Finalists are students David Mercieca and Astrid Lucia Offersen, Professor Peter Smith, and the University itself
By Mireia Jimenez
Courtesy of the University of Aberdeen
It was announced on Tuesday 26th of April that members of the University of Aberdeen community have been shortlisted for the Herald Higher Education Awards 2022
David Mercieca and Astrid Lucia Offersen have been shortlisted for Outstanding Contribution from a University Student Award.
This category looks for people who “inspired and motivated others to act philanthropically or made efforts to improve student experiences and that of the local community” according to the Awards.
David is a third-year BSc Neuroscience with Psychology student, who serves as vice-chair for the Student Council, vice-chair for the Students’ Association education committee, and the Institutional Student Lead for the Scottish Enhancement Theme.
The university described David as an “invaluable asset to the student community”.
Astrid is a fourth-year Anthropology with International Relations student, a member of the BAME Students’ Forum and involved in the Student Council and the organisation of the Fresher’s and Refreshers’ Fayres.
The university described her work as essential “in organising academic, philanthropic and leisure activities to engage students and the wider community,”
Professor Peter Smith has also been shortlisted in the category Research Project of the Year Award for his Cool Farm Tool (CFT) app.
The app helps determine farm gate carbon footprint and environmental impact of farm produce, aiding in management decisions and in reducing greenhouse emissions.
Finally, the University of Aberdeen campaign over COP26 has been shortlisted for Marketing / PR Campaign of the Year.
The campaign attracted over 800 people, had a Facebook reach of 500.000 users, and an overall discussion of 13.5 million public online conversations related to the University and its work.
Vice-Principal of Education Ruth Taylor said:
“These awards help to build future excellence by facilitating the sharing of good practice and strengthening the status of learning and teaching in the Scottish higher education sector.
“It is a fantastic achievement to have had the hard work and commitment of our staff, our researchers and our students recognised across three different categories. They are already all winners in our eyes and we wish everyone the best of luck for the big night.”
AUSA VP for Education Ondrej Kucerak said:
“First, massive congratulations to Astrid and David on their shortlisting in the HHEA! We wanted to take a moment to celebrate the contribution our students are making to change the community, and I’ve worked with Camilo to produce nominations for Astrid and David.
“Astrid has been extremely active in promoting equality and diversity within our local community, while David has been working on other issues affecting students, such as bringing back the 9U bus.
"They have both done much more, and it makes me really happy that it is not only us who recognise their contribution, but it is the whole sector that recognises their impact.”
