AUDE honours estate management sector with awards at annual conference
This week the Association of University Directors of Estates’ (AUDE) held the annual conference, at Manchester Metropolitan University. Estates are one of higher education’s largest assets, from strategic capital investment and factoring services, through to catering and cleaning. The sector is changing rapidly and the conference aimed to assist facility professionals plan for and respond to these changes.
The university estates and facilities sector has seen a consistent positive trend in environment sustainability, building condition, and ‘doing more with less’, despite a reduction in the proportion of university income spent on estates. The conference held a series of talks from professionals across the sector, to help members continue these trends.
AUDE celebrated excellence in estate management with the third annual AUDE Awards. The best of the best were honoured for their exceptional achievements and contributions within higher education estates and facilities.
The 2017 AUDE Awards took place on the final night of the annual AUDE conference, at Whitworth Hall, the University of Manchester. The awards recognised the achievements of universities across the UK and good practice in the industry, including those who lead the way in estate and facilities management.
The judges were on the search for teams, projects and individuals who have made a significant contribution to the sector by upholding excellence and value for money, in order to promote efficiency and effectiveness.
2017 marks AUDE’s 25th year in promoting excellence in the strategic planning, management, operation and development of higher education estates and facilities. The awards showcased the very best practice taking place in institutions today.
The winners: Universities entered this year’s awards to win a place in one of the prestigious categories:
• AUDE University Impact Initiative of the Year Award
• AUDE Chair's Award for Long Term Contribution
• The AUDE Emerging Talent Award
• AUDE Estates/Facilities Team of the Year Award
This year the AUDE University Impact Initiative of the Year Award went to The University of Manchester, for their sustainability engagement programme. This award recognises a specific initiative having a significant positive impact on the institution, the sector and/or the profession. The team at the University of Manchester showcased how academic and professional services can come together. The grand scale project brought together the university community, with 5,000 students taking part and placed the estates team at the core of the institution.
The AUDE Chair's Award for Long Term Contribution went to Chris Jagger, the University of Nottingham. This award celebrates Chris’ long-term achievements within the higher education estates community. Chris has completely transformed the campus of University of Nottingham which is vast in scale and plays an integral part of navigating the estates at several other campuses in the UK and overseas.
Highly Commended award went to: Simon Smith, Nottingham Trent University
2016’s AUDE Emerging Talent Award went to joint winners, Grant McGillivray, University of Glasgow and Stewart Crowe, University of Liverpool. Grant McGillivray illustrates the University of Glasgow’s strategic investment in its people to drive success. His positive approach, can do attitude and aspirational behaviour marks him out as an estates leader of the future. Having completed his MBA, Stewart Crowe is forging ahead with a positive health and safety culture at Liverpool, enhancing the understanding of colleagues and widening his influence through external engagement with HSE and RIBA through his work as chair of USHA.
The AUDE Estates/Facilities Team of the Year Award was presented to the Manchester Metropolitan University, Residential Life Team. The judges were impressed by the Residential Life model which offers a complete and inclusive pastoral care package engaging students, staff and the local community. With 97% of student accommodation remaining filled throughout the academic year, the link between sense of belonging and academic success is clear. The impressive model provides a strong and measurable impact combined with portability throughout the sector.
Highly Commended award went to: Glasgow Caledonian University
AUDE Chair and judge, Mike Clark, director of estates and facilities management at the University of Brighton said; “This year AUDE celebrates its 25th anniversary and the awards are just one of the ways we continue to support best practice in estates and facilities. We’re delighted to judge such a high calibre of candidates, who are promoting high standards across the sector. We’re confident we have chosen the most exceptional teams and individuals who display best practice in their institutions.
2017 is set to evoke many challenges in the higher education sector, so it’s fantastic to continue to see our estate and facilities teams deliver the best student experience possible.”
The AUDE conference and awards in 2018 will be held at the University of Kent from 9 to 11 April. This event is for members of AUDE and invited guests and will be accompanied by an exhibition and sponsorship opportunities.
For more information, please visit: http://www.aude.ac.uk/home/