The 2023 Campus Services Awards: A Recap

The Director of Campus Services Awards celebrates a person or team that consistently embodies the University's values, whilst supporting Campus Services to achieve its vision of 'enriching the lives of our students, staff and key stakeholders’. This individual or team will have made a significant contribution to the Division and demonstrated the ‘Team of Teams’ approach.

The nominees for this award were:

• Edward Shelley, Sustainable Travel Officer - Facility Services
• Venues & Events Team 

The winner was Matthew Lake, Safety Operations Manager - Community Safety and Security

Runner-up: Paula Hunt, Head of Childcare Services, Nurseries, Accommodation & Operations

Matt's Nomination

“Matt had an idea to improve the safety of our community and turned it into a reality. A Community Safety team has been recruited, a building brought back to life in the heart of Campus, and a vision shared. The impact has been remarkable and the judges were impressed at how Matt has embodied University values to "enrich the lives of our students, staff and key stakeholders”

The Outstanding Student Experience award recognises a person or team that never fails to deliver an outstanding experience for our students. This award celebrates their achievements and commitment to go the extra mile to support students, ensuring their time with us is great, from start to finish.

The nominees for this award were:

• Student Living – Accommodation & Operations
• Student Accommodation – Accommodation & Operations
• Joe Watkins & David Sheldon - UoB Sport

The winner was Worklink – Facility Services

Worklink's Nomination

“Worklink has worked hard to ensure students receive an outstanding experience. Over 2022-3 they’ve focused on increasing outreach and engagement to recruit students to work – and the statistics show how effective they’ve been.”

Recognition of an individual or team, who have actively sought collaborative working opportunities throughout Campus Services and the wider University to maximise the impact, on the University Community, of business as usual or a specific project. This individual or team will demonstrate a ‘Team of Teams’ approach to work.  

The nominees for the Team of Teams Award were:

• The Oaks Nursery – Accommodation & Operations
• Business Support Services
• The Exchange Team – Venues and Events

The winner was Active Residence Project – Student Accommodation and UoB Sport (UoB Sport: Charlotte Kulidzan, Sophie Mallinson, Jack Crossley, Phil Warrington. Accommodation & Operations: Vanessa Neal, Jackson Hakhamaneshiyan, Lily Badger)

The Exchange's Nomination

“The Active Residence program is a brand-new programme 'taking activity to where our students are’, encouraging them to exercise, try new things and enhance their sense of belonging. It’s been a true "team of teams" approach and the project has gone from strength to strength.”

This award celebrates a team that continuously embodies the University's values to improve the service they provide. This team is ambitious, efficient, innovative, and full of people that want to do the best job they can.

The nominees for the Service Improvement Award were:

•  Participation Team – UoB Sport
• Performance Centre – UoB Sport
• Student Living - Accommodation & Operations

The winner was Student Living - Accommodation & Operations

Student Living's Nomination

“The Student Living team has improved the accommodation booking process to enable students to self-select their room rather than having a room assigned to them. This resulted in a 15% reduction in room-change requests and tangible improvement in the student experience.”

Everything we do is for the customer, whether they be a student, staff member or visitor. That's why this award recognises a person or team that goes above and beyond to provide fantastic customer service. They're someone who regularly engages with the wider University community and are committed to delivering unforgettable customer experiences.

The nominees for the Best Customer Service Award were:

• Worklink - Facility Services
• Accommodation Customer Service Manager team
• Hollie Bantock, The Exchange - Venues & Events
• Venues & Events 

The winner was Hollie Bantock - Venues & Events

Hollie's Nomination

“The judges were impressed with Hollie’s willingness to go above and beyond, Hollie supported a visitor at The Exchange who had a medical fit and was embarrassed about not being able to get up afterwards. Hollie took it upon herself to lie on the floor with the visitor, making them feel more comfortable and taking away a lot of the embarrassment. This is a really humbling example of kindness and extraordinary customer service. Hollie was also on shift when eight people in masks, and possibly carrying knives, invaded a public event and started throwing glasses around whilst attacking a member of the public. Hollie was involved straight away, protecting her colleagues and visitors, and physically ejecting one of them from the building. Hollie showed incredible strength and courage on shift which show what a team player she is.”

This award celebrates the significant contributions they've made to the lives of staff, students, and the wider University community. It also recognises the passion they have for their work, how they strive for excellence in everything they do, and their commitment to Campus Services.

The nominees were:

• James Liddiard, Worklink - Facility Services
• Ying Lai, The Exchange - Venues & Events
• Hannah Hands - Business Support Services
• Timothy Owen -  Accommodation and Operations
• Hugh Sporoston - UoB Sport
• Lauren Dugmore - Venues and Events
• Lauren Venables - Venues and Events

The winner was Hannah Hands - Business Support Services

Hannah's Nomination

“The submission clearly articulates the wide variety of work that Hannah has done and how she has positively contributed to the success of the division and embodies University values. She was nominated twice for the Individual of the Year Award and both submissions highlight her positive, can-do attitude. She is passionate about the work of her team, Campus Services and the wider University and actively takes on responsibilities to further these aims.”

This award celebrates innovation and the team or person behind a recent idea that's proved to be sustainable and successful, and made people's lives easier.

The nominees were:

• Robert Ng, Student Living - Accommodation & Operations
• Bubacarr Bah - Food Beverage & Retail Operations
• Active Residences team - UoB Sport and Accommodation 

The winner was Bubacarr Bah - Food Beverage & Retail Operations

Bubacarr's Nomination

“Bubacarr’s idea was to send chairs no longer needed after the Commonwealth Games more than 3,000 miles away to help equip a new school in the Gambia. The judges were impressed with Bubacarr’s initiative and how this will not only positively benefit the school, but the wider University by repurposing equipment which had been sitting in storage.”

The Unsung Hero Award celebrates that special person whose contribution to the University is invaluable, but who's unaware of the impact they have. They're someone who is open, positive, supportive, and effective, but doesn't always get the recognition they deserve for their fantastic work.

The nominees for the Unsung Hero Award were:

• Scarlett Warrington, Conferences & Events - Venues & Events
• Joanne Pilling - Food Beverage & Retail Operations
• Kelly Fisher Beasley, University of Birmingham, Accommodation & Operations
• Lee Ruddin - Community Safety & Security
• Jonathan Barton, Raymond Priestly Centre - UoB Sport
• Julie Robinson - Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre

The winner was Joanne Pilling - Food Beverage & Retail Operations

Jo's Nomination

“Joanne Pilling was nominated an amazing seven times for the ‘Unsung Hero’ Award category, which was the highest number of submissions for one person in any of the categories. The judges believed that each submissions clearly identify why Joanne makes a substantive yet sometimes unrecognised contribution, unaware of the impact she’s had on the lives of her colleagues and the wider University.”

Sustainability is incredibly important to the University. That's why this award celebrates a person or team that's committed to making a positive difference to our planet and safeguarding our future by embedding sustainable practices into everything they do.

The nominees for the Most Sustainable Initiative of Year were:

• Cleaning and Waste -  Facilities Services
• Jackson Hakhamaneshiyan, Student Living - Accommodation and Operations
• Andrew Munns, Worklink - Facilities Services

The winner was Jackson Hakhamaneshiyan, Student Living - Accommodation and Operations

Jackson's Nomination

“Jackson was nominated twice for this award and both submissions highlighted how he has established himself as the key contact within Student Accommodation for sustainability. He has been involved in a variety of green initiatives and has worked hard to embed sustainability in all the team’s activities. The submission details the tangible impact his work has had, for example, achieving "silver" in the Green Impact Awards.”