Renaming the Student & Apprentice Awards categories

Have your say and submit suggestions as we rename the categories of the IOM3 the Student & Apprentice Awards.

Last year the Institute launched a suite of Student & Apprentice awards to recognise the achievements of those completing qualifications from Level 2 to Level 7 across the breadth of the materials cycle.

These formed part of the roll-out of a series of initiatives, under the newly formed IOM3 Education & Outreach Trust, that are designed to develop interest, recognise excellence and support professional development in materials, minerals and mining.

Nominations for the 2023 awards are open until 15 September and any member that has recently (within the last 12 months) completed a qualification or apprenticeship in one of the categories is eligible to apply.

Currently, the Student & Apprentice Awards categories are titled

• Category 1 – awarded to a student or apprentice completing a qualification at level 2 or level 3, for example, the PIABC Level 2 Award in Timber and Panel Products, or the Level 3 Composites Technician Apprenticeship.
• Category 2 – awarded to a student or apprentice completing a qualification at level 4 or level 5, for example, the PIABC Level 5 Diploma in Packaging Technology.
• Category 3 – awarded to a student or apprentice completing a level 6 qualification such as a Bachelor’s degree or Level 6 degree apprenticeship.
• Category 4 – awarded to a student or apprentice completing an integrated Master’s course at Level 7, such as an MEng in Materials Science & Engineering.
• Category 5 – awarded to a student or apprentice completing a standalone, taught Master’s at level 7, such as an MSc in Mining Geology or level 7 degree apprenticeship.
• In addition, the overall winner from the five categories receives the prestigious Royal Charter Prize.

These are fantastic awards; shortlisting and success in any of the categories recognises the achievement of the recipients and is a great addition to any CV.

However, as you can see, the titles of the awards are generic at the moment, so we are asking you, our members, to come up with some new suggestions.

We would like to you to suggest a name for each of the five categories, or devise a series of titles, (one for each award in the suite). Your suggestion(s) should carry gravitas and not indicate any hierarchy across the awards. The closing date for suggestions is 17:00 (BST) on Friday 1 September, after which a panel drawn from the Education & Outreach Trust Board will consider all entries. The creator(s) of the winning titles will be invited to the IOM3 Special & Publication Awards Lunch Reception to present the prize(s).

If you are a member and would like to suggest a new title for one or more awards, please complete the form below.  Please note you will need to be logged in to your IOM3 account to do this.