A university wide strategy to transform lives has been recognised at the Times Higher Education Awards.

Press contact: Greg Mattocks-Evans | g.mattocks-evans@shu.ac.uk

The University picked up the award at the ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London last night (Thursday 28 November) in the Outstanding Strategic Planning Team category for its Transforming Lives strategy.

Transforming Lives was launched in 2017 to make Sheffield Hallam the world’s leading applied university. It has led to fundamental changes to every aspect of university business, from teaching and research, to organisational structure, and the relationship between the University and its staff.

Since it launched, the percentage of graduates in highly skilled employment or further study has increased, the University has risen up the recent Times Higher Education Europe Teaching Rankings and other UK league tables, and its performance in the National Student Survey has improved dramatically.

The judges said the initiative caught their attention “due to its wide-ranging and effective approach to strategy formation, embedding and implementation”.

“The engagement of stakeholders from across the university has led to changes in governance, business planning and focus at an individual level that have resulted in significant jumps in NSS scores and university rankings,” they said.

Linda Mason, Director of Strategy, Planning and Insight and part of the Strategic Planning Team behind the award, said: “We’re delighted to receive this prestigious award. It reflects the hard work and commitment of the team and colleagues across the University.

"Our strategy outlined an ambition to be ‘the world’s leading applied university’ and, with our recent accolade of University of the Year for Teaching Quality in the Sunday Times Good University Guide and a greatly improved performance in the National Student Survey, we're well on the way to fulfilling that ambition."

Also nominated in the Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community category was South Yorkshire Futures, a social mobility partnership led by Sheffield Hallam, which raises aspirations for young people.

John Gill, THE’s editor, said: “Our universities – every single one of them, in every corner of the UK – are packed with individuals and teams doing truly extraordinary things, things that transform lives and, in some cases, change our world.”

"This year's shortlists were full of fantastic examples, and our hope is that these successes can, where possible, be rolled out and scaled up so that others can benefit from the innovation and creativity on display."

"In other instances, it is enough to just marvel at, and draw inspiration from, their example.

The THE Awards are widely recognised as the Oscars of the higher education sector.

Each year they attract hundreds of entries that exemplify the talent, dedication and innovation of individuals and teams across all aspects of university life.