SU Awards 2023

Any current Queen’s student can submit a nomination. You can only nominate yourself or your own group / club / society. You can’t submit a nomination for someone else and staff can’t submit nominations.

Any current Queen’s student or student group is eligible to win an award, but be aware that some categories have specific eligibility criteria (e.g. Best New Club or Society).

Graduates, SU-led campaigns (including officer-led campaigns), and activities with significant staff leadership are not eligible to win awards. All nominated activities and achievements must be led by current Queen’s students.

Individual students or student groups who have recently won SU Awards (i.e. since 2021) are less likely to win the same awards again this year, unless they can demonstrate exceptional achievement since 1 April 2022. Similarly, recurring events are less likely to repeatedly win in the same category.

Yes, you can nominate yourself or your group / club / society for multiple awards. It is unlikely that the same nominee will win more than one award, so go for quality over quantity when it comes to nominations.

A good nomination statement should include a range of specific examples relating to each criteria laid out in the category description. You should make use of the full 400 words available and avoid vague statements.

Nominations are shortlisted on the basis of quality, not quantity. One well-written nomination is far more likely to be shortlisted than ten one-sentence submissions.

If your nomination is shortlisted, you will be invited to make a presentation to our judges over the dates of 3-5 April 2023. Please make a note of these days now as alternative dates won't be available.

This award seeks to recognise the efforts of a Course, School, or Faculty Rep who has effectively represented students and achieved meaningful change for them.

Nominees must demonstrate a high level of engagement with student-staff forums, with their School and / or Faculty, and with the Students’ Union since 1 April 2022. Undergraduate nominees will be considered for Academic Rep of the Year – Undergraduate award. Postgraduate nominees will be considered for Academic Rep of the Year – Postgraduate award.

Evidence of how the Academic Rep has effectively represented students and achieved change should be provided.

This award will recognise the achievements of a newly ratified Club or Society in their first year of operation.

Nominees should outline how their Club or Society has improved the student experience at Queen’s, how they have engaged with new members since their foundation, and what achievements they’re most proud of so far.

Nominees should show that they have engaged with Students’ Union since starting their new Club or Society, for example by attending committee training, using SU resources, or successfully applying for SU funding.

Note that only Clubs and Societies ratified since 1 April 2022 are eligible for this award.

 This award will recognise the best student-led event or activity since 1 April 2022.

The event should demonstrate excellence in its focus on students, the professionalism of its delivery, how it raised the profile of the Students’ Union and / or the University, and how it increased awareness of the Students’ Union to its members and the wider student body.

In applying for this category, nominees must provide supporting evidence of good administration, event management, good financial standing, and creative thinking (particularly in the case of recurring events).

This category is open to individual students, student groups, and Clubs and Societies.

This award will recognise an individual student or group of students who have made a significant contribution, financial or otherwise (e.g. products / resources to support charitable activity), to a specific charitable cause since 1 April 2022.

The nominee must demonstrate their skills in organisation, fundraising, and outreach on behalf of their charitable cause. This should be evidenced through examples such as: fundraising totals, details of events run, and an outline of the tangible results of their contributions.

Nominees should provide evidence of any donations made to charitable causes directly (i.e. donations which did not go through the SU Finance Office, including GoFundMe and JustGiving pages). This evidence should be emailed directly to the Awards Coordinaton on su.societies@qub.ac.uk.

This award will recognise an existing Club or Society which has shown excellent improvement since 1 April 2022. Newly founded Clubs and Societies (i.e. those ratified after 1 April 2022) are not eligible to apply for this award.

Nominees should outline how their Club or Society has developed during this time and what the impact of this improvement has been. The nominee should demonstrate their committee has positively engaged with the SU over the last year, for example by completing training, applying for SU funding, or working with the SU Finance Office.

Nominees should demonstrate clear evidence of improvement over the last year (e.g. higher membership totals, increased engagement with Queen’s students, and the creation of new opportunities and achievements). All categories of Society and Sporting Club are eligible for this award.

This award seeks to recognise an individual student or a group of students who have demonstrated a strong commitment to altruism and social responsibility in the student and / or local community since 1 April 2022.

From fundraising, volunteering their time to help others, or perhaps supporting a local green initiative, the winner(s) of this award will have displayed their commitment, passion, and dedication to supporting others and / or our environment.

The nominee should demonstrate how they have used their time and skills, and what the impact of their activities have been. For group nominations, please demonstrate how your members worked together as team to achieve your aims.

This honour is bestowed by the Students’ Union President and is open to nominations from all Queens’ University students.

This award will be presented to a current Queen’s student who has demonstrated excellence in leadership or has had a positive impact on society at regional, national or international level since 1 April 2022.

Nominations are welcome from students who have achieved exceptional personal success (e.g. in sport, in academia or in a personal passion), or who have contributed to the enhancement of the student experience in other ways.

This award will recognise the achievements of a Society which has offered excellent opportunities to its members and to the wider Queen’s community since 1 April 2022.

Nominees should outline how their Society has contributed to enhancing the overall student experience, how their Society engages a wide range of students, and what the Society’s key achievements have been this year.

Societies should demonstrate a high level of engagement with the Students’ Union and evidence excellence in Society administration, financial planning, and event management.

This award seeks to recognise the achievements of a Sporting Club that can demonstrate a high level of student engagement and opportunity since 1 April 2022.

Nominees must also demonstrate a high level of commitment to its members via training and (where applicable) competition. The successful Club will demonstrate excellent initiative in event management, links to internal and external agencies, and the provision of opportunities for its members.

The successful Club will demonstrate competency in the areas of communication, finances, administration, sporting achievement, marketing, and the provision of increased benefit to its current members.