Alumni Stories

Since 2005, The Open University’s Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa programme (TESSA) has supported over two million teachers across the region. Its bank of open, curriculum-linked, multi-language educational resources has been developed in partnership with 14 African higher education institutions and other organisations – and in 2009 the project won a Queen Elizabeth Prize for Education.
Dr Kris Stutchbury and Olivier Biard explain the impact of the Prize.

Coleg Cambria was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2013 for excellence in engineering training in aircraft production and maintenance.

Cranfield University has been at the forefront of global aerospace research since the end of the Second World War. With its own airport and specialist aircraft, it offers students unparalleled research facilities, and its work was recognised with a Prize in 2019.
Professor Graham Braithwaite explains the impact of winning the Prize.

Edinburgh Napier University was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2015 for research in wood science and UK timber construction, reducing the carbon footprint.

Chichester College Group has trained Britain’s furniture-makers and upholsterers for more than half a century – but by 2005 student numbers across the country were in decline. As other craft skills providers were closing their doors, Chichester responded by revolutionising and expanding its offer. Since then, learners have grown by 500%, the Group has continued to develop its provision and, in 2021, it won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Education.
Executive Principal Vicki Illingworth explains the impact of the Prize.

Westminster Kingsway College was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2015 for delivering internationally recognised excellence for the hospitality industry.

The pioneering work of Cardiff University’s Violence Research Group has transformed our ability to understand and predict community violence. Combining hospital and police data for the first time, the groundbreaking “Cardiff Model” has since informed violence prevention programmes around the world – and was awarded a Prize in 2009.
Professor Jonathan Shepherd explains the impact of winning the Prize.

The University of Surrey was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 1997 for its engineering work for the space industry, in particular teaching and research for satellite operations.

Professor Mike Coffey and his team’s research with the Langhill dairy herd, championed by Principal Professor Wayne Powell, showed farmers around the world that selective breeding can significantly increase milk yields and reduce methane emissions.
Mike and Wayne explain the impact of the Prize.

Imperial College London was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2007 for developing effective and affordable control of parasitic diseases in rural Africa. The Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI) is a global programme of research and drug distribution based at Imperial College London dedicated to the elimination of schistosomiasis and intestinal worms.

Lancaster University was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2009 for its work in plant science as applied to water shortage, crop yield and global food security.