Volunteer Awards 2025

It's time for the 2025 Volunteer Awards! Nominations are now open! Vote below:

What are the volunteer awards?

The Volunteer Awards are an annual celebration of the volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make your university experience better. We celebrate our Society Leaders, Class Reps, Department Officers and a whole host of others who give up their time to make things run smoothly and make the student experience better for others.

Nominations period closes Friday 7th March

the 2025 Volunteer Awards:

Stefan Kay Volunteer of the Year Award

The winner of this award is a student volunteer who has excelled in their capacity as a representative of Heriot-Watt University and Student Union, exceeding the expectations of their role, cultivating an on-campus environment that is supportive and inclusive, and demonstrating an impressive degree of effort and innovative ideas.

Principal’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Student Community

The winner of this award helped to get the student community involved with Heriot-Watt, demonstrated impressive effort and thought, and had a measurable impact on the Heriot-Watt community

Principal’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community

The winner of this award helped to get the local community involved with Heriot-Watt, demonstrated impressive effort and thought, and had a measurable impact on the local community.

Department Officer of the Year

The winner of this award helped enact positive change to the learning and teaching experience of their department, fostered a healthy relationship between their classmates and staff, and consistently engaged in meetings and training sessions, relaying the results to their classmates.

Society of the Year

The winner of this award has maintained high engagement with members, promoted inclusivity and diversity through its activities, demonstrated excellent teamwork between members, committee members, and / or other societies, and demonstrated innovation in its activities building and improving on the successes of previous years.

New Society of the Year

The winner of this award has shown successful growth and engagement, held innovative and creative events, worked in collaboration with other societies or groups, and demonstrated effective leadership and management to secure future growth.

The Watt Club Award for Academic Enhancement

The winner of this award has had a positive influence on the academic achievements of their fellow students, was supportive and inclusive throughout the calendar year, and proactively addressed issues and concerns that were raised by other students.

Event of the Year

The winner of this award showed creativity, ambition, and originality, provided a friendly and welcoming environment, saw strong engagement from the student community, positively impacted attendees and / or the student experience at Heriot-Watt, and was well-organised with excellent planning and execution.

Postgraduate Research Rep of the Year

The winner of this award attended and contributed to meetings and training sessions, and communicated the outcomes of these to students, led or supported work which inspired tangible change or impact, and supported their fellow students academically and / or professionally.

Postgraduate Taught Rep of the Year

The winner of this award attended and contributed to meetings and training sessions, and communicated the outcomes of these to students, led or supported work which inspired tangible change or impact, and supported their fellow students academically and / or professionally.

Undergraduate Class Rep of the Year

The winner of this award attended and contributed to meetings and training sessions, and communicated the outcomes of these to students, led or supported work which inspired tangible change or impact, and supported their fellow students academically and / or professionally.

Society Leader of the Year

The winner of this award has shown outstanding leadership qualities, introduced innovative ideas to enhance society activities, fostered a sense of inclusivity and belonging among members and the wider student community, and has left a lasting legacy through their impact on both the society's members and the wider student community.

Open Door Award

The winner of this award created a safe and inclusive space for students, physically or digitally, supported the physical and mental wellbeing of students, and helped to tackle the increasing issue of loneliness and isolation among university students.

Community Engagement Award

The winner of this award may have managed social media that is relevant, interactive, and a positive reflection on Heriot-Watt, helped to get fellow students involved with societies, events, or extracurriculars, or otherwise contributed to measurable benefits for their community

Innovations in Sustainability Award

The winner of this award has promoted new ideas for sustainable practices, led initiatives and activities which have produced a measurable impact on the sustainability of Heriot-Watt, and helped encourage other students and staff to be more sustainable.

Hours awards

At the volunteer awards we also celebrate the milestones volunteers have reached with the hours awards:

Bronze Award - 50 hours and 5 employability skills
Silver Award - 100 hours and 5 employability skills
Gold Award - 200 hours and 6 employability skills
Platinum Award - 300 hours and 6 employability skills
Ruby Award - 400 hours and 7 employability skills
Diamond Award - 500 hours and 7 employability skills

These are based on the hours logged at the student union website, so if you're a volunteer please make sure your hours are up to date! If you want a refresher on how to log hours check out our guide here! When you're logging your skills, make sure to log them across different categories for them to count.

Nominations for the Annual Student Oscars are open too! You can nominate here

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