Top of the class: Irish Education Awards winners announced

After a successful first year, the Irish Education Awards returned for a second instalment on the 19^th of April, recognising the best in class across Ireland's third level institutions. With 21 different winners on the night, the awards recognise the work being done right throughout country. Entries were up by 50 per cent and attendance doubled as well.

Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick, UCC, Dublin Business School and Griffith College were just a few of the top class educational institutions who collected trophies on the night.

The awards not only gave the opportunity to acknowledge winners and nominees for their hard work but they also proved a fruitful environment for networking and discussions on the topics driving the education sector in Ireland, as pointed out by judge, and digital marketing course director at the Digital Marketing Academy of Ireland, Robert Farrell; "The Education awards is one of the highlights on my calendar. It's a great opportunity to reconnect with peers from around the country, keep up to date on education best practices and have a very enjoyable evening celebrating their success."

Dublin Business School (DBS) picked up two of the biggest awards on the night, winning Best College of Business and the award for Overall Excellence in Education. Cliona O'Beirne, director of marketing and admissions at DBS, said; "We're thrilled to have won these two awards which recognise the hard work and effort of everyone at DBS. Winning the overall prize for excellence in education was a fantastic end to a great evening and I'm delighted for all of my colleagues who contributed. This is also great recognition for our students and partners who are part of this great achievement and we are all very proud of DBS as an academic institution."

Lynn Willacy, community & STEM ambassador at Air Products, was particularly struck by the high standard of entries; "Air Products is very proud to be the Platinum Sponsor of the Education Awards which recognises and celebrates excellence in education. It was a pleasure for myself and my colleagues to present some of the awards and to be part of the evening. Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who took part, it's the dedication and commitment of the inspirational role models in the room that will ensure students are given the best educational experience."

The Reach RCSI Programme in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland is an initiative that is aimed at encouraging and facilitating third level participation and enhancing life chances for those traditionally underrepresented at third level. It won the Best Education Outreach Award on the night. Speaking afterwards, Maria Kelly, Reach RCSI programme manager said; "The involvement of RCSI's staff and students, coupled with the commitment of our local community, has been pivotal to the success of the Reach RCSI Programme. I am delighted that this award recognises how our Programme has promoted community health and supported people to reach their full educational potential."