College takes home Gold at the Heist Awards
28/07/2023Bridgend College is thrilled to have been awarded Gold for Best Event Experience at this year’s Heist Awards, which celebrates excellence in Education Marketing and Communications across the UK.
Held in Manchester’s Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, the ceremony was attended by over 600 professionals within the Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) sectors. Across all award categories, Bridgend College was one of only four FE colleges in the UK to be shortlisted, and one of only three Welsh institutions, alongside Swansea University and Bangor University.
The College was shortlisted for the award category following its pitch at last year’s Skills Cymru, Cardiff’s premier skills, career and apprenticeship event. The College fashioned its stall as a careers store for students to explore its wide range of courses and apprenticeship opportunities.
The concept of the stand was to deliver a fully bilingual and interactive experience for attendees whilst being mindful of environmental impact, in line with the College’s vision to become net zero by 2030. These key factors led the team to seek a digital solution.
“A fantastic creative project that delivered something innovative on a small budget. The judges applauded Bridgend College for delivering real impact and a superb event experience, tied into the College’s overall sustainability principles.”
Judges comments, Heist Awards
A thoroughly collaborative project, the pitch required the specialist skills of different teams within the College. By implementing a bespoke IT solution, visitors were able to enjoy a seamless, personalised event experience.
An additional dimension to the stand was its support of charitable organisations, further echoing the supermarket experience. Each visitor was able to show their support for a charity from a list of three, all which are aligned with the College’s core objective of supporting young people: Head Above The Waves, YoungMinds and Llamau. A donation was made by the College to each charity following the event.
“We are honoured to have been recognised amongst so many HE institutions – a testament to the team’s hard work and pioneering vision. We always try to put the student’s needs first and the careers store was crafted with them in mind, resulting in a fun and engaging way for visitors to realise their goals.”
George Mattock, Creative Lead at Bridgend College
The Heist Awards are an annual ceremony hosted by Havas People – Education, who have supported the education sector for over 30 years. View the full list of award categories and winners in the Heist Awards 2023 winners brochure.
Bridgend College will be returning to Skills Cymru later this year, which will be held at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on the 10 and 11 October.
