JISC

Britain’s six most sustainable ICT projects within the higher and further education sectors have been shortlisted as part of the final stage of the annual Green Gown Awards.

Now in their fifth year, 2009 is the first time that the awards have included a Green ICT category, inviting universities and colleges to demonstrate how technology can be used to enhance and improve environmental performance.

The shortlisted candidates for the JISC sponsored Green ICT category are:

• University of Bradford – Second life, staff and students join forces in the real world to recover and refurbish ICT equipment
• Cardiff University – ARCCA Datacentre – A green supercomputer facility at Cardiff University
• City and Islington College – Green ICT service
• University of Plymouth  - PlymDESK5: Enhancing the University’s Green Credentials with a full life-cycle desktop service
• Queen Margaret University – RE:LOCATE thin-client project

The successful candidates underwent a rigorous assessment, involving 30 expert judges drawn from a range of relevant institutions including JISC, the Carbon Trust, the Learning and Skills Council and Universities UK.  Those shortlisted will now be invited to submit a stage two application along with additional support materials.

The winners within each category will be announced at a prestigious annual awards dinner to be held at the Imperial College London on 23rd June 2009 in the presence of UK Minister for Higher Education and Intellectual Property, David Lammy MP. 

Commenting on the Green Gown Awards shortlist, Iain Patton, Executive Director of the EAUC, the administrators of the scheme, said, “We are delighted by the fantastic response we have had to the awards this year.  In total we received 178 applications, drawn from nearly 100 institutions – representing over a third of the sector as a whole.  In fact, applications have increased by more than 200% since the scheme first launched in 2004.

“The high response level and impressive standard of entries, underlines the value and recognition that winning offers, while also highlighting the growing importance of sustainability within the fields of further and higher education.”

The Awards are administrated by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) and are governed by a cross agency steering group made up of Association of Colleges (AoC), Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE), British Universities Finance Directors Group (BUFDG), Guild HE, Higher Education Environmental Performance Improvement (HEEPI), Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), National Union of Students Services Ltd (NUSSL) and Universities UK (UUK).

Further information on the awards