The People of CAHSS Awards 2025 brought together collegues from across the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences to celebrate exceptional contributions to the University of Edinburgh. McEwan Hall was filled with pride and celebration as colleagues from across the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS) came together for this year’s People of CAHSS Awards. The annual event honours individuals and teams whose contributions help make the University of Edinburgh an inspiring place to work and study.We were pleased to be joined by senior leaders, including Professor Sarah Prescott, Vice Principal and Head of CAHSS, Principal and Vice Chancellor Peter Mathieson, and College Registrar Heather Lawrence, who helped present the awards on the day. Recognising outstanding contributions This year, the scheme received 1,007 nominations, showcasing the extraordinary efforts taking place across the College. Nominations were submitted by colleagues in academic, professional services, and technical roles, representing all career stages.The judging panel had a tough job choosing winners from such an inspiring group of nominees. Alongside the award recipients, many individuals and teams were also recognised as Highly Commended – a clear sign of just how much amazing work is happening across CAHSS. A Student-led design with meaning This year’s event saw the continued collaboration with Edinburgh College of Art (ECA). The 2025 trophies were designed and produced by a team of third-year Product Design students: Elena Prentice, Henry (Zhuo Chen), Katy Pilling, Ellie Small, and Cosmo.Working under the guidance of Course Organiser Richard Thompson, Programme Director Isla Munro, and Head of the School of Design Jessamy Kelly, the students created trophies that reflect the essence of the awards. Their design was inspired by three core themes:CommunityDiversityThe structure of CAHSSThese values are embedded in the trophies’ materials, colour palettes, and form – resulting in a piece that is both symbolic and functional.Take a look at the behind-the-scenes video showcasing the design and making process of this year's trophies. Each year students at Edinburgh College of Art studying Product Design pitch to make the trophy for the People of CAHSS Awards. In 2025, the students themed their concept around the community and diversity that are held within the structure of CAHSS, with a final product that literally breaks the mould - just like our people. View media transcript Our project was inspired by cast, so we wanted to make a trophy that was a celebration. So the three themes that we identified were community, diversity, and then the overall structure of cast. So there are three aspects of the design that we really wanted to bring into the trophy, and these are represented in different ways, from the materials to the use of colour to the actual structure of the trophy. For community, we decided to weave thread into the perbck piece, and each thread represents a person. And together, they show how people at class are all connected. And the different designs, patterns and colours show that everyone is unique, but still part of something bigger. In between our two pieces of cast Jasminite, we have a sheet of fuse glass, which is held together in the structure, which sort of breaks out of the structure of Jasminite shape of the square. We have this sort of organically shaped glass coming out of it. Each piece of glass is unique and individual, which we think also really represents the individual nature of everyone who works in cats. A design communicates the structure of cast through its kind of, like, square frame around the outside, which contrasts with the inner kind of weaving workings that show all the people that come together to make cast, what it is. We hope that our trophy represents the unique and important individuals being celebrated at the Cast Awards. My favourite aspect of the trophy is the intricate form through the centre of the piece and the strong bold borders around the edges. The centre of the trophy brings focus through the middle of it, where the woven fabrics and glass come together and light is able to shine through. I feel like this really brings the piece together and kind of highlights the complicated internal components of the trophy and cast as a community. Shared success The People of CAHSS Awards continue to grow and their success is made possible by the dedication of nominators, nominees, volunteer judges, and organising colleagues. Special thanks also go to the ECA students and academic staff whose creativity and collaboration added something truly special to this year’s event. Publication date 03 Jun, 2025