NWRC Wins Prestigious Queen Elizabeth Prize

North West Regional College (NWRC) has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Queen Elizabeth prize for Education, recognising its outstanding work in business support. 

The college’s Business Support Team was chosen for the honour, acknowledging their work partnering with more than 400 businesses annually through applied research, skills, and workforce development.

The Queen Elizabeth Award is widely regarded as the highest national honour in further and higher education in the UK. Prizes are presented every two years following a rigorous and independent process of review. NWRC is part of the 2025 cohort of award winners which saw applications from more than 100 institutions.

Dr. Fergal Tuffy, Technology Innovation Manager at NWRC, said the news is deserved recognition for the team’s outstanding work in delivering high quality skills and innovation support that benefit the regional economy.

He added: “In ten years our Business Support Centre has grown from just one office in one campus, to a unique suite of five Technology Innovation Centres (TICs) across four campuses, dedicated to supporting local and regional business, developing skills, fostering innovation and driving applied research.

“Our centres are: Food and drink innovation (Foodovation); Advanced Manufacturing, Materials and Engineering (Product Design Centre [PDC]); Augmented, virtual and extended reality (XR) and Automation, robotics, and 5G technologies (i4.0).  We also partner and support College curriculum colleagues in the DIAL Centre (Design Innovation for Assisted Living [DIAL]) NWRC’s Health care and assisted living centre.

“The TICs provide the College with a business-focused capability, enabling small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to tap into the knowledge and expertise of our college, while accessing skills and equipment which might not otherwise be within their reach. This in turn reduces business risk, shortens their time to market, and assists the exploitation of know-how from academia to industry.

“In the past year, the NWRC has completed over 140 innovation and applied research and development projects through these centres, helping SMEs innovate and grow by developing new products, processes, and services. The college has also trained more than 1,000 individuals, including business employees, who received upskilling, and individuals who were trained in priority skills areas for new opportunities.”

Leo Murphy, Principal and Chief Executive of NWRC said winning the award was welcome news for everyone at the college.

He said: “NWRC has a long history in delivering for businesses across the region through skills development and innovation. As College Principal and Chief Executive, I am immensely proud of the many achievements of our Business Support Centre since they first began their work in 2015. 

“The work at NWRC through our innovation hubs is unique within the UK’s Further Education sector. I have spoken with many of the clients of the centres who consistently tell me about the differences our team of experts have made to their businesses by improving productivity, innovation and creativity. 

“It is our privilege to work so closely with these enterprises and watch them succeed. My congratulations to our entire team on this hugely significant accolade.”

The winners of the sixteenth round were announced at St James’s Palace on 25 November, and the Prizes will be presented at an investiture ceremony in London in February 2026. 

 Sir Damon Buffini, Chair of the Royal Anniversary Trust said: “The Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Higher and Further Education celebrate the power of education to change the world for the better. This year we are delighted to honour 19 institutions whose work offers an inspiring snapshot of the excellent and innovative work going on in universities and colleges across the UK. Congratulations all!”