Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh, has been shortlisted for the second UK public relations award of the year in the 2015 Heist Awards.

The Heist Awards judging panel has named QMU’s public relations team a finalist in the ‘Best Communications or PR Campaign’ category of 2015.

The internationally recognised annual Heist Awards for Education Marketing have evolved over more than twenty years to become the premier awards programme for marketing in the further and higher education sectors. The Heist Awards exist to recognise and celebrate professionalism, expertise and innovation throughout the sector, from the smallest regional college to global education brands.

The news follows the announcement in April that QMU has become the first university in the UK to have been shortlisted for another top public relations award from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). The CIPR Excellence Awards are the public relations profession’s leading awards. They recognise and celebrate the outstanding work of individuals, teams and consultancies across the UK and overseas.

QMU’s PR campaign focused on the launch of the first Scottish Centre for Food Development & Innovation at the University in December 2014, how it is enhancing Scotland’s position as a leader in food and drink innovation in Europe and supporting access to the global market for healthy and functional food.

The ‘Recipe for Success’ campaign was inspired by QMU’s history, having been established in 1875 to tackle dietary issues facing the urban poor; alongside the relevance of that history to the current news agenda and government policy. Today, the University’s food and drink expertise ranges from nutritional analysis through to development of functional products enhancing health, which offer practical solutions for industry.

As part of the campaign, QMU created a promotional film highlighting the Centre’s academic expertise and commercial partnerships, which can now be viewed and shared online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8IBLptVoIg&feature=youtu.be

Commenting on the Heist Award shortlist announcement, Alan Gilloran, Deputy Principal at QMU, said: “We’re extremely proud to have been shortlisted for the second UK public relations award of 2015 for our campaign on the launch of the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation at QMU.

“This second national public relations award for QMU’s two-person PR team in 2015 really does go to show the industry’s growing recognition of our team’s professionalism, expertise and innovation in PR.”

The overall award winners will be announced at the Heist Awards Gala Dinner on Thursday 9th July at The Palace Hotel in Manchester.

For more information on Heist Awards 2015, visit: www.heistawards.com