Graduate of the Year (UK)

Graduate of the Year is a national competition in the United Kingdom. It is held annually and recognises students who have made the most of university life, whether in an academic or extracurricular context, such as showing exceptional teamwork, charity or volunteering work, taking part in leadership projects and so on.. Every year hundreds of high-calibre students from across the country compete in several rounds for this prestigious award, with national press coverage and large cash prizes (total prize money for 2008 amounts to £5,000 ($9,700)), whilst runners-up can win up to £2000. It is run by UK's largest accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, [http://www.realworldmagazine.com Real World magazine] UK's biggest student careers publication and headhunters Moloney Search.

2008

Entries for the 2008 award must be reached by Friday 4th July, and finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony in London in September. Of course, the earlier your entries are received, the more votes can be cast. To enter, visit: http://www.realworldmagazine.com/general/graduate-of-the-year-home-I374. You will have your entry confirmed by email, and be able to track your progress on the site.The 2008 Awards are slightly different in format to previous years: there are more categories, ranging from improving student finances to showing your entrepreneurial skills. In addition, the Awards are also linked up to facebook.com this year too, which allows friends to see your progress too.To nominate someone, just log onto the website http://www.herecomestheboss.com/rwa/addnomination.php and take the chance to win £100 just for yourself.

Previous winners

*2007 - Alexander McLean (Nottingham) was involved in setting up his own charity whilst at university, African Prisons Project, as well as being Vice-President of the University branch of UNICEF. He hopes to work as a barrister in Africa in the future.
* 2006 - Kirill Makharinsky [http://www.makharinsky.com] (Oxford) was President of Oxford Entrepreneurs, the 2nd largest society in Oxford University, ran several businesses, was a concert pianist, played several sports at university level and achieved a double first in Mathematics. He is now working in Silicon Valley on YouNoodle, which he co-founded in 2007.
* 2005 - Hazel Mowbray (LSE) was a music teacher at two schools, taught piano, played in University of London's orchestra, was a legal caseworker, rower and Disabilities Officer who has worked in Ecuador and Ethiopia, along with getting a 1st class degree. She now works for the United Nations World Food Programme in Malawi.
* 2004 - Conall Watson (Nottingham) was Environment & Social Justice Officer, who organised One World Week, got the student union to boycott Nestle, co-founded the Tibet Society and worked at the Fair Trade cafe; he is now a pharmacist.

External links

* [http://www.herecomestheboss.com/rwa/ Real World Awards competition website] - The Real World Awards website
* [http://www.realworldmagazine.com/goy%20web/goy_2006_home.asp Graduate of the Year 2006] - from Real World magazine
* [http://education.guardian.co.uk/students/graduation/story/0,,1739064,00.html Full-time students] - The Guardian article on 2006 awards
* [http://education.independent.co.uk/graduate_options/article223415.ece "You really can do it all"] - The Independent article on Hazel Mowbray, 2005 winner