The international awards celebrate outstanding learning technologies that accelerate education across all sectors.
Despite tough competition, RESILIENCE was awarded gold in the ‘Best learning technologies project - public & non-profit sector’ category.
RESILIENCE is a UK government programme designed to fill the acute skills gap in medicines manufacturing.
It uses VR technology to engage, excite, and attract young people to choose a career in the sector.
Judges described RESILIENCE as: “A very ambitious project that impressed the judges with its stellar use of technology to meet its stated outcomes.”
They said: “Impact data was well-articulated and the use of innovation to address crucial skills shortages shone through in the submission.”
The two-year, £4.5 million programme, is run by Innovate UK (part of DSIT). It is UK-wide, with partners including UCL, Teesside University and Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.
Now into its second year, the programme has already see 1,500 trainees attend industry relevant training events led by Resilience partners, 15,000 students from across the UK participate in training and outreach activities through 170 events, and 75 future sector leaders from 23 organisations develop skills through leadership accelerator programmes.
Furthermore, 66 per cent of future leaders across the leadership accelerator programme identified as female and 45 per cent of future leaders across the leadership accelerator programme came from BAME backgrounds.
Professor Ivan Wall, co-director of Resilience, said: “This award is a testament to some overwhelmingly positive results from the RESILIENCE programme as we move into the latter stages.
“The number of future medicine makers we’ve reached is astounding.
“Over fifteen hundred trainees have developed skills that will allow them to thrive in their careers in the medicines manufacturing sector.
“On top of that, over 15,000 students have gained meaningful skills and knowledge for a potential career path, in which there are significant skills shortages.”
As well as bridging the skills gap, Resilience is helping the NHS to meet its long-term goal of achieving net zero.
25 per cent of NHS emissions are in the supply chain, and VR will help the industry deliver net zero medicines manufacturing by reducing laboratory waste.
The medicines manufacturing sector is worth billions of pounds to the UK economy, and supports over 300,000 jobs, according to Sir Patrick Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation.
