The University of South Wales Students’ Union shortlisted for Alliance Award alongside the Operational Policing Team

We’re beyond proud to announce that we have been shortlisted for the Alliance Award alongside the University of South Wales’ Operational Policing Team. The Alliance Award celebrates collaboration and is for individuals or teams who have delivered exceptional impact through smart and collegiate collaboration. The shortlist for this award was selected by an independent panel of judges across the higher education and research sector - with some awards receiving over thirty nominations. 

It has been a challenging but rewarding experience navigating how we can support serving police officers to ensure that our Policing apprentices have their voices heard and represented within our structures. The collaboration has been led, primarily, by our student representation team who have worked to support the student voice of Operational Policing students by collaborating and engaging with the systems already in place to represent them. We have celebrated their success while respecting the autonomy of the police and the unique position of our Policing Apprentices. 

Student Representation Manager, Ellis Thomas has recognised the incredible achievement of his team and colleagues:

“It is a privilege to see this work recognised through the Alliance Awards. The amazing work that the Operational Policing team undertake demonstrates clear passion and commitment to the student voice of training police officers. It has been immensely valuable to collaborate and support the team in improving the student experience across all forces.”

One of the ways that we have worked to recognise the work of our policing students was to introduce an Apprentice Representative (England) award within our Student Choice Awards. It was incredible to see not only the number but the quality of nominations we received. It was a pleasure to welcome, winner, James Howells, to the awards evening held in May and we hope to see even more nominations in this category in the future!

Head of Operational Policing, Rebecca Prout, told us about her experience with the collaboration:

“It has been an exciting journey working with the SU over the last year to ensure a relationship with Operational Policing students. Ellis has spent hours with the heads of subject and academic staff, and we have laughed a lot along the way. We can see the difference It has made to our student body and love that this collaboration has been recognised and shortlisted. We hope this will encourage similar courses with a unique nature to work alongside the SU to enhance the student experience”. 

The winners will be announced during the Alliance Awards evening later this year, which will be hosted by the University of South Wales. The evening of celebration will include guest speakers, entertainment and a dinner. We look forward to celebrating our collaboration at this event and wish the shortlisted nominees across all categories good luck for the awards. 

To learn more about the Alliance Awards, visit https://www.unialliance.ac.uk/alliance-awards/alliance-awards-2023/#:~:text=The%20Alliance%20Award%20celebrates%20collaboration,through%20smart%20and%20collegiate%20collaboration

Shortlisted Nominees for The Alliance Award Category:

ARU Peterborough, Anglia Ruskin University

Stephen Goodall, Teesside University

Outreach and Educational Partnerships Team, University of Greenwich

USW Students’ Union and Operational Policing Team, University of South Wales