The ongoing collaboration between Bath Spa University and Kier Services has been recognised at an awards ceremony held at the Houses of Parliament.
The collaboration was given a silver award at The International Green Apple awards for Environmental Best Practice and Sustainable Development 2014.
The International Green Apple Awards were launched in 1994 and have become established as one of the most popular environmental campaigns in the world.
The awards aim to recognise, reward and promote environmental best practice.
Over the last two years, Environmental Managers from Kier Services, Jamie Edmonds and Chris Grimes, have been working with Bath Spa students as part of the BSc in Environmental Science.
Jamie and Chris are both alumni having completed their undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University.
Since working at Kier, Jamie and Chris have been involved in working with BSU students on two projects; one being an analysis and review of Environment Agency quarterly waste return data from Household Waste Recycling Centres for North Somerset Council and the other reviewing barriers to recycling for people who live in hi-rise flats within the city of Bath, which was undertaken in conjunction with Bath and North East Somerset Council.
Head of Department for Science, Dr Dave Watson, said: “We are extremely pleased that this award recognises the long-term collaboration between Environmental Science at Bath Spa and staff at Kier.
“We regard the opportunities for students to work on projects with Kier and placement and mentoring opportunities as vital in enhancing the employability of our graduates.
“We are delighted too that this collaboration with Kier continues to develop; the specialist input from their environmental professionals, who are also our alumni, has helped shape our new MSc in Environmental Management.”
Kier’s Business Stream Environmental Manager, Chris Grimes, said: “We are delighted to receive the Green Apple Award for the collaborative work we’ve undertaken with BSU.
“It’s been a pleasure working with such a forward-thinking university that truly understands and values the mutual benefits of such a relationship.
“Combining academic study with knowledge that has been applied and practised in real environments gives students the best opportunities to satisfy their own career aspirations.”
Bath Spa University and Kier Services recognise and value the importance of work based learning and the current and potential benefits for the approach to students’ learning and the Kier business.
The various graduate schemes across Kier’s business and the close relationship with Bath Spa enable capable motivated students to be identified at an early stage in their education, which has the potential to lead to a placement or full time employment.
