Queen's Anniversary Prize

Coventry University's Department of Industrial Design has won the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher & Further Education for its work in automotive design.

The achievements of Tabeisa, a pioneering project to help reduce poverty in Africa, and in which the University is one of the main partners, were also recognised in this year’s awards.

The announcements were made on Thursday 15 November at a ceremony at St James’ Palace, London, with the awards presented by Her Majesty The Queen at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace in February.

Building on its reputation of more than 30 years, Coventry University’s Department of Industrial Design is continuing to pioneer new developments in the field. It is regarded as a centre of excellence by the HE sector internationally and by the automotive industry itself for its contribution to the education of tomorrow's world-class designers.

Key to this success are its innovative industry-focused courses and applied research, which have been highly influential in helping to maintain the UK’s position as a leader in automotive design.

Professor Michael Tovey, Director for Design at Coventry University said:

"Being awarded the Queen’s prize is a huge honour. The prize represents a real team effort by all the staff and students, not only by rewarding our past achievements, but in highlighting the depth of our current training, research and innovative deployment of digital technology."  

 

In the second award, the Tabeisa project represents a consortium of six higher education institutions, including Coventry University, the University of Greenwich and four partner organisations in South Africa. Working with poor communities in sub-Saharan Africa, it is tackling poverty by supporting small business and social enterprise projects.

Since 1994 Tabeisa has supported over 1,000 commercial start-up enterprises, developed over 200 social enterprises, created over 2,000 new jobs and distributed 150,000 AIDS awareness packs. Its successes include a tie-up with a leading high-street fashion store to sell ethically-produced clothing made by women's collectives in Ghana and five Tabeisa Enterprise Centres in South Africa and Ghana.

The Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education were established in 1993 by The Royal Anniversary Trust. They are awarded every two years.

Founder and Chairman of The Royal Anniversary Trust, Mr Robin Gill CVO, said:

"The Prizes confer the highest national recognition on the work of our universities and colleges and the part they play in the country’s economic advance, social wellbeing and industrial self-fulfilment. It establishes a benchmark for excellence and validates Britain’s contribution to innovation, knowledge and skills on the world scene."