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Thammasat University, University of Bristol explore collaboration

Posted on by Thammasat University

Executives from the University of Bristol, UK, visited the Office of International Affairs (OIA) at Thammasat University’s Tha Prachan campus. The delegation met with the OIA Director and the OIA Coordinator for Europe, where they were warmly introduced to Thammasat University’s academic and international engagement framework.

The visit aimed to explore potential collaborative opportunities between Thammasat and the University of Bristol across three primary areas. These include:

1. Educational Partnerships: Discussions centered around establishing structured academic programs such as the 3+1, 2+1, 1+1, 2+2, and 3+1+1 models, which allow students to split their studies between the two institutions for enhanced global exposure.

2. Student Mobility Programs: Both universities explored avenues for student exchanges within several prominent faculties at Thammasat, namely the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat Business School, and the College of Innovation. These programs would offer students enriched cross-cultural experiences and opportunities to study in diverse academic environments.

3. Academic Engagement: Potential collaboration was discussed around joint workshops, guest lectures, faculty exchanges, and co-research initiatives, aimed at fostering shared knowledge and innovation between the institutions.During the meeting, the University of Bristol expressed particular interest in Thammasat’s Summer Program. In response, the OIA shared insights into the program’s recent successes and its partnerships with universities in Japan and Australia. This visit represents a promising step toward deeper collaboration between Thammasat University and the University of Bristol.

UK’s student slump

Posted on by John O'Leary

A more welcoming tone from the new Labour government towards international students has helped to slow the decline in applications to UK universities. But the traditionally strong recruitment levels needed to balance the books remain a long way off at many institutions.

Indeed, a recent analysis of risk factors by three academics from Sheffield University’s accountancy department concluded that four or five universities were close to bankruptcy. Many more institutions would also have to take drastic action, including multiple course closures and property sales, to avoid joining them. Although Vice-Chancellors are hoping for an increase in fees for UK students in October’s budget, a recovery in the international student market is equally urgent.

The factors at play are more complex than the more doom-laden reports have suggested, not least because Australia and Canada – two of the main rival recruiters – are both capping international student numbers. Some UK universities – generally the more highly-ranked institutions – are still in a relatively stable position, some levels of course are suffering more than others, and there is no uniform decline between countries in the numbers heading for Britain and Northern Ireland.

Over recent decades, UK universities’ recruitment of international students has been a story of uninterrupted success, as they benefited from a strong reputation and an English-speaking environment. Brexit caused the first ripple, as the numbers coming from EU countries plummeted, although the financial damage was limited because they had paid the same fees as their UK counterparts and their places were filled by students from other countries paying much more. In fact, the number of international students from outside the EU almost doubled, reaching a record 750,000 last year – far in excess of the official target of 600,000.

By then, however, immigration had become a dominant political issue for a Conservative government threatened by the rise of the right-wing Reform Party. Although polling showed that public concern about rising legal and illegal immigration did not extend to international students, their numbers were easier to control and would contribute to ministers’ desired overall decline. In particular, a ban on bringing dependants for undergraduate and most taught postgraduate courses, introduced at the start of this year, had a dramatic effect. There was even consideration given to withdrawing international students’ right to work for two years after graduation, which was reintroduced only in 2020. A rapid review by the government’s Migration Advisory Committee eventually recommended retaining the scheme, but the process added to concerns among potential applicants.

Deposits for places on courses starting this autumn are down more than a third, according to Enroly, a web platform for managing international enrolment, and even this figure is an improvement on May’s figure, which put the drop at over 50 percent. The declines were particularly sharp among students from Nigeria and India – 63 percent and 43 percent respectively – both of which are nationalities which are more than averagely likely to bring dependants when studying abroad.

The latest UK figures for undergraduate entry show international acceptances down only marginally on 2023, although still well below pre-pandemic numbers. But undergraduates are less likely than postgraduates to bring dependants and universities are braced for less encouraging figures later in the year when admissions are no longer dominated by first degree entrants.

There had been fears that this summer’s riots following the murder of three young girls in Southport might prove a further disincentive to international students considering the UK. But the short-lived nature of the disturbances and tough action against many of those participating appear to have dampened the effect.

Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, has gone out of her way to reverse the negative impression given to international students by the last government. In a video aimed at both potential applicants and universities, she said: “While this government is committed to managing migration carefully, international students will always be welcome in this country. The UK wouldn’t be the same without them.“

She added: “Students benefit from coming to the UK, and we benefit from them being here. But I don’t see this as a hard-nosed transactional relationship. It’s not just about GDP, balance sheets or export receipts. No, my passion is for an open, global Britain – one that welcomes new ideas. One that looks outward in optimism, not inward in exclusion.“

However, this does not imply the scrapping of the ban on dependents. When asked in a television interview whether the visa rules would be reversed, Phillipson responded: “We don’t intend to change that.” More positively, she has also confirmed that the right to work at the end of a course would remain.

Many universities – particularly those with the lowest entry standards – remain braced for continuing serious declines in international enrolments. Home Office figures published in August showed that while the decline in sponsored study visas had slowed to 16 percent at the height of the admissions season, the drop in applications from dependents was over 80 percent.

Those responsible for international recruitment at UK universities will be hoping that Canada’s intention to reduce the number of study permits by more than a third and Australia’s announcement of a new quota system for each university and college will redirect some applicants their way. In particular, the Australian controls are expected to affect the popular, large, research-intensive universities disproportionately.

There are other players in the increasingly competitive international student market, however. In Asia, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia are all boosting their recruitment efforts. The Japanese government has set a target of 400,000 international students by 2033 and has launched its first official video promoting the country as a study destination. European countries are also increasing their international enrolments, promoting degrees taught in English with low or no fees. Germany, in particular, has seen a surge in student numbers.

In the UK, a variety of responses include the search for new markets, with countries such as Kenya and Nepal showing big increases in the numbers recruited, albeit from a small base. There has also been significant growth in transnational education (TNE), especially in China, which has been sending fewer students to the UK. China now licences two overseas campuses and 47 joint institutes with UK universities, and it has been reported that almost 80 percent of UK universities are involved in TNE projects.

Read the article on QS Insights Magazine.

The future of Turing

Posted on by John O'Leary

Most students and universities in the UK opposed their government’s decision to leave the European Union’s Erasmus+ exchange programme and had little confidence that its successor, named after World War II code breaker Alan Turing, would be an acceptable replacement. There are still plenty of doubts about the way the new scheme operates, but it has been far from the disaster that many predicted.

Unlike Erasmus+, the Turing Scheme offers study destinations beyond the EU, but it is not a classic exchange scheme designed to bring similar numbers to the UK. Some universities have negotiated their own exchange agreements, but the government’s priority was to increase the outbound flow of students, which has always lagged behind the equivalent in most developed countries.

In its first year, in 2021-2, Turing missed its target of 35,000 placements. With the Covid pandemic yet to end, however, 20,000 was not a bad outcome – still more than the 16,000 British students who used Erasmus+ in its record year. Most of the places were taken by university students, but the scheme also caters for further education colleges and schools.

In the current year, numbers are up to 41,000 studying or working in 160 different destinations, with applications twice oversubscribed. Half of the top 10 locations are outside the EU, with the United States, India and Canada among the leading group, although France and Spain hosted the largest numbers overall.

It is the backgrounds of the participants that has pleased the architects of the scheme most. Ministers prioritised the recruitment of more students from disadvantaged groups, and almost 60 percent of the latest cohort come from such families. No equivalent figure was published for Erasmus+, but the proportion is generally accepted to have been lower.

Robert Halfon, the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, says the scheme is “a real game-changer for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering them with transformative opportunities abroad, a chance to experience other cultures and learn vital skills for life and work”.

“It showcases our positive ambition post-Brexit, fostering a global outlook for more students who deserve every chance to thrive,” he adds.

Professor Sir Steve Smith, the Government’s International Education Champion and former vice-chancellor of the University of Exeter, says he has been pleasantly surprised by the level of demand from both students and institutions. “I think the Turing Scheme has been a lot more successful than many people expected,” he says. “In particular, the number of participants coming from disadvantaged groups has been really encouraging – significantly higher than under Erasmus. Going abroad to study can be genuinely life-enhancing for them.”

A government-commissioned evaluation found that more than half of higher education providers who had previously participated in Erasmus+ had increased the number of international placements offered through the Turing Scheme. But the scheme continues to face criticism over the way it operates and the level of funding for students. It was already compared unfavourably with its predecessor for excluding staff and failing to encourage inward mobility.

The evaluation, which covered the first year of the scheme, found that 79 percent of universities considered the application process unnecessarily complex and the six-week window for applications too short. Even after efforts were made to streamline the process, only 11 percent thought there was any real improvement. Some students were forced to withdraw from the scheme because places were confirmed too late, while others failed to receive funding until after their return. Turing provides funding for travel costs for disadvantaged students and pays for visas, passports and related travel insurance, but many still found that this did not cover all their costs.

The Turing Scheme has a budget of £110 million and is guaranteed until 2024-5. The mean duration of overseas placements, in the latest analysis, was 109 days for higher education students, 26 days in further education and seven days for schools.

Its future is uncertain, dependent on whichever party wins this year’s general election. Labour has said the lack of funding to cover tuition fees undermines the government’s stated commitment to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, while the Liberal Democrats have described the Turing Scheme as “woefully inadequate”.

The House of Lords European Affairs Committee has called for the UK to rejoin Erasmus+ if a reciprocal element is not added to the Turing Scheme. Lord Hague, a former Conservative leader, said a “two-way flow [of students] is extremely important”.

Read more articles like this from QS Insights Magazine, Issue 16.

The silent storm: The climate crisis’ impact on student mental health

Posted on by Laura Lightfinch

‘Climate anxiety’ has gained increasing traction in the media, but the relationship between climate change and mental health is a relatively new study, especially in higher education. According to a new report from Student Minds, the UK’s student mental health charity, the impact of the climate crisis on students’ mental health and wellbeing is significant.

The October 2023 report reveals that from the sample of students surveyed, 71 percent are quite or very concerned about climate change, while 90 percent say it impacts their mental health and wellbeing in the preceding four weeks.

This is unsurprising, given the urgency to find solutions across every discipline to mitigate the impacts of climate change on both the environment and humanity.

Jade Mayum studies environmental science at the University of California, Berkeley, which is ranked second in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2024. Alongside her studies, Mayum works for the university’s Student Environmental Resource Centre on the Nature Education and Wellbeing Together programme.

When asked if she feels the pressure to shape the world and have an impact on the climate crisis, Mayum says: “Definitely. In class, I learn about many problems facing the world and the further threat we face if more action isn’t taken and it can feel overwhelming. I often wonder how I can fix it all.”

There is collective anxiety among her peers to figure out how to make an impact while trying to succeed in their modules and assignments, according to Mayum. “None of us want to leave and have wasted the opportunity we had at university, so there is a definite pressure to solve every problem we can. It’s impossible, really.”

A strong desire to make a difference

In the Student Minds report, students widely expressed a desire to make a positive contribution to tackling climate change but often felt like they didn’t know where to start.

“We can no longer ignore that climate change is happening and we can’t ignore the impacts it’s having on mental health either,” says Jenny Smith, policy manager for Student Minds and author of the report. “It’s understandable and very normal to have an emotional reaction to what is ultimately an existential threat to humanity.

“The earlier we deal with it, the better, but it’s about how we do that safely in an emotional and psychological sense. How do we make students feel encouraged and hopeful about the positive impact they can have? How do we provide them with skills and tactics to be able to make a difference as well as supporting them to cope with the negative feelings associated with climate change?”

Data from the QS International Student Survey 2023, which captures the motivations and expectations of 116,000 students across 194 countries, illustrates that prospective students are increasingly looking at universities’ sustainability and social justice efforts in their decision-making.

Now that students are looking to universities for sustainable leadership, the question is how universities are helping students hold onto their ambitions and feel inspired while the climate crisis continues to have a negative impact on their mental health.

Beyond education, students need direction in how to make change

Matthew Lawson is the Senior SRS Learning, Teaching and Reporting Manager in the Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability (SRS) at the University of Edinburgh, which was ranked 15th in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2024.

Lawson is responsible for embedding sustainability and social justice into the academic curriculum and student experience, which includes all undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

“We understand that every student will be impacted by climate change and the wider environmental crises we face,” Lawson says. “We also know there is a need for stronger professional development that not only helps students to understand the issues facing our world but helps them to see where they can take action.”

For Lawson, the key to supporting students in managing their studies and mental health is developing resilience. “Students and graduates have the power to shape global politics as they take their skills into their respective fields and into leadership positions, even influencing policy,” he says.

“We must inspire students and give them hope in a rapidly changing world with various challenges. From giving students the opportunity to talk about how the climate crisis is impacting their feelings to giving them opportunities to fail forward and develop competencies that might not always work out, but in the safe space of a university.”

The power of student-led organisations

At Uppsala University in Sweden, ranked 11th place in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2024, the Centre for Environment and Development Studies enables students to request courses on topics in the field of environment, development and sustainability that transcend what is available in the curriculum.

It is an interdisciplinary student-initiated hub for education which director, Mikael Höök, says is increasingly popular. “There has been a definite increase in students wanting to learn about topics like climate psychology, food production and climate change leadership,” he says.

“The centre has created a strong atmosphere for fostering and creating longer-term engagement in the climate crisis and environmental issues. We have students who take one of our courses and come back to work as a course coordinator with us. We’ve had students work with us at the centre before graduating to work in a sustainability division within the government or in industry.

“It’s important to actively support students in making change and student-driven education is a strong chord in providing that support – enabling students to decide what is important, work with others across various disciplines and engage in tangible change with local communities,” says Höök.

In fact, according to the Student Minds report, 66 percent believe that universities should work with student leaders and student unions to run more student-led sustainability initiatives around the climate crisis.

Jacqueline Canchola-Martinez studies conservation and resource studies with geography at UC Berkeley, working alongside Mayum in the Student Environmental Resource Centre (SERC). Canchola-Martinez is from the Central Valley in California, where her community is already feeling the effects of environmental injustice.

Student-led groups have provided Canchola-Martinez with a community of people who care about the climate as much as she does. “Organisations like SERC and the Students of Color Environmental Collective that I’m part of make me feel supported,” she says. “I feel surrounded by people who understand environmental justice and have a mutual understanding of the urgency we face.”

“It helps me to see that it’s not all doom and gloom. There are people actively looking for solutions and it makes me feel like I’m a part of the solution.”

Do student health services have a role to play in supporting climate anxiety?
At Uppsala University, the student health service is prepared to support students with anxiety and depression that comes from a range of lived experiences, whether it’s climate change, financial anxiety or other anxieties.

The university recently offered a lecture by a climate psychologist who spoke on the impact of climate anxiety and how to deal with it. Ulrika Svalfors, Head of Student Health Services at Uppsala University, says: “Students do mention climate concerns in conversation with the health service, but climate anxiety doesn’t seem to make students lose their ability to mentalise.

“Instead, they seem to be able to transform their climate anxiety into action, something that does not happen to the same extent when it comes to other types of anxiety and worry.”

For Smith, policy manager at Student Minds, it’s also important that we don’t medicalise anxiety and depression caused by the climate crisis. “The fact that some students are finding it difficult is a normal reaction. It shouldn’t be something that is treated but that students are provided with the tools to manage their feelings around it.”

She adds: “Learning about climate change and environmental issues can be overwhelming, so we need to provide strong morale so that students can see hope and opportunities to engage in environmental efforts. We want them to go out into the world and have the capacity to contribute to our societal issues as professionals.

“Their voices matter and it’s important that their feelings and their needs are taken seriously.”

Read more articles like this from QS Insights Magazine, Issue 11.

LAT Wins The Global 100 Award For 4th Consecutive Year

Posted on by Global University Systems

The London Academy of Trading has won the ‘Most Outstanding Trading Courses Provider – 2024’ for the fourth year in a row from The Global 100.

With its global readership of more than 376,000, The Global 100 does not follow the usual process of many publishers. Instead, they use a very specific, comprehensive evaluation process. After the closure of the voting period, which involves a strict format of self-submission and third-party nomination, firms are shortlisted and then the winners are selected. For each category, a propriety method of analysis ranks winners based on their domestic and international work.

Paddy Osborn, MD and Academic Dean of LAT, said: “This is a challenging award to win, so we are delighted to have been chosen as the Most Outstanding Trading Courses Provider for 2024. It is flattering to be recognised for our achievements, but our aim is simply to do everything in our power to help students achieve their personal goals.”

Earlier this year, LAT launched a bespoke one-on-one mentoring service to help traders fine-tune their skills and achieve consistent profitability. These personalised sessions with LAT specialists are completely bespoke, covering goal setting, trading psychology, strategy development, risk management and much more.

“This service is available to everyone, including LAT alumni as well as individuals who haven’t studied with us before,” says Paddy Osborn. “Many retail traders think they have the knowledge and skills to trade but many lack the final ingredients to be consistently successful. Having specific advice and guidance from our trading experts can give them what they need to get fully on track with their trading.”

The Global 100 consists of only 100 of the world’s leading firms and individuals.

Online education? No thanks

Posted on by Seb Murray

Students in the UK are shunning online learning and wanting to return to physical classes, prompting educators to reflect whether it is time to relook at virtual learning courses.

In the summer of 2023, the UK witnessed a significant event in the education sector when some 120,000 recent graduates and current students took legal action against their universities. The core of their grievance was the quality of education, which had been severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and lecturer strikes.

A significant part of their dissatisfaction revolved around the prevalent use of pre-recorded videos; a sore point given the substantial tuition fees of £9,250 per year. Notable institutions such as University College London, Bristol, Nottingham, Warwick and Liverpool now find themselves under scrutiny.

The collective discontent expressed by these students highlights a broader issue — the shifting perceptions of online education in the post-pandemic era. Many prospective university candidates have had a first-hand experience of online learning, and it hasn’t been universally positive. For some, this has dampened their enthusiasm for remote courses, particularly at the postgraduate level.

Andrew Crisp, a higher education consultant, observes that since the pandemic there’s been a growing demand to get back to face-to-face learning. “Students who missed out on a classroom experience as part of their undergraduate degree, now want a master’s in person,” he says.

This is reflected in the results of a survey conducted by his research firm Carrington Crisp, along with university accreditation body European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). The study reveals a declining preference for blended (15 percent) or entirely online (14 percent) study, down from 38 percent in 2022. Nearly half of respondents now favour full-time on-campus study, while almost a quarter express a preference for part-time on-campus learning. In contrast, last year saw almost 60 percent of students willing to consider studying the majority of their master’s online, a figure that has now declined to 52 percent.

The reasons for this shift in preferences are multifaceted. Crisp says students are concerned about losing self-confidence, presentation skills and internships, all of which are difficult to develop in online environments. This trend signals a strong demand for in-person opportunities that foster interpersonal skills and networking, both of which are critical to students’ future careers.

However, the impact of COVID-19 on online education is a mixed bag. While some students are gravitating towards traditional classroom experiences, others, particularly older students, are embracing remote teaching. “With work and family commitments, online learning offers the flexibility to learn when time and circumstances allow,” adds Crisp.

Eimear Nolan, director of the flexible executive MBA at Dublin’s Trinity Business School — a programme which targets older students — stresses the importance of distinguishing between courses originally designed for in-person delivery and those hastily transitioned to an online format due to government restrictions during COVID.

“Everyone was forced into a reactive mode with minimal opportunity for reflection. Yes, we survived it — but I am not surprised at all that no one wants to be launched back into that learning environment under those conditions,” she tells QS Insights Magazine.

“I doubt that many academics or students would consider their experiences with online teaching and learning during COVID as a genuine representation of a well-thought-out and intentionally designed online programme. If they do, they would be sorely mistaken.”

On the other hand, Nolan says degree programmes that are purposefully developed for online delivery are well received. But she believes the effectiveness of online education is not universal. “It will be successful for those who actively choose this mode of learning and are comfortable with it; it will not work for those academics and students who are forced into it.”

Managing Director for Europe at online learning platform Abilitie, Alex Whiteleather, echoes this sentiment, noting the limitations of the virtual classroom compared to in-person learning dynamics. “What educators found during the pandemic is that a virtual professor with a slide deck on screen is not able to replace the dynamics of the live classroom — too many social cues, peer learning opportunities and feedback moments are missing,” he says.

Whiteleather also notes that many universities were caught off guard and failed to adapt their teaching methodologies, resulting in an inability to provide the same educational value in an online format. However, he adds that institutions which embraced interactive, peer-based learning witnessed greater acceptance and learner satisfaction with their online courses.

Indeed, Gavin Symonds, Senior Online Programme Manager at Imperial College London, highlights the practical skills students gain from digital learning, such as video conferencing, project management and cloud-based collaboration skills, which are increasingly valuable in today’s remote work environment.

“Online learning environments are essential for fostering remote collaboration skills,” he says. “They offer a secure space for students to experiment and develop their skills, emphasise proficiency with collaboration tools, and highlight that collaboration takes many forms. Furthermore, it encourages learning from the diverse experiences of others, preparing students for the demands of the remote work environment.”

Looking ahead, many universities believe that online and classroom-based teaching can coexist harmoniously. “We are increasingly integrating online study into our curriculum, but in most cases, it is used to supplement our in-person offering, rather than to replace it,” says Anna Goatman, Director of Teaching and Learning at Alliance Manchester Business School.

“For example, an increasing amount of our in-person group work involves students using online tools to collaborate, and students appreciate that online courses allow them to study flexibly and at their own pace.”

But while the pandemic made students and staff alike recognise the positive elements of online learning, it also highlighted the benefits that come with face-to-face learning.

“It can be hard for students to feel part of an immersive learning community when studying entirely online. They can miss out on many of the wider networking and student-experience opportunities that are such an important element of higher education,” Goatman adds.

“As a result, we’re noticing the majority of undergraduate students looking to go on to full-time postgraduate study are opting for in-person programmes. The onus is on us to ensure that we can strike the right balance between the flexibility and accessibility of online learning, and the benefits that come with spending time on campus with peers and mentors.”

Read more like this from QS Insights Magazine, Issue 10.

London Academy of Trading introduces new post-course trader packages

Posted on by Global University Systems

The London Academy of Trading (LAT) is helping traders get up to speed and stay on track by including a range of valuable post-course support packages at no extra cost with their most popular trading courses.

While LAT courses provide students with the knowledge and skills to trade independently, it is still vital to build good habits and discipline when trading real money. To help students’ trading development, LAT has added a range of additional services within their existing courses to enable students to stick to their strategies and monitor their performance to maximise their chances of long-term success.

“We want our students to stay in touch with us once they complete their chosen course, so we’ve introduced these new complimentary packages to provide them with unrivalled post-course support while they establish themselves as traders,” says Paddy Osborn, Academic Dean and Managing Director. “Our new post course trade packages allow students to stay in close touch with us on a daily basis, with an extra year of free daily webinars and access to our trader forum, as well as free enrolment onto one of our specialist courses and a personalised 1-2-1 mentoring session.”

For students on our 12-week Advanced Trading Course, they will be given up to £2,789 worth of additional support services at no extra cost, including a free LAT specialist course, free access to our daily webinars and the LAT Xchange forum for 12 months, five days of trading desk rental on the LAT trading floor, and a free bespoke 1-2-1 mentoring session with one of our traders.

For students on our 4-week Trading Skills course, an additional £658-worth of post-course services is included, with free access to our daily webinars and Xchange forum for 6 months, plus two days of post-course desk rental on the LAT trading floor.

LCCM’s Patrick Cotton wins music tutor of the year award

Posted on by Global University Systems

LCCM lecturers and students have been in a rich vein of form recently with awards including a FHEA (Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy), a Tutor of the Year winner at the UK Music’s OMG Awards and Best Female at the Premier Gospel Awards.

Patrick ‘Pat’ Cotton, Programme Leader of BMus Music and Performance at London College of Contemporary Music (LCCM), who taught BRITS winner Tom Walker, won MAP Tutor of the Year at UK Music’s OMG Awards in Liverpool while also achieving his FHEA – Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

“I am delighted with both the Tutor of the year Award and the FHEA fellowship. The latter is similar to a PGCE teaching qualification for primary and secondary teachers, but for university lecturers,” says Patrick. “The FHEA is an advanced HE teaching qualification which allows you to reflect on areas in your teaching and identify areas for professional and pedagogical development. There are different levels and the level I undertook was Fellow.”

Elsewhere, Blessing Annatoria Chitapa, BA Muic Business Management student at LCCM won Best Female at the Premier Gospel Awards. Launched in 2016, the Premier Gospel Awards event showcases the range of genres making up gospel music, featuring performances by leading artists. Past performers have included Guvna B, Anita Wilson, Faith Child, Called Out Music, Becca Folkes and Samm Henshaw. Blessing has previous success – having won The Voice UK in 2020 before commencing her studies at LCCM.

“We’re very proud of Annatoria’s continued success. Since triumphing in The Voice UK she hasn’t looked back. We were honoured when she chose LCCM alongside her major record deal as the ideal environment in which to develop her music skills even further. Her recent victory at the Premier Gospel Awards is well-earned. It’s great to see a young female artist building her career on her own terms” said JD Donovan, LCCM Creative Industry Liaison.”

Elsewhere, there was an OMG special mention for LCCM’s Sahil Batra and a nominee for Kathleen Frances.

Head of Academics at LSBF appointed member of the Board for HE Higher Education Rankings

Posted on by Global University Systems

Dr. Shahnaz Hamid, Head of Academics at LSBF, has been appointed a member of the Board of Experts for HE Higher Education Rankings

With her exceptional leadership and teaching experience at LSBF, and other leading institutions over the last 15 years, she is a highly regarded academic, business consultant and practitioner with expertise in strategic management, human resources management, leadership and organisational development.

“I’m delighted that Dr Shahnaz Hamid is now a member of the the Board of Experts for HE Higher Education Rankings and proud of everything she has done for LSBF,” says Aaron Etingen, Founder and Executive Chairman of Global University Systems.

In addition, her practical experience across diverse industries also makes her a highly valuable addition to the Board of Experts, as does her pedagogy research.

“I was approached by the leaders of HE Ranking because of my academic leadership and teaching experience at LSBF and other prestigious institutions,” says Dr. Hamid. “I have been fortunate to be involved in significant research in pedagogy and have worked with students from different backgrounds and levels of education, be it undergraduate, master’s or doctoral.”

As a board expert, Dr. Hamid will apply her extensive knowledge in higher education to evaluate universities and institutions worldwide, using specific key performance indicators and criteria. This will allow her to collaborate with a team of accomplished academics who possess significant experience and expertise in pedagogy and quality assurance. In addition, her appointment will enable her to work with HE Higher Education Rankings, leveraging their selection criteria to identify top-tier institutions annually and improve the ranking list.

“I’m very proud to have been appointed a member of the board of experts,” says Dr. Hamid. “It will be a great opportunity to work with a team of academics who have extensive experience and expertise in key areas of pedagogy and quality assurance.”

The HE Higher Education Ranking Project is a scientific, academic and research ranking institution that ranks higher education institutions according to specific criteria, and performance indicators that contribute to improving the operation and performance of higher education institutions.

The London Academy of Trading (LAT) grabs prestigious awards

Posted on by Global University Systems

The UK’s first accredited trading academy, the London Academy of Trading (LAT), has recently bagged a hattrick of top awards, including the “Most Outstanding Trading Courses Provider” from two prestigious, outlets; the Global Excellence Awards and The Global 100.

Organised by Acquisition International magazine, the Global Excellence Awards is a highly respected awards programme that celebrates excellence across a range of industries, with an impressive reach of 85,000 corporate professionals and C-level decision makers.

The Global 100, with its readership of more than 293,000, however, follows a different process to many publishers, using a very specific evaluation process which takes into consideration whether participants were quick, within budget and used ground-breaking or innovative processes.

Paddy Osborn, Academic Dean and Managing Director, says: “We are incredibly proud to be recognised as an outstanding provider across so many institutions. It really is a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication to delivering the best possible trading education and training to our students.”

Elsewhere, LAT also took the “Trading Academy of the Year 2023” at the Prestige Global Excellence Awards for the third time in a row.

In addition, LAT offered 30% Women in Trading scholarships for the fourth year running to help attract more women into this male-dominated industry.