Double awards success as Exeter crowned Higher Education Partner of the Year

The University of Exeter is celebrating success at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Awards where it was named Outstanding Higher Education Partner of the Year.

The Chartered Management Institute, the UK’s leading authority on management and leadership, works with businesses and education providers to increase the number and standard of professionally qualified managers and leaders.

The awards also meant success for Ellie Pickering, a Chartered Manager who is project manager of the University of Exeter’s Protect Study, a long-running online study which investigates the factors that can help keep the brain sharp in later life.

Ellie was named Outstanding Student of the Year after completing a combined CMI Diploma in Leadership and Management and Operations/Department Manager Apprenticeship (Level 5) at Exeter College.

The award acknowledges an exceptional learner who has demonstrated a positive impact on their own professional development and academic studies.

She said: “It feels wonderful to receive recognition for my efforts in completing a combined CMI Diploma in Leadership and Management and Operations/Department Manager Apprenticeship (Level 5) delivered by Exeter College. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family, tutors, classmates, and the Protect team, who I would particularly like to thank for their willingness to try new ways of working.

“I value the University’s commitment to providing opportunities for professional development, especially through apprenticeships, because it makes all the difference in the world to be able to apply new knowledge and skills in real situations and then experience the outcome. Taking part in this course was transformative both on a personal and professional level and I look forward to continuing my own journey of growth and supporting my team with theirs.

In winning HE Partner of the Year, the University of Exeter was recognised as having made an outstanding positive impact on student experience, professional development and employability as a result of its partnership with the CMI.

Rachael Johnstone, Head of Degree Partnerships, picked up the award on behalf of the University of Exeter at the CMI’s annual President’s Dinner.

She said: “We are thrilled to have be named the CMI’s HE Partner of the Year. Our Degree Apprenticeship programmes are going from strength to strength, with more apprentices than ever choosing this accessible qualification as a way of transforming their careers.

“The significant growth we are seeing in apprentice numbers, the new programmes we are offering, the increase in the number of employer partners choosing to work with us and our newly launched Centre For Degree Partnerships, all demonstrate the University of Exeter’s support for the CMI’s aim of increasing the number and standard of professionally qualified managers and leaders.”

Stuart Brocklehurst, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Business Engagement and Innovation at the University of Exeter, added: “Huge congratulations to all our many colleagues who have contributed to the massive success of our degree apprenticeship programmes – we have over three times as many degree apprentices as the next largest Russell Group provider, with a unique commitment to this approach to education.”