The University of Birmingham in the UK has taken home the top gong at QS and Wharton’s joint Reimagine Education awards for its Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues.
The awards, which took place in Philadelphia on December 8, saw 18 international awards given out, along with a set of regional awards.
The Jubilee Centre’s director, James Arthur, said he was “delighted to receive” the Global Education Award on behalf of the centre – which developed an educational framework based on “principle that values and virtues associated with good character”.
“The award recognises the 10 years of research and practice that underpinned the development of the Framework for Character Education in Schools,” Arthur said.
“The Framework has had a significant impact on character, values and ethical education in the UK and globally, which is so important for individual and societal flourishing,” he added.
The prize is worth $25,000 in funding.
Nunzio Quacquarelli, co-founder of Reimagine Education and QS president, cited the 500-strong independent judges panel, saying the winners have “received the unequivocal backing of expert educationalists across the world”.
A new category was also launched this year at the awards – Nurturing Values and Ethics – which, in the words of Emeritus professor Yoram Wind of the Wharton School, where the ceremony was held, is a “fundamental mission of educators”.
“It is a pleasure and a privilege to offer a global platform”
“I am delighted that the gold winner in this new category is the winner of the Global Education Award,” Wind said, officially announcing the award for the University of Birmingham for its Jubilee Centre – the second gong of the night for the university.
“Our Grand Jury recognised the importance of the work being done by the University of Birmingham in this crucial area for the future of education and humankind,” Wind commented.
Other notable awards came from the global edtech category, which was won by global non-profit economic mobility platform Generation.
“We train and place people of all ages into life changing careers that would be otherwise inaccessible,” said Generation’s chief comms officer Jennifer Sikes.
“We have more than 72,000 graduates who are at the centre of our work. 90% of them are unemployed when they join our program, and within three months of completing it 81% are working together. They have earned an astonishing $630 million in wages to date,” she observed.
Education Above All took the prize for Access, Diversity and Inclusion for their Internet Free Education Resource Bank, and AI in Education went to CENTURY Tech – Generation also picked up the award for Nurturing Employability.
“It is a pleasure and a privilege to offer a global platform to the projects, pedagogies, and solutions that represent the future of educational provision,” Quacquarelli added.
The full list of awards can be found on the Reimagine Education website.
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