British Council launches Education UK Alumni Awards 2017

The platform will honour the outstanding achievements made by business professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders across the globe who can demonstrate how their UK education has contributed to their subsequent success.

UK university alumni from the 14 participating countries can apply themselves or be nominated for the awards from Sept 7.

Nominations close 16 October and applications close on Oct 31. The winners will be announced in March 2017.

The awards are open for the UK alumni from India, Egypt, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey and the USA who are currently residing in one of the fourteen countries participating in the awards, and have graduated in the last 15 years.

Award winners and finalists are leaders in their fields who have used their experience of studying at a UK university to make a positive contribution to their communities, professions and countries.

The Alumni Awards celebrate and showcase the impact and value of a UK higher education and raises the profile and reputation of UK alumni, their former universities, and the whole of UK education.

Legendary shoe designer and UK alumnus Professor Jimmy Choo, OBE, is Global Ambassador of the Alumni Awards.

He said ‘"I’m delighted to support the Alumni Awards 2017 as Global Ambassador. Studying in the UK was an experience that changed my life and contributed to my success today. It is an honour to be supporting today’s recent outstanding UK university alumni by sharing their success stories and positive impact on the world."

The Alumni Awards were developed by the British Council and UK universities and were launched by the British Council in September 2014 for UK alumni from India, mainland China and the USA. In 2016 the awards took place in ten countries and received more than 1000 applications.

Over 830 applications were shortlisted for 30 awards, out of which 220 applications were from India. Indian entries were the highest amongst the 10 countries taking part in this global initiative.

The winners were announced at a gala award ceremony on 19 March 2016 in New Delhi, attended by leaders from government, industry and education, as well as other outstanding UK alumni. The guests of honour were Lord Jeffrey Mountevans, Lord Mayor of City of London, and Baroness Amos, Director of the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Ria Sharma, winner of the Social Impact award in India, 2016 said: “Her tutors at Leeds College of Art in the UK encouraged her to combine her studies in fashion with her passion for women’s empowerment. She set up her foundation in Delhi during her studies at Leeds, and has successfully campaigned to fund treatment, provide legal advice and financially aid survivors to pursue further education."

"Winning the award has given her a platform to speak out about and raise the profile of her work to a new audience, representing and honouring the survivors she works with. Through her work, she is changing the way society perceives acid attacks and crimes against women in India,” Sharma said.

“Indian students have been studying in the UK for over 100 years and over 160,000 Indians have studied the in the last decade, many of which have come back to India and reached the top of their area of work. Every year we celebrate their success through these national awards as part of the cultural relationship between UK and India," said Alan Gemmell, OBE, Director, British Council India.

A UK education is one of the best investments aspiring students can make in their future.

A recent QS global survey of 27,000 graduate employers showed that UK degrees are highly valued by employers worldwide. Graduates from Oxford and Cambridge were rated the most employable in the world, while London School of Economics, Imperial College London and the University of Manchester all made the top ten. Studies also show that UK-educated graduates achieve markedly higher average salaries in their home country.

UK education has produced a diverse range of inspirational alumni who have gone on to achieve global success in many disciplines, including Oscar-winning directors, Olympic gold-medallists, Nobel Prize-winners and world leaders.

Some of these celebrated alumni of the UK include designer Jimmy Choo, actress Parineeti Chopra, former US President Bill Clinton, co-founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman, Olympic gold medallist Annette Salmeen, Nobel Prize for Literature winner Wole Soyinka, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and business magnate Zhang Xin.