The University of West London

The University of West London wins prestigious education award

Friday 22 June 2012

The University's Finance Team has been named winners at this year's Times Higher Leadership and Management Awards on June 21 2012.

The gala ceremony which took at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, London, saw the University named as Outstanding Finance Team for the delivery of a significant surplus at the University.  The Finance team implemented a new financial strategy to achieve a sustainable position, which led to investment in the student experience.

This strategy was the reason why the University was in the top quartile of the higher education sector in 2010-11 financial results, after achieving a surplus of 8.4 per cent of income.

Among the measures introduced was the instigation of a joined-up planning process that directly linked the academic agenda to financial targets.

A key component of the strategy was to set a series of financial metrics and ensure that they were met.  This meant that the team had to deliver strong financial leadership as well as communicate the metrics to every level of the University. The team worked with academic and professional staff to agree all budgets in detail.

Now in their fourth year, the Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards are a highlight of the academic year and a celebration of the very best of the higher education sector.

These awards are designed to celebrate the sector’s leadership, management, financial and business skills. They showcase the extraordinary innovation, teamwork and commercial acumen of UK higher education institutions.

The awards also celebrates the talented and dedicated staff, who have been steering universities through a time of unprecedented change.

Commenting on the University's win, Helen Turner, Executive Director of Finance for the University, said:

'I am very pleased indeed that we have been awarded the Outstanding Finance Team ‘THELMA’ as it reflects and celebrates the dedication and commitment of every member of the team. It’s wonderful that we’ve been recognised as the ‘best in the business’ this year and it’s great to see my colleagues’ hard work being paid off!'