Top Award For Lichfield Campus Student

The highest marks in Staffordshire have led Lichfield Campus student Paul Scandrett to be named as the Staffordshire University HND Student of the Year - the fifth time the award has been presented to a Lichfield Campus computing student in the last eight years.

Paul received the award for a top-up HND in Applied Information Technology that followed a two year HNC course in the same subject. He completed both courses on a part time basis, combining them with a full time position as a computer technician at Queen Mary’s Grammar School in Walsall.

“Having to fit in a full time job with this course has proven very demanding. The biggest reward was in knowing that I had finished my projects to a standard that I was happy with. The award was an unexpected surprise,” he said.

Paul, of Bloxwich, studied for the qualifications alongside his brother David, who also achieved the HND. David is now looking to move from his current administration job into a more specialised computer environment.

“We attended college two nights a week for the full three years and also had a lot of work to complete in our own time. The facilities at Lichfield Campus were excellent and the tutors were very helpful. I feel that although it was hard it was all worth it in the end” said Paul, aged 27.

“I can’t quite believe I’ve won the Student of the Year, but it’s great to know that all the effort paid off. After I received the news my family had a good night out to celebrate and they are looking forward to attending the graduation ceremony at Lichfield Cathedral. I did think I’d take it easy for a while after all the studying, but now I’m thinking about going on to top this course up to a degree!”

Programme Manager (Computing and Electronics) at Lichfield Campus, Glynis Allen said, “We were delighted to hear about Paul’s achievement - he really deserved it. We have a good record of students doing well here at Lichfield and I think it definitely shows that with commitment and a will to succeed, anything is possible for students who want to improve their skills and qualifications.”

Paul Scandrett is presented with his prize and certificate by Prof Mike Goodwin, BSc(Hons), PhD, CEng, FIMechE, Dean of the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Technology.