Queen Margaret University shortlisted for Times award

Queen Margaret University (QMU) has become the only university in Scotland to have been shortlisted for the 2014 Times Higher Education Leadership & Management award in the Outstanding Finance Team category.

A total of  six universities from throughout the UK have been nominated for this award.

Known as the THELMAS, these prestigious awards celebrate the higher education sector’s leadership, management, financial and business skills.

The other three Edinburgh universities are all nominated in separate sections.

University of Edinburgh is nominated for the Outstanding International Strategy award and for the Outstanding Marketing/Communications Team.

Edinburgh Napier University is nominated for the Outstanding Estates Team.

Heriot-Watt University is nominated in the Outstanding Human Resources Team section.

With categories covering everything from International Strategy to Student Services, from Fundraising to HR, and from Estates to Admissions, the awards showcase the extraordinary innovation, teamwork and commercial acumen of UK higher education institutions.

Through participation in a national pilot on financial sustainability reporting, transformation of working practices and adoption of a business-partnering model, QMU’s finance team has achieved significant success in supporting the development of the University’s financial strategy in recent years.

With a continued overriding focus on sustainability, QMU was the first Scottish university to submit a positive annual sustainability assurance report to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in 2012/13, for which it was highly commended by the SFC for its proactive approach.

QMU is now able to address the future with confidence, and is currently defining its vision for 2025, the University’s 150th anniversary. This project, called QM150, will provide new challenges for QMU’s finance team, to transform the way it operates to provide additional support for the longer-term strategic priorities associated with QM150.

Commenting on the shortlist announcement, Malcolm Cutt, Director of Operations & Finance at QMU, said: “This is excellent news for QMU and reflects the significant progress that our Finance team has made over the last couple of years. It is also fitting recognition for the excellent contribution made by all the members of the Finance team”.

“We’ve now got our fingers firmly crossed for scooping the top accolade at the awards ceremony in London on June 17th.”

The overall award winners will be announced at a special ceremony in London on June 17th.