Former Forth Valley Student Association staff member – Andrew Kinnell (pictured here centre, at a recent FVSA event) – has been nominated for a prestigious Sparqs Student Engagement Award.
The former Student Engagement Co-ordinator, who recently left the College to work towards a career in secondary school teaching by joining a PGDE programme, finds himself on the shortlist of the Outstanding Staff Member category, alongside Robin Chandler from West College Scotland and Scott Carle from Aberdeen University Students’ Association.
Student Partnerships in Quality Scotland (sparqs) was founded in 2003 and is funded by the Scottish Funding Council. Their aim is to advance education by promoting an environment where students are able to make a positive and rewarding difference to their own and others' educational experience. They also support students to shape the nature of their learning and contribute to the overall success of learning provision, regardless of wherever and however they learn.
The Student Engagement Awards for 2023 – to be held in Edinburgh on Thursday 5 October - will highlight the organisation’s 20th birthday and the event will reflect on and celebrate the progress Scotland has made over the last 20 years in student engagement.
A spokesperson for sparqs, said: “Our previous awards in 2021 celebrated the tremendous achievements of our institutions and students’ associations during the challenges of the pandemic. Therefore our 2023 awards are an opportunity to reflect on developments in student engagement and partnership, not only in the past two years, but also across the two decades of sparqs’ existence since our creation in 2003.”
Lisa Baxter, FVC’s Student Association & University Partnerships Manager, said: “This is great news not just for Andrew, but for the entire FVSA team. The submission was focussed on all the work that went into making the fantastic Sabbatical Officer Election 2023 turnout happen, co-ordinated by Andrew, but with lots of support and effort from FVSA and FVC colleagues such as Lynne Tomlinson, Brian Banks, Stephen Jarvie, and of course everyone who encouraged the candidates to run for the Sabbatical Officer positions, and students who cast their votes. Many thanks to you all!
“The sparqs awards haven’t taken place since 2021, and the Awards tie in with sparqs celebrating their 20th birthday as an agency. Competition in the category was tough, so it’s an achievement in itself to be shortlisted!
“FVSA staff worked closely with College staff, so it’s a really nice example of partnership working. It’s a good boost for the team, especially with new FVSA Student President Steve Kemlo and Vice President Kirsten Kennedy having achieved their Sabbatical posts on the back of it all.”
For more information on sparqs, click here.