The Birmingham Award: Showcase your skills and gain recognition

The Birmingham Award is the University of Birmingham's recognised free employability skills award for undergraduate students. Endorsed by graduate employers, the award supports you to develop and recognise the skills you gain through extra-curricular activities.

There are over 200 activities you can recognise such as: part-time work, fundraising, volunteering, sports, content creating, caring or being part of a society committee.

The online award is completly flexible and so you can shape it around you. Enrol on the award anytime and complete in any undergraduate year. Find out more below and if you have any questions not answered on this page, get in touch with us at thebirminghamaward@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

2nd year BSc Environmental Science student

“A fantastic opportunity to develop employability skills, and push yourself to try new experiences.”

The Birmingham Award team run supportive events througout the year. Visit The Birmingham Award Events page for more details.

 

How to complete The Birmingham Award

You can complete The Birmingham Award through a Pathway on Careers Connect.

You will be required to complete the following steps on the Pathway:

  • Complete an enrolment form
  • Work through The Birmingham Award informational activities
  • Assessment 1: Declare participation in four extra-curricular activities and outline an achievement for each 
  • Assessment 2: Submit a CV or LinkedIn profile, outlining the four extra-curricular activities
  • Assessment 3: Submit a written or video answer to a competency-based assessment question

The Birmingham Award Team will provide support throughout the completion process with written feedback given.

Extra-curricular activities

The Birmingham Award offers you the opportunity to get involved in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities. We recognise the diverse range of experiences students get involved in so the award has been designed to be flexible and recognise a broad spectrum of activities, both on and off campus. 

There are currently over 200 activities recognised through The Birmingham Award, including off-campus opportunities such as part-time work and volunteering. 

Birmingham Award students gain exclusive access to a database of these activities, where you can search for activities that you might be interested in. You will gain access to this database once you have enrolled on the award. 

If you participate in an activity that doesn't appear on the list, you can contact The Birmingham Award Team to enquire about whether it could be recognised. 

Employer supporters

The Birmingham Award is proud to be endorsed by our employer supporters. The employers who support The Birmingham Award have been selected to reflect the diverse range of students who participate in the award.

You will have the opportunity to attend employer sessions to gain an insight into the industry sector and graduate recruitment processes. 

Key dates and deadlines

Enrolment

  • Enrolment is open anytime throughout the year.
  • Enrolment for final year students will close on 5 March 2024.
  • Enrolment for first and penultimate year students will close at the end of the academic year on 21 June 2024.

Completion

Students can complete the award in any undergraduate year. There are two options for deadlines to complete The Birmingham Award:

  • 19 March 2024

If you are in your final year, you must complete all stages of The Birmingham Award by 19 March 2024 otherwise you will be unable to complete the award.

Benefits of The Birmingham Award

  • Gain support and feedback in articulating your skills to graduate recruiters
  • Develop your transferable employability skills in a completely flexible way, aligned to your own interests 
  • Find out what you can get involved in on campus outside of your degree
  • Improve your confidence by gaining new skills and meeting new people
  • Gain formal recognition of activities you already undertake outside of your degree
  • The Birmingham Award is a certificated award that appears on your final degree transcript and can enhance your CV and LinkedIn profile
  • Network with employer supporters and find out what attributes they look for in students and graduates when recruiting
  • Gain personalised feedback on your application form or interview answer as part of our flexible and authentic assessment process
  • Access an enriched programme of practical hints and tips on how to be successful in a recruitment process 
  • Receive a digital certificate upon completion of The Birmingham Award

The Birmingham Award Student of the Year

Students who complete The Birmingham Award will have the opportunity to submit a video to nominate themselves as The Birmingham Award Student of the Year.

Students can nominate themselves in categories which will be aligned to The Birmingham Graduate Attributes. 

The Birmingham Award Team will create a shortlist for each category and winners for each category will be selected by a panel of The Birmingham Award Team and our employer supporters.

A winner will be selected for each category and they will each receive: 

  • A £100 voucher
  • A Student of the Year digital certificate  
  • A personal LinkedIn recommendation from a member of the judging panel 
  • Personal feedback from the employer supporters 

The deadline to submit your Student of the Year video is 19 March 2024. Details and submission information will be available through The Birmingham Award Pathway.