Robin Jones Award
EARLIER this year the institution presented the inaugural Robin Jones Awards. Commemorating the life of former president, Robin Jones, the awards, which will be presented annually, features three categories that reflect the ‘golden threads’ of the 30-year institution strategy – equality, diversity, and inclusion; sustainability and climate change; and working in a digital world.
Robin Jones was passionate about supporting early entrants to the industry, regardless of their chosen route and the awards reflects this in their criteria. The awards were open to any CICES student, affiliate, graduate or associate member in full time or part time education at any of the CICES approved colleges or accredited universities or through any approved development or accredited apprenticeship schemes.
Congratulations to this year’s winners and runners-up. The winners received £1,000, an additional six months’ membership, a commemorative certificate and an invitation to the institution dinner. The runners-up received £250, an additional six months’ membership and a commemorative certificate.
Due to the high calibre of entrants, the ‘overcoming challenges and breaking boundaries through education, training and development’ category was awarded with two joint winners.
Here’s a showcase of the celebrated winners and runners-up with comments from the judging panel highlighting the individual special recognitions received.
Arthur Bateman – winner
Category: Overcoming challenges and breaking boundaries through education, training and development
‘Arthur has continually been told that he would not be able to achieve academic qualifications, but he has proved these people to be so wrong. Arthur is excelling at university, and ready to start a graduate scheme with a leading global consultancy. We are excited to watch his progression through the industry and think it is so important to have diverse role models, like Arthur, to inspire those with similar challenges.’
Prince Bahati – winner
Category: Overcoming challenges and breaking boundaries through education, training and development
‘Prince’s energy is contagious and the challenges he has overcome are truly inspiring. We hope his story helps and supports others, and I am sure it will. Prince described himself as resilient, which is the perfect word to describe what he has overcome. We hope Prince continues to be proud of his achievements and understands how much of a role model he already is to all, especially those experiencing similar challenges, and we cannot wait to see him rise to the top when he joins the industry.’
Ciara Williams – winner
Category: Equality, diversity and inclusion
‘Ciara’s energy is infectious and after her interview we felt truly inspired. Ciara’s commitment to date on promoting the industry via social media channels has attracted attention which allows receivers of this content to see a more diverse range of people in the industry. We are excited to see what Ciara does next and are certain she will make a difference in the industry.’
Agana Parameswaran – winner
Category: Innovation and sustainability
‘Agana demonstrated clear passion and commitment to innovation, and we have no doubt she will continue to make a difference within the industry. Agana hopes to promote and take this passion to her future career, and we have no doubt that her ambition and enthusiasm will support this.’
Scarlet Colligan – runner up
Category: Equality, diversity and inclusion
‘After meeting with Scarlet, we felt both inspired and challenged to do better when it comes to EDI in the industry. Scarlett is very articulate and thorough when it comes to her thought patterns and we have no doubt that once she gets into the industry and can influence the core functions within a business that impact EDI, like policies and processes, it will be exciting to see what differences she can make.
Kiranjit Atwal – runner up
Category: Overcoming challenges and breaking boundaries through education training and development
‘Kiranjit has demonstrated that she’s overcome some big challenges and still continues to excel both professionally and academically. Kiranjit is one to watch and we are sure she will be a successful leader in the industry. Her passion and ambition is clear, and she is keen to gain line management experience – all we have to say on this is we need more people like Kiranjit to be managing the future of the industry.’
Liam Jordan – runner up
Category: Innovation and sustainability
‘Liam has shown innovation by introducing a more efficient way of working that can clearly be quantified as a significant time saving. Liam is definitely one to watch; with his overall career ambition and the support around him, we have no doubt that he will continue to do great things.’