Edinburgh Award 2024

The Edinburgh Award is a programme that students can undertake alongside their commitments within sports clubs. The Award aims to recognise student involvement in these activities and enhance their experiences. The EUSU versions of the Awards encourage students to develop the skills they use in volunteering and coaching roles, making them more employable when they graduate.

Skills development is vital for students as it equips them with the tools needed to thrive in an ever-evolving world. It fosters adaptability, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities, preparing them for future challenges. Cultivating skills enhances employability, promotes innovation, and empowers individuals to contribute meaningfully to society's progress and prosperity.

EUSU Leadership Edinburgh Award

The ‘Leadership’ version of the Award is designed for volunteers within our 70 club committees. Students take on a range of roles to ensure the smooth-running of sports clubs throughout the academic year. Taking on this responsibility requires them to develop leadership attributes, and this version of the Award supports that. These students participated in workshops delivered by experts in leadership, conflict resolution, and personal effectiveness, in addition to taking ownership of their own skills development. Special thanks to Colin Thomson, Teaching Fellow at Moray House School of Education and Sport, and Ross Simpson, Deputy Chef de Mission for GB Students Summer World University Games, for delivering these sessions.

Best thing I've learned: True leaders are more about lifting others than lifting themselves.

EUSU Coaching Edinburgh Award

The ‘Coaching’ Award was introduced this year, with the aim of supporting the development of some of the 350+ coaches involved with EUSU clubs. Coaching sport requires a wealth of skills that are relevant and transferrable to the workplace, including managing teams/individuals, having difficult conversations, and developing people. In addition to the skills development aspect, Matilda Mayne, Head of Sport Psychology, delivered a two-part sport psychology module helping our coaches gain an awareness of their coaching style and how to get the best out of their teams.

The work of the Coaching and Volunteering Academy encompasses the delivery of the Edinburgh Award and reinforces the impact that student sport can have on employability and positive destinations.

The Edinburgh Award is a great way to meet like-minded ambitious students and develop key transferable skills that will be very useful in the workplace. It has taught me to self-reflect on my goals, what steps I will take to achieve them, and how successful I have been in the end. It is a constant process of self-development that has helped me recognize my strengths and develop my weaknesses to hopefully become an employee that all recruiters seek.