Prestigious UK Honour for Belfast MET

Belfast Metropolitan College received the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize – a UK-wide award which recognises excellence, innovation and public benefit in the work which is carried out by UK Colleges and Universities. The 2020 Awards Ceremony recently took place at Buckingham Palace with the award being presented by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

 

This is the first time Belfast Met has received the Queen’s Anniversary Prize; receiving the honour for leading in the development of the Digital IT Curriculum in Northern Ireland. It is only one of four Further Education Colleges to have received the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in Round 13 (2018-2020). Belfast is fast becoming recognised as a centre for ICT and professional and business services.  Belfast Met’s success in this space has resulted in the College being designated the lead Digital ICT Hub for Northern Ireland by the Department for Economy under its Curriculum Hub initiative.  Belfast Met continues to make a vital contribution to ‘leading the city to work’ through training and the delivery of Employability Skills, as well as working to meet regional skills development needs aligned to the Belfast City Region Deal.

 

Marie Therese McGivern, Principal and Chief Executive of Belfast Met said: “Belfast Met are honoured to receive our first Queen’s Anniversary Prize for our work in developing a world class IT talent pipeline in Northern Ireland. We look forward to continue working in partnership with businesses in developing skills that will support economic growth in Belfast and beyond.”

 

Damian Duffy, Director of Development at Belfast Met said, “This accolade comes on the back of Belfast Met winning a number of national awards for employer engagement in recent years. There has not been a more exciting time to be working in the Further Education Sector in Northern Ireland, and Belfast Met continues to lead the way in terms of national standing in the digital ICT space.”

 

The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes have been running for over 25 years recognising outstanding work by UK Colleges and Universities that show quality and innovation through education and training. The Prizes are the highest national Honour awarded in UK further and higher education with prizes granted by The Queen every two years. Belfast Metropolitan College is the largest Further and Higher Education College in Northern Ireland, providing education, training and skills to enhance individual, community and economic success www.belfastmet.ac.uk