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    No matter what you look for in a university, here are the best in the UK for each criteria. Source: Shutterstock

    The winners of The Guardian University Awards 2018 were announced this week, showcasing the very best of what the UK has to offer in terms of equality, employability, curriculum design and much more.

    The awards are given out on an annual basis to recognise the most innovative universities in the UK in ways typical rankings just don’t showcase.

    So, no matter what attracts you to a university, you’re likely to find it below. Here are the universities topping the UK charts in a range of criteria. Here are the results in full:

    Category Winner Runner(s)-up
    Advancing staff equality University of Strathclyde Glasgow Caledonian University

    University of Sheffield

    Buildings that inspire University of Hull Newcastle University

    Norwich University of the Arts

    Business collaboration Heriot-Watt University University of Kent

    University of Lincoln

    Course and curriculum design University of Huddersfield University of Salford

    University of the West of Scotland

    Digital innovation Open University Imperial College London

    University of Greenwich

    Employability and entrepreneurship Falmouth University Sheffield Business School

    The Royal Agricultural University

    Internationalisation University of Central Lancashire Birmingham City University

    The University of Nottingham

    Marketing and comms campaign London School of Economics and Political Science De Montfort University Leicester

    Loughborough University

    Research impact University of Exeter Heriot-Watt University

    University of Glasgow

    Retention, support and student outcomes University of Strathclyde Solent University

    York St John University

    Social and community impact

     

    Swansea University De Montfort University Leicester

    University of Manchester

    University of Sheffield

    Student experience University of Surrey University of Stirling

    York St John University

    Sustainability project University of Plymouth University of Manchester
    Teaching excellence

     

    Open University Coventry University

    University of Surrey

    Widening access and outreach

     

    Birkbeck, University of London Nottingham Trent University

    University of Sunderland

    Inspiring leader award Mary Stuart, Vice-Chancellor, University of Lincoln

    The Guardian added new categories this year, including ‘widening access and outreach’ and ‘course and curriculum design’, in order to keep up with the rapidly-evolving world of higher education.

    The social and community impact category received the most submissions this year and was won by Swansea which helped out local National Health Services (NHS) by running an open clinic maintained by students and staff.

    The employability and entrepreneurship categories were merged together this year to test how universities marry the two – educating and encouraging students to find suitable employment or to create it for themselves. Falmouth University came in first place with a photography agency set up by students which allows students to gain valuable experience working with real clients, including Sony.

    You can read the full details of the universities’ projects in The Guardian’s ideas bank.

    Are there any other factors you think should be considered when picking a university? Let us know at editor@hybrid.co or tweet us at @Study_INTNL

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