The WBS Year Away Awards are an opportunity for us to celebrate student success for those participating in a year away, whether that is on a study/work placement or both as part of their degree. There are four different award categories.

Application Process

All eligible candidates will need to submit an application in the first instance via this page; shortlisted candidates will be invited to present to a panel which will take place on Wednesday, 6th November 2024. Applications are now open!

Shortlisted Candidates

Awards will be determined by a judging panel and awarded to students that have demonstrated 100%+ to their role/study commitments and who has exceeded all expectations. In addition, the winners will have shown exceptional potential in a particular area and impressed their placement and/or study host(s) with their commitment and development over the course of their placement(s).

The category winners will then be announced as part of the awards ceremony which will take place in the evening of the same day as the presentations.

Award categories

• Work UK (full year in UK)
• Work International (full year or 2 placements, with at least one placement outside the UK)
• Study full year (1 or 2 experiences)
• Work and study (2 experiences)

The winners in each category will be a student who has performed above and beyond on their year away experience(s), who has given 100%+ to their role/study commitments and who has exceeded all expectations. In addition, the winners will have shown exceptional potential in a particular area and impressed their placement and/or study host(s) with their commitment and development over the course of their placement(s).

Entry requirements

• You must be a WBS undergraduate student in your final year
• All submissions in this category should relate to an optional placement year or compulsory year abroad which took place across 2023-24 from a WBS (home degree) student. This includes BSc Management, Accounting and Finance and International Management students.
• You must read the WBS Application & Scoring Criteria

How to enter

The process is simple, it's free to enter and there are prizes awarded to recognise outstanding achievements. Students must submit an application for the most appropriate category. If you are unsure which category to apply for, please contact

1. Read the full privacy disclaimer and questions/application questions which are included at the application link
2. Complete the following application form – please do not exceed the word count for each section/answer as you will be marked down for this

The rules

1. All submissions in this category should relate to an optional placement year or compulsory year abroad which took place across 2023-24 from a WBS (home degree) student. This includes BSc Management, Accounting and Finance, and International Management students
2. Judges reserve the right to request additional material to support claims made in any nomination and contact your previous employer(s)/host universities for references and if applicable
3. The organisers regret that the entries cannot be returned upon submission
4. By submitting this completed form, applicants agree for their application to be reviewed by a shortlisting and judging panel deemed appropriate by the WBS placements team
5. Applicants must have successfully completed the full duration of their experience(s) and what they initially registered on their WBS approval process/plans
6. Content included in any completed applications and shortlisted presentations should relate to those experiences which were officially approved by WBS

7. ChatGPT and/or other similar AI platforms must not be used to submit your application

8. The winners and shortlisted applicants will be expected to take part in interviews and photo shoots to promote the year away offering at WBS
9. Shortlisted applicants must be available to attend the in-person presentations and awards ceremony on campus on Wednesday 6th November 2024
10. Applicants should have kept actively engaged with the WBS placements team throughout the duration of your year away and represented WBS in a positive manner across all experiences
11. You were not subject to any disciplinary or performance management review procedures and all check-ins from both yourself and with your employer/partner institute with the WBS placements team were all conducted positively
12. To avoid a conflict of interest, applicants must not currently be working in any kind of paid capacity for the WBS Undergraduate Programme (specifically the International/Placements team) or the CareersPlus & External Relations team e.g. any of the Careers Ambassador roles
13. The judges’ decisions in the shortlisting process and during the awards evening are final

Considerations

• Have you undertaken a proactive and self-reflective role in working and to develop professional relationships with others?
• Have you obtained any appropriate skills necessary to undertake a higher research degree and/or for employment in a higher capacity in industry or area of professional practice (including anything that is specific on an international scale if you undertook a year abroad)?
• Are you able to evaluate your own overall achievement and that of others that you worked/studied alongside?

We recommend you prepare your answers on a word document and check your word count for each answer before uploading them to this form. You will also have the option to save your form, revisit this and make changes before submitting.

Application deadline

Midnight Wednesday 26th June 2024

Application form

Quick Links

• Application Process
• Shortlisted Candidates
• Award categories
• Entry requirements
• How to enter
• Rules
• Considerations
• Application deadline
• Application form
• Application & Scoring CriteriaLink opens in a new window
• UoW Privacy notice

Key Dates

• Applications open - 16th May
• Deadline - Midnight 26th June
• Shortlist announced - Mid July
• Student presentations - 6th Nov
• Awards Ceremony - 6th Nov