Last night, CCCU hosted the Annual Business Awards which recognised the outstanding contribution that businesses and community partners make to the university. Nominees and guests were invited to the ceremony in Augustine House to receive their awards.

Emily Lau, the Partnership Development Lead, for the Faculty of Education, nominated Support & Action To End Domestic Abuse (SATEDA) which has supported students on the BA Counselling, Coaching and Mentoring to gain practical experience. SATEDA is a domestic abuse charity who counsel and mentor children, teenagers and adults who have suffered domestic violence. Their programmes include domestic abuse support for victims, educational programmes in school and support for families at the Family Courts.

Here is what Emily wrote in her nomination:
“I would like to nominate SATEDA as charity of the year based on the outstanding dedication they have shown to my students on the BA Coaching, Counselling and Mentoring practice. One of the student’s modules is focused on Professional Practice and SATEDA have been an amazing charity, who have taken time away from their busy daily operations, to invest in creating important learning experiences for my students. The charity provided over five students with a placement opportunity that allowed them to see group programmes for parents and young people in action; this has inspired many of the students thinking about future careers and volunteering. Sue, one of their facilitators took time to come into the university a number of times to meet with students one to one to follow up their questions. Carey, Jo and Matt gave up a whole afternoon to run a round table with students providing open and honest realities about how they got into the profession and their work. Experiences reflecting on the realities of practice support Coaching, Counselling and Mentoring students to understand and navigate their way to a job, it is an invaluable learning experience and I thank SATEDA wholeheartedly.”

The Faculty of Education are delighted that SATEDA have been recognised with this award and thank them for their outstanding contribution to supporting our students.