected for this project are compact and super-energy efficient, using one fifth the power of a standard desktop PC, helping to further enhance the environment credentials of this new development.

Mark Allinson, Director of IT Services, said: "Our aim was to expand our IT provision beyond the traditional confines of centrally managed PC suites to provide a technology enriched living and learning environment to support a range of academic, social and entertainment needs of students throughout their first year away at university. We also extended the campus wireless network to provide wireless Internet coverage across all the new accommodation and social areas, and also extended this into the outdoor areas around the development.

"Our IT Services team designed the solution, selected the green energy-efficient PCs, and worked incredibly hard to deliver this project, so we're delighted to be shortlisted for this prestigious national award. We believe this is a unique offering in the University sector and other universities have been asking for information on how we implemented the project. This nomination is great recognition for Edge Hill, and for the IT Services team, and demonstrates the continued commitment the University has to further develop our campus and facilities to enhance the students' experience."

The winners will be announced at a glittering gala dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 17th June - so watch this space!