What are the judges looking for?

Our judges will be assessing excellence in 20 categories. They will be looking for clear planning and strategy, coupled with excellent delivery and outcomes.

As well as a 500-word narrative, universities should, where appropriate, provide evidence in the form of metrics that demonstrate success. Please also include examples that demonstrate the positive impact of the work.

Judges will be looking for examples of creative solutions to common challenges, innovation that has improved a university’s performance and broadened its impact, and where possible, instances of excellence that are scalable or transferrable to other higher education institutions.

Entry fee

For the first time, this year we will be charging for entries. The fee will be £100 per entry for the first five entries from a single institution, at which point a cap will be applied, so whether your institution submits five or 25 entries, the total charge will not exceed £500.

For our entry system to recognise that submissions are from a single institution, and therefore apply the price cap where necessary, your entries should be submitted via a single THE Awards account.

The reasons for bringing in this charge and advice on ensuring your institution pays the minimum amount can be found on this page.

Please note that payment must be by credit card, at the time of submission (unfortunately invoiced transactions could be incomplete when shortlisting commences).

Preparing your entry

Our awards are simple to enter and open to anyone involved in higher education in the UK or Ireland, with the exception of organisations with a sector-wide focus, or those working with large numbers of institutions. The THE Awards always focus primarily on activity during the previous complete academic year, so this time that is 2023-24. However, there is a degree of flexibility in this regard (see below).

• When preparing your submission, please review the category criteria carefully, then ensure that it contains sufficient robust information and shows significant activity taking place during the 2023-24 academic year.
  We will accept submissions based on projects, initiatives or endeavours that commenced prior to the 2023-24 academic year, provided that significant work has taken place during this main period of focus. We will also accept any evidence that has come to light after the close of the 2023-24 academic year if this further underlines success.
  In some categories, the period of focus may be longer (this will be stated in the specific category criteria), but the judges still want to see examples of outstanding work during the 2023-24  academic year.
• The judges will be looking for a good story, well told, and backed up with solid metrics. 
• All entries must be submitted online via www.the-awards.co.uk.
• When the entry system opens on Thursday 10 April 2025, please go to the Categories page and click on the ENTER NOW button beneath the category you wish to enter. The deadline for entries is Monday 9 June 2025 at 23:55.
  
• You must register on this website to enter these awards. Your details will not be shared with any third party, and will only be used by us for awards-related communications.
• For our entry system to recognise that submissions are from a single institution, and therefore apply the price cap where necessary, your entries should be submitted via a single THE Awards account.
  
• As well as populating the ‘Institution’ field on the application form, please ensure that, if applicable, you also enter the team/department name, project name or individual’s name in the ‘Nominee’ field.
• When logged in, entries can be drafted and redrafted as many times as you wish – just click 'SAVE FOR LATER' or ‘SAVE’ any time you wish to exit an incomplete submission.
  Please note that to submit a new or saved entry, you should first click on 'MOVE TO BASKET', then access the entry again from your basket, and when satisfied that everything is correct, click on the 'SUBMIT ALL' button at the foot of the page.
• Submissions should consist of up to 500 words of text, specifically addressing the criteria set out in the relevant category. You may also attach supporting documents. These should be no more than four sides of A4 in total (they may be printed out during the judging process). Please see below for more details about supporting materials.
• We advise you to draft and redraft your 500-word submissions on this platform as the word count may vary slightly from other platforms such as Microsoft Word.
  
• If you wish to submit tables, graphics, URLs, etc, these should be included within your supporting materials, not as part of the submission text.
• We are also asking you to compose an abridged version of your submission (150 words max.), which will be published on this website if the entry is shortlisted. This page will be archived on all future THE Awards websites, collecting the best stories of the year in one place.
  You may include confidential information in your main 500-word submissions and supporting documents, but if you do so, please also flag this to david.suter@timeshighereducation.com. Confidential information will never be shared beyond those who need access to your entry for judging purposes.
  As the abridged version will be published, in the event of the entry being shortlisted, please ensure it contains no confidential information, something that you are happy for us to share publicly.
• You may enter as many categories as you wish, but you must complete a different submission for each one.
  No submission will be accepted in more than one category – please choose the most appropriate single category for your entry. If you are unsure which category to choose, please contact david.suter@timeshighereducation.com to discuss your options.
• You may submit a maximum of five entries per category if the featured work in each is distinctive and unrelated. However, if there is common ground between entries, or you are trying to convey how a range of initiatives collectively address a particular challenge at your institution, we advise you to combine the best elements in a stronger single entry.
• Our judges occasionally point out that some promising submissions are based on projects or initiatives still relatively early in their cycle, and that given a further 12 months their impact and success may be clearer. We encourage you to submit projects or pieces of work a second time, but please update the earlier submission, add new evidence of impact, and ensure you highlight activity during the subsequent 12-month period.
• Institutions collaborating with each other or with external public or private partners are welcome to enter, but organisations working across the sector or with a large number of institutions are not eligible to enter themselves.
  
• If your entry relates to an initiative or project carried out in collaboration with other institutions, the submission should come from the lead institution. In such cases, please enter “The University of X,  in collaboration with... ”.
  Please note that these awards primarily recognise achievements at UK and Irish institutions, but we will acknowledge the importance of other international partners in collaborative projects. In such cases, the entry should still be submitted by the UK or Irish institution.
• If there is no lead partner institution, to avoid multiple entries focusing on the same project, please agree who will make the submission on behalf of the partnership.
• If your entry relates to a collaboration with an external organisation who you would like to credit, please enter “The University of X,  in collaboration with <partner name>" in the ‘Institution’ field on the entry form.
• Entries can be completed by those working at institutions or their suppliers (consultants, PR companies, architects, etc.). If you are entering on behalf of an institution, please make sure they are happy for you to do so.
• If you are an individual considering submitting an entry, please contact the university team coordinating entries. If you don't know who this is, please email us at THEawards@timeshighereducation.com.
• The shortlist will be published around 08:00 on Thursday 4 September 2025, with the finalists being informed by email a few minutes before this. The winners will be announced at the EICC Edinburgh on Thursday 13 November 2025.

It would be appreciated if attachment titles could be kept as short as possible.

• Supporting materials should back-up or expand on statements made in the 500-word submission – they should not be used to provide additional information.
  
• Documents should be in PDF or Word doc format.
• One or two sets of supporting documents may be submitted, but in total they should comprise no more than four sides of A4.
• Supporting material may include photographs, tables, documents containing statistics, testimonials, supporting research, evaluation or inspection reports, press cuttings and promotional material. Please highlight any sections you believe are particularly relevant. PowerPoint and video files cannot be accepted; however, you may submit screenshots.
  You can also include full URL addresses, taking the reader to further relevant information (no hyperlinked images or phrases though, please, as they may not always function correctly).
  

Any information submitted outside these guidelines will not be considered as part of the submission.

For institutions that filter entries through a central awards team, as well as sharing the Entry guidelines you may wish to circulate these entry form requirements:

1. Nominee or key personnel (if you wish to highlight the role of specific people)
2. Submission title or project name (if applicable)
3. Project URL or link to further information about your entry (if applicable – please note this link will be published if the entry is shortlisted)
4. Institution name *
5. Submission text * (address the specific criteria – strict limit of 500 words)
6. Abridged submission * (this will be published if the entry is shortlisted - strict limit of 150 words)
7. Supporting material 1
8. Supporting material 2
9. Upload institution logo *
10. Additional contact details
    

* mandatory field

For each entry, our primary contact throughout the awards cycle will be the person who made the submission, so if you would prefer us to contact someone else after the form has been submitted, please send new contact information by email to THEawards@timeshighereducation.com, along with the institution and category (and unique Nomination code, if possible).

When the shortlist is published on 4 September 2025, we will also write directly to the main contact for each successful entry.

On receipt of this shortlist confirmation email, please cross-check the unique Nomination code against the one shown in the original 'confirmation of receipt' email you received when you made the entry, as it is possible that your institution may have submitted more than one entry in any single category.