Brunel University has been awarded two bronze medals as part of a celebration of the contribution of UK universities to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Brunel was successful in two of the nine Podium Award categories, winning bronze for Innovative International Collaboration, for arranging pre‑Games training camps, as well as for Exceptional Research Contribution, for developing an Olympic-related research publication programme.
Brunel’s Head of 2012 Programmes Neil Young, who is co-ordinating training camps with the Korean Olympic Committee and Athletics Canada, was delighted to receive the British Council Award for Innovative International Collaboration. “Brunel has pulled together to set up the camps, and we are confident that our contribution to London 2012 will deliver benefits for the University,” he said. “The Awards show the importance of universities in delivering a successful Games.”
The RCUK Award for Exceptional Research Contribution recognises Brunel’s commitment to maximising participation in Olympic-related research, as organisers of the 2012 International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS). Convenor Professor Celia Brackenridge OBE explained: “We adopted ‘Inspiring a learning legacy’ as the Convention’s main theme. This led to a collaboration with publishers Taylor and Francis to develop a research publication programme.”
Dr Vassil Girginov, the programme’s Executive Academic Editor, added: “This is the first time that a coherent Olympic publication programme has been established. As well as journals and books we now have a dedicated online platform to promote critical scholarship.”
The Podium Awards formed part of May’s London 2012-themed Universities Week, the annual campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of the higher education sector to British society and the economy.
Find out more
To find out more about Universities Week visit www.universitiesweek.org.uk or join the debate on Twitter via #UniWeek and #BUCSChamps.
Watch UK sports stars include Brunel University graduate Perri Shakes-Drayton discuss the importance of a university education: www.youtube.com/universitiesweek2012