I first spoke to Greg O'Shea during my second year studies about the possibility of taking an internship through the summer of August 2011. This idea soon formed into something much more attainable with a scheduled interview with the then Director of Research Rob Willis.

The interview was nerve wracking as whilst I had attended many job interviews, an interview for a research position was within my unknown. Not being sure what to expect, I went along with another student to discuss what areas I was interested in within my degree and examined what research options were available.

It was after this interview that I met with my new team; Dr. Beatriz Acevedo and Romas Malevicius. From that moment on I knew I was in for an exciting ride. Dr. Acevedo and I scoped out what my research assistant role was, how best to conduct the research and what the end product should look like. The next few months saw my research methods advance quickly to adapt to the fast approaching deadlines set by Dr. Acevedo, a method we adopted together as it was clear I worked best under pressure.

Being part of the Go Green team; Beatriz, Laura, Luis, Romas and Souvenir was such a fantastic experience. It enabled us to work as a team through a variety of events; from travelling down to Hastings to gather research on two of the participating companies, to spending every Friday morning at 8am in Costa to update how our research is going and challenge each other's ideas. Being a part of this new project group was so enlightening for both my personal development and my professional knowledge on the topic.

After completing the majority of the research assistant role, my focus turned to my dissertation. The research opportunity I had been given through Anglia Ruskin enabled me to focus my dissertation topic very early on and therefore put me in good stead to spread the workload out for the year ahead. Not many students are able to really pull apart a topic like I did and not only did being part of the Go Green team help me focus my dissertation and have a large base of research to use, it provided a great support network of students and staff when times inevitably got tough. With such a diverse group, whatever support was needed there was always someone on hand to help.

The pilot drew to a close when the student team handed in our dissertations and bid farewell, but it wasn't all over for me. Still working with Dr. Acevedo, I was given the opportunity to attend the British Academy of Management (BAM) Conference 2012 in Cardiff to support the proposal of a development paper. Participating in the conference was a priceless and unforgettable experience. I seized the opportunity to challenge Keynote speaker Prof. Jeffrey Pfeffer on the topic of integrated work experience within the education system. BAM also provided a platform to speak to Academics from across the globe on topics ranging from sustainability to performance management and get a real insight to what it is like to focus on research and the opportunities that can come from it.

This is further recognition of the class-leading characteristics of the MA Corporate Governance which has been consistently commended by external examiners for its content and coverage. Graduates of the course now receive an academic award of the highest calibre, a professional qualification and tuition in commercial software recognised as a sound platform for further development.

This work-based degree programme is an excellent example of how the Lord Ashcroft International Business School is successfully developing its practice-based agenda and employer engagement activity.

David is an excellent role model for our students and is a worthy winner of the 2012 Alumni Success in Business Award. Constantly pushing himself to succeed within new business environments and challenges, David has a bight future of entrepreneurial success ahead of him. From his Business Administration degree at Anglia Ruskin, to managing a multi-national company with over £15 million turnover and setting up his own business, David has brought exceptional skills, capabilities and dedication to both his studies and his career.

I am delighting to be joining Anglia Ruskin University at a time when we are making a significant investment to develop research and business engagement within the Business School.

It is truly an exciting time, and as a leading entrepreneurial university I am looking forward to working closely with our business community and ensuring that we are delivering research, enterprise and innovation which can contribute directly to both our economy and society.

When I was looking to invest in renewable energy, I found it really difficult to find the community projects. It was so frustrating. I eventually found and talked to some co-operatives and 'community benefit' societies and I realised then how burdensome they find attracting investors and the administration that comes with it. So I could see that something had to be done to help.

Microgenius is designed to simplify the process for both projects and investors. It is a web-based platform that has been specially developed to manage the administration of fundraising and also to make it possible to reach a much wider range of people with the share offer.

Sheffield Renewables is a great example of the type of community energy project that Microgenius aims to support. A proportion of the shares will be sold through our platform simplifying the process for investors.

We are delighted to see the progress Emily has made since being awarded the CEDAR Enterprise Fellowship in 2011. She has taken her initial idea to a national launch in less than a year.

CEDAR specialises in finding and supporting true entrepreneurship, which is about having a positive attitude, being tenacious, and not being afraid to try out new ideas and approaches, which are all traits Emily has aplenty. We are very excited to see this beta site launching.

Fast-flowing water was the powerhouse that started Sheffield's steel industry. Sheffield Renewables is drawing on that heritage and inspiration to create an entrepreneurial community with an interest in sustainable energy and developing hydroelectric generation.

Our Jordan Dam hydro project aims to generate 310,000kWh of electricity a year, the amount used by 80 typical family homes, and save the 170 tonnes of carbon-dioxide that would otherwise have been produced. It is the first in a number of local renewable energy initiatives.

Profits from the scheme will support local environmental projects, so by purchasing shares, investors will be contributing to creating a greener, more sustainable city. Investors will become members of Sheffield Renewables and gain an equal vote in how it is run. We plan to offer a modest rate of interest and have a target of 3% plus tax relief.

We have strong grass roots support from the Sheffield community but want to expand our membership. Microgenius is exciting as it offers a new way for people to engage in community energy generation across the UK.

We are aiming to bring 'green heat' to South Hereford and have set up the co-operative to involve the wider community. Already we have over 100 prospective members and have negotiated a contract with a local supplier of wood chips from a sustainable source.

Capital is required to purchase the first boiler and we are well on the way to achieve this through the share offer. By teaming up with Microgenius we hope to reach a wider community and attract more members and support for the project before the share offer closes on 28 September.

"During her teaching career of almost 20 years, Beatriz has developed a range of challenging and innovative learning techniques and methodologies that delight and stretch our students. She is an excellent and innovative teacher who, for example, has trained students to become eco-auditors and set them assessment tasks that required them to audit our university's eco-credentials. Her work with students resulted in a greener campus in Cambridge. She also uses arts-based methodologies to inform her teaching, which has exposed business school students to enlightening challenges. Beatriz is an example of how engaging students to do more and better, results in students who are more satisfied, motivated and involved."

Once again I've been extremely impressed with the quantity and spread of ideas we've received from students and I'm very much looking forward to seeing our seven grand finalists pitch their ideas in front of a live audience on Thursday. It promises to be an exciting and extremely competitive evening.

We're delighted to brew Alena and Paula's entry for the Best Beer Competition. We've worked closely with them to translate their idea into a real beer with a distinctive flavour and character.

Traditional ale has a masculine image but light, sweet and fruity flavours can be created that are very appealing to women. We're using a New Zealand hop called Pacific Jade, which on its own tastes a little like Orangina, but when brewed together with a hop from the United States, called Galaxy, it produces a peach and passion fruit flavour. We think there's definitely a gap in the market for this kind of beer, which is a proper real ale but with a very low alcohol content. I think it will appeal not only to women but also students who like to have a drink but don't want to be hungover in their lectures the next morning!

I'm delighted with what Alena and Paula have achieved because they have taken this from a theoretical competition to an actual product, which is being brewed and then sold in Cambridge pubs. It's a great concept and it's lovely that there's the link to Cambridge through the name and the logo. The students have done really well so far and hopefully the judges in Belgium will love the beer when they get the chance to taste it next month.

I was honoured to apply for this award. I started working with Anglia Ruskin University in September 2008 and during this time I have developed some important aspects of my career as a lecturer and researcher; most importantly, I feel I am blossoming as a human being and as a member of this University community.
I start by highlighting three key aspects on the Early Career Researcher progression path:

Firstly, I have been able to find a topic that I am passionate about: sustainability. I have been applying some ideas regarding action learning, art and systems thinking in education for sustainable development with my students. I have innovated in promoting the engagement of students with processes of greening the campus as eco-auditors and developing skills for jobs in the green economy. Because of this work, I was granted the Vice Chancellor Inspire Award (2011) and the National Union of Students has praised it as 'best practice'. The expansion of this project is the basis for applying to several research grants and it will be presented at international conferences including the prestigious World Summit on Sustainable Development, 2012.

Secondly, I have established a network of colleagues, students and fellow academics to share ideas and exchange knowledge. Research is not a matter of a single person; it requires partners, friends and colleagues for thriving. I love working in inter-disciplinary teams and I have collaborated with the Anglia Ruskin Environmental Office, the Art Department, the Committee on Education for Sustainable Development, the Global Institute of Sustainability, Low Carbon KEEP, and with colleagues at LAIBS. In addition, I have worked with academics from British and international universities in applying for research grants, and I currently work in a partnership with the National Union of Students.

Thirdly, I believe in developing a culture of research in the sense of creating solid basis for students to develop their talents. For instance, 17 students have trained as eco-auditors and currently four students are working with me as co-researchers in the application of the Green Impact in three SMEs in the South-East of England. This experience is leading toward the creation of a research cluster on sustainability and I am supervising a PhD student doing research about how to include sustainability in the LAIBS.

Tom was working as a wedding photographer and had developed a system to run his business; enough people were impressed by it that we formed Light Blue Software to bring it to market. Three years on our software has reached v3, with a sizeable market both in the UK and around the world, and we have built a reputation for both top-notch software and excellent customer support. We are constantly developing our software to add new features and bring it to a wider audience, and the CEDAR funding and mentoring will be invaluable for the plans we have in 2012, helping us to speed our product development and bring other people on board.

To have a team of established entrepreneurs supporting me at such as early stage, not only financially but with their time and expertise, is a golden opportunity.

It was a great honour to be part of the GRLI conference and Daimler Student World Dialogue at the Carl Benz Arena in Stuttgart, Germany. The conference brought together 125 students from around the world as well as Daimler interns and was a great platform to discuss environmental issues, corporate social responsibility and global responsible leaders of today and tomorrow.

I believe my time at LAIBS was and will continue to be vital to my personal development and professional success. LAIBS academics push students to develop important critical analysis and practical application abilities, and share their experience-based knowledge so that every student who is willing to learn is not simply taught, they are educated. Moreover, the experience of learning in such a diverse environment is challenging and exciting, and is something that far too few people in the world get to experience.

Once again we have seen an exceptional field of nominations that recognise the vital role that students play in their local communities. Meeting these people and seeing the work they have done leaves you with a real sense of hope for the future and the fight to get more support for students from a cynical Government.

On hearing that I had been selected to receive a Vice Chancellor's Award I was delighted beyond words. For my work to be appreciated and recognised in this way is tremendous; I feel very honoured. I also greatly appreciate having been given the opportunity to work on such an exciting project through which I was not only able to contribute to corporate objectives and values but also achieve a long held vision of communicating with our students and stakeholders through wall art.

We are delighted to receive the VC Award for our team effort in promoting student involvement in eco-auditing practices. Our project began as an experiment about action learning on sustainability, which has grown during the last two years. This award evidences the spirit of the Faculty and Anglia Ruskin University in promoting innovative experiences and we feel valued in our efforts. Now we need to 'Go Green' even further!

We are delighted that Timberland have chosen this online work-based management degree to up-skill staff and provide retail career progression opportunities. The nature and delivery of our work-based courses are proving especially attractive to our clients in the retail sector because, without leaving the shop floor, students and their employers are able to enjoy the benefits of tutor supported learning, while developing their skills and abilities.

Excelsior College has been a leader in distance learning for 40 years because we deliver high quality education with instructors who have decades of experience in academia and the real world. Anglia Ruskin's similar track record of success makes this a natural partnership that allows both institutions to reach students interested in attaining the knowledge, skills and degrees to compete in the 21st century economy.

It was a great opportunity for our students to work alongside a charity like CHESS to give something back to the community. The skills they were able to gain during the course of the challenge will help prepare them for working life.

We're looking for entries from across every course and every campus. Students don't have to be studying business, as long as they are passionate and have a great idea, then they will be in with a chance of winning.

The first round of the competition is only open until the end of March, so we're asking faculty members and staff to help spread the word and promote the competition to students across the University to encourage plenty of brilliant entries - we need you!

I am delighted to have your presence here, and would like to thank you for honouring us today by presenting this wonderful award and opening our new college in this beautiful island which I regard as my second home.

Anglia Ruskin University had a flexible approach whereby they worked closely with us to map the Degree Programme content with the competencies that we wished to develop in our business. We chose a work-based degree programme specifically as it is perfect for experienced managers who can draw on real situations and can very quickly apply what they have learned. A big positive of choosing a work-based programme is that the work carried out by participants can link back to 'real' business issues and therefore add value back into the business. With our first workshops complete, I have heard nothing but praise about the quality and relevance of the tuition!

It has been so rewarding to work with Volvo CE in developing this programme. This new partnership is an indication of the innovation that has gone into the design of the work based pathways. The corporate programmes team look forward to working with the Volvo CE managers and helping them to further develop and refine their business knowledge and skills so that both the employees and the business will realise tangible benefits. I am sure this programme will be successful for both the individuals and Volvo CE as an organisation.

We are passionate about developing the talent working within the team here at Volvo CE. For many years we have searched for a degree programme that meets our needs and I am delighted we have found a solution. The benefits to both the individual and the business are significant and we look forward to working in partnership with the team at Anglia Ruskin University.

This is another superb example of businesses doing what they do best, leading by example. This degree programme will bring benefits to both the employees and the employers which is why this will be the natural choice for work-based learning for the future. Volvo CE has joined Harrods, Barclays and UPS in teaming up with Anglia Ruskin University to increase efficiencies and staff motivation through higher education.

We have developed this course after working really closely with social enterprises and the voluntary sector over the last three years. These organisations are now being asked to do even more just as their resources are being cut. We want to give their managers, trustees and other senior staff the skills they need to ensure their organisations survive, and are able to exploit the opportunities presented by the coalition's Big Society agenda.

As the programme is based on assessments it gives working adults a better opportunity to excel as they will not have to worry about time constrains when it comes to preparation for exams.