Whether employed through one of our managed internship schemes, such as the Student Campus Partnership or Student Business Partnership, a part-time role or an employability programme such as Green Consultants or Professional Pathways, we want as many students as possible who are undertaking meaningful, paid employment whilst studying, to be recognised for the great work they do.

The same goes for the graduate interns recruited through our Graduate Business Partnership Scheme, who deliver impactful change, provide fresh insight and improve business process for employers across Devon and Cornwall and beyond.

And of course, none of this would be possible without our network of employer partners, who deserve to be given recognition and thanks for the opportunities and support they provide for our students and graduates. 

This is what the University of Exeter Employment Awards do; by providing a prestigious accolade and a yearly awards ceremony, the awards formally celebrate the successful partnerships taking place between the University of Exeter, its students and graduates and employer partners.

The categories for the Employment Awards are listed below. Please read on for information about how to nominate someone for an award.

Student & Graduate Categories:

• Innovation  
• Business Impact  
• Community
• Leadership
• Best international intern 
• Best team award 
• Overall student winner & Overall graduate winner

Employer Categories:

• Best internal employer & Best external employer - as voted by students and graduates
• Most engaged employer - self-nominated by employer 

Nominations for the University of Exeter Employment Awards are now open!

Nominations close at midnight on Sunday 23 March 2025 and will then pass to a panel of independent judges.  Everyone who has submitted and received a nomination will be invited to our awards ceremony on Friday 23 May 2025 to celebrate and find out the results.

Eligibility: 

You are eligible to submit or receive a nomination for an Employment Award if:

• You are a current University of Exeter student (any degree discipline, any level of study, at any campus) and you are undertaking meaningful paid employment alongside your studies or during vacation periods. 
• You have commenced a role of at least one week through a programme such as the Student Business Partnership Scheme, Student Campus Partnership Scheme, Professional Pathways or Green Consultants, since April 2024.
• N.B. If you have graduated since completing your role (e.g. you completed a Pathways internship in summer 2024 and then graduated in summer 2024) then you are still eligible to be nominated for this internship.
• N.B. Your employer must be able to suitably evidence your contribution to their organisation in order to be able to nominate you for an award. Depending on the nature of your role, there may be circumstances under which your employer does not feel able to complete a nomination for you. You can reach out to the Student Employment Team for advice on this at any time at studentemployment@exeter.ac.uk 
• You have commenced a role through the Graduate Business Partnership Scheme since April 2024 (either internal or external to the University).
• You are an employer/business owner/University staff member who has employed/line managed a University of Exeter student for at least one week since April 2024. This could be through one of our managed schemes (SBP, SCP, GBP etc), or through an independently-managed vacancy. 
• You are an employer/business owner/University staff member who has employed/line managed a graduate through the Graduate Business Partnership Scheme since April 2024. 

To nominate, simply fill out the relevant nomination form. Guidance on how to complete your nomination can be found below.

Employers:

Nominate your student or graduate employee

Nominate your student or graduate team

Nomination guidance for managers

We know so many of our wonderful employer partners support our students and graduates in a multitude of ways that go beyond employment; through mentoring, providing networking opportunities and so much more besides! This is why we would like to offer employers the opportunity to nominate themselves for our 'Most Engaged Employer' award, in order for you to be recognised for the breadth of opportunities you provide.

Self-nomination - most engaged employer award

Students & Graduates:

Nominate your employer

How to ask your employer for a nomination

Click the links below to view and download photos from the awards:

2024 Employment Awards

2024 Roaming Photo Booth Images

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2023 Employment Awards

University of Exeter Employment Awards 2024

Congratulations to the award winners for 2024!

2024 Categories:

Innovation: Matt Whitley, RJ Working

Business Impact: Luke Noble, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies

Community: Laurel Brock, Royal Albert Memorial Musuem

Leadership: Beth Lewis, University of Exeter

Best international intern: Emma Alabi, Perfino Ltd.

Best Team Award: The Career Zone Student Campus Partners (SCPs) - 

Overall Student Winner: Madelaine Barr, Joanne Manville Virtual Assistance

Overall Graduate Winner: Oliver Prato, Devon County Council

*Highly Commended* - Saskia Akermann-Clark, Exeter Innovation

Best Internal Employer, University of Exeter: Clare Johnson and Sharron Curtis, University of Exeter Career Zone

Best External Employer: Nourallah Chakroun, Inspiring Women Network (IWN) Cornwall

Most Engaged Employer: Exeter City Community Trust

Huge thanks to Building Greater Exeter, CRM Champion, Hamilton Pullen and Pushed who are sponsoring categories in the awards for the second year running.  A very warm welcome to Immersive Industry Experiences, and Optimising IT who are joining us as new sponsors for 2024. 

Categories

• Innovation sponsored by Immersive Industry Experiences (IIE) 
• Business Impact sponsored by Pushed 
• Community sponsored by Hamilton Pullen
• Leadership
• Overall student winner & Overall graduate winner sponsored by Building Greater Exeter
• Best international intern (new for 2024) sponsored by CRM Champion
• Best team award (new for 2024) sponsored by Optimising IT
• Best internal employer & Best external employer - as voted by students (new for 2024) 
• Most engaged employer - self-nominated by employer (new for 2024)

Employment Awards 2023 - Award Winners 

A huge congratulations to our 2023 winners! 

• Business Impact Category winner: Pooja Vijay 
• Community Category winner: Harry Evans 
• Leadership Category winner: Beth Fraser 
• Innovation Category winner: Elizabeth Hedges 
• Employer winner: Sophie Meadows, University of Exeter 
• Overall student winner: Laura Daniela Perez Chaparro 
• Overall graduate winner: Harry Evans

And of course, a special mention goes to our 'highly commended' nominees in each of our student and graduate categories: 

• Highly commended – Business Impact: Isabel Dally, Jennie Linzell, Finn Horden and Laura Daniela Perez Chaparro 
• Highly commended – Community: Sam Swinerd, Katelyn Wells, Amelia Grove and Rachel Fearn 
• Highly commended – Leadership: Marley Pradieu, Pierre De Brosses, Abigail Addai and Abigail Lawrence 
• Highly commended – Innovation: Olivia Williams, Eleanor Cook, Vishwanath Bhave Ravnishankar and Caitlyn Le Roux  

We are so proud of all of our nominees and winners. Every single one of them is so deserving of their nomination, which speaks volumes as to the contributions they have made to their employers. Well done!‌  

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Her contemporary approach to detailing and composition, when combined with this centuries old heritage skill made her an ideal choice for the University of Exeter Employment Awards. 

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If you have any queries about the University of Exeter Employment Awards, or paid employment opportunities for University of Exeter students and graduates, please contact Becs Lenthall at studentemployment@exeter.ac.uk