University of Chester wins prestigious “Whatuni” Student Choice Award for excellence in digital innovation

University of Chester wins prestigious “Whatuni” Student Choice Award for excellence in digital innovation as 70 per cent of students nationwide report satisfaction with courses

The University of Chester has been recognised for excellence in digital innovation during the pandemic in the 2021 “Whatuni” Student Choice Awards, winning a coveted award amidst stiff competition.

The annual awards – taking place for the 8th time – highlight the work done by institutions to support their students, and celebrate resilience, innovation and diversity within higher education.  Uniquely, the nominees and winners are selected by students themselves, and judged by a specially chosen panel made up of prospective and current university students.

A nationwide review collection conducted alongside the awards showed that more than 70 per cent of students agreed that their university course represented ‘value for money’ over the past year, even with the challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Chester triumphed in the “Excellence in Digital Innovation” category, particularly impressing the judges with their onboarding initiatives for new students and their interactive learning systems.

Simon Emmett, CEO at IDP Connect said:

“The past twelve months have been incredibly difficult for universities and their students, and the Whatuni Student Choice Awards are a chance to recognise those institutions who have excelled in supporting their students even in the face of a global pandemic. This year has thrown up some real surprises, with some smaller institutions winning across all categories.

“The University of Chester accelerated their digital innovation and developed impactful digital solutions to help improve the student experience and increase accessibility for their students even in the face of a global pandemic.  The exceptional digital support they provided makes them worthy winners of this award”.

Angela Rapley, Head of Brand and Content, IDP, added: 

“It was fantastic to see the judging panel with students gathered from across the country. Two big things struck us as the students reviewed the nominations. Firstly, that those universities that performed best were those whom the panel viewed to be putting the support of students at the heart of what they did. But more striking is the fact that a big majority of those students surveyed thought their university had provided value for money over the last year.

“We’ve seen a lot of stories in the media about things that went wrong during the initial stages of the pandemic – and it’s right that problems were called out where they exist. But it was clear to the panel that a big majority of student respondents thought they had got good value for their money this year, even with the undeniable chaos that the pandemic brought. The institutions successfully pivoted, creating and implementing fantastic initiatives to support and engage their students, which our awards are very happy to celebrate.”