NCUK Wins PIEoneer Award 2021

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NCUK is delighted to announce that it has won the ‘Digital innovation of the year – assessment and credentials’ award at the fifth iteration of the prestigious PIEoneer Awards 2021.

Judged by a panel of 43 international education experts, NCUK was recognised for its excellence in delivering assessments and providing continuity for its thousands of students situated throughout its 90+ Study Centres spanning 30+ countries globally.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated an immediate migration to secure, fair, digitally-enabled assessments, centre marking and moderation to maintain continuity in our awards and, crucially, university progression for our students. In Autumn 2020 we introduced the NCUK learning and assessment platform to address the variable impact of COVID-19 and ensure that all our students could achieve their full potential.  The 2020/21 cohort completed their NCUK qualifications through sitting final examinations either at their Study Centre or online via the NCUK learning and assessment platform. The PIEoneer judges were impressed with NCUK’s innovative approach to assessments and education provision in enabling thousands of students to continue their studies and progress to university.

PIEoneer Award

The ‘Digital innovation of the year – assessment and credentials’ award was sponsored by Pearson with NCUK being shortlisted alongside organisations such as ETS TOEFL iBT special home edition, GoReact, Riiid, Convergence tech, and Catalyst (with Dublin City University). Despite tough competition, NCUK was announced as the winner with Maria McKenna, Global Development Director, accepting the award on behalf of NCUK.

We are so proud of our Academic and Operations teams for being recognised for their great work during the pandemic and delivering assessments to thousands of students around the world.

Maria McKenna, Global Development Director

NCUK also sponsored the ‘Outstanding contribution to the industry’ award with Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Smith introducing the award and announcing the results.

It is an honour to sponsor this award which recognises outstanding contribution to industry. As a long established pathway provider celebrating 35 years in 2022, NCUK recognises the importance of individuals who drive change for the benefits of international students worldwide.
Stuart Smith, Chief Executive Officer at NCUK
The winner of this award was Vivienne Stern, whilst Dr. Jagdish Gandhi received the title of ‘Highly Commended’ by the judges. Vivienne Stern, Director at UUKi, has supported several initiatives including key legislation for UK international education and has strongly represented UK universities and their interests globally. Congratulations to Vivienne for the work she has done which has resulted in her receiving this coveted award.

Stuart Smith announcing Vivienne Stern as the winner of the 'Outstanding contribution to the industry' award.

Stuart Smith announcing Vivienne Stern as the winner of the 'Outstanding contribution to the industry' award.

The awards ceremony, which took place on Friday 3 September 2021, was held at London’s historic Guildhall and saw more than 360 education professionals from the international higher education sector in attendance with more than 200 virtual attendees.

If you are interested in finding out more information about working with an award-winning pathway provider and would like to learn more about our flexible delivery models with routes to leading universities worldwide, please contact us to speak to a member of our Market Development team today.

About The PIEoneer Awards: The PIEoneer Awards are The PIE’s annual awards celebrating innovation and achievement in education, featuring 19 categories in 2021. The first iteration was held in 2017.

NCUK Staff with the 'Digital innovation of the year - assessment and credentials' award following the awards ceremony.

NCUK Staff with the 'Digital innovation of the year - assessment and credentials' award following the awards ceremony.

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