On March 28th, the Student Publication Association (SPA) held their annual awards ceremony, serving to recognise the outstanding work of student journalists and publications in the UK and Ireland. The awards are among the most prestigious in the region and are judged by industry professionals.
The University Times took home the win for “Best Website”. According to SPA, “The judges praised the University Times for ‘the success of its revamp which had led to a commendable uplift in reach”. They said, “UT certainly punches above its weight. Making it SEO friendly has paid off massively. This website doesn’t just serve the student population; it has a massive overseas following, especially in the States. There’s an international focus, as well as inclusivity and down-to-earth reporting of news and local sport”.
The category was judged by Barnie Choudhury, a former BBC journalist and editor-at-large for Eastern Eye, and Julian Sturdy, the Investigations Editor for BBC East’s Impact Hub.
This marks the first time a publication from Ireland has won a publication award at SPA, and the second time an individual from the University Times has won an award. At the ceremony, the Apiary Magazine from Queen’s University Belfast won Best Specialist Publication, and, alongside the University Times, became the first publication on the Island to win a publication award from the SPA.
University Times delegates were unable to attend the ceremony, held at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, but watched along on a live stream. The only delegate from the Republic of Ireland at the ceremony was a representative from the Student Independent News at the University of Galway, who accepted the award on behalf of the University Times. The delegate said, “Well done to the University Times and up Ireland!”
The other winner for the University Times was Harper Alderson, who won the Billy Dowling-Reid Award for Outstanding Commitment.
The University Times’s application, presented by the Chair of the Editorial Board, Noa Shmueli, emphasised the increase in the quantity of articles published this year, the clean design of the website, the new puzzle section, a 40 per cent increase in viewers from last year, and a vast global reach extending throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia.
In a comment to the University Times, Shmueli said the following: “We are incredibly proud to be representing Irish student journalism through our website. We’ve worked hard to be an outlet that’s both relevant for Trinity students and in touch with wider issues, and it’s amazing to see this being recognised by this important award across the UK and Ireland. This past year we’ve had over half a million website viewers all around the world, expanded our digital As Gaeilge section and introduced an interactive puzzle archive. It’s just fantastic to see the engagement with all these and Irish student journalism making a ripple in the wider online space.”
