The talent, skill and ambition of South Wales’ female property and construction student undergraduates has been celebrated recently at a virtual Women in Property Student Awards event, representing Universities across the region.

Families, friends and professionals from the built environment industry all celebrated the achievements of the seven regional student finalists, at the event which was held on Zoom for a second year running.  The winner, a Cardiff Metropolitan University student, will go through to the UK national final, to be held at Claridge’s in September.

“A year ago, we wouldn’t have expected to be running our Student Awards event again virtually, but we were thrilled to come together to congratulate all our contenders and to meet them all on Zoom.  In the absence of a physical event, we asked each of them to submit a short showcase video of themselves, which we showed at the event and which is available on YouTube, for prospective employers to see,” said Amy Beacham, Women in Property South Wales branch Chair and Associate with WSP.

This year, the judges, a (virtual) panel of professionals drawn from Engineering, Construction, Law and Surveying, gave the South Wales Award to:

Annabel Reed, studying Interior Design at Cardiff Metropolitan University (Cardiff School of Art & Design)

They described Annabel as “having understanding and knowledge way ahead of her years.  She is very passionate about materials and the built environment and has the ability to talk freely and openly from the heart.”

“All of us who sat on the judging panel were incredibly impressed with these young women.  They’ve had a tough year, studying under challenging conditions, so all credit to them.  They will be a huge asset to the industry when they graduate in a year or so. Particular congratulations go to Annabel and we wish her all the best for the Awards final in September” said Amy Beacham.

The National Awards programme, sponsored by Bouygues and Savills, was established to seek out the top built environment students each year and raise awareness to the many amazing and diverse career opportunities offered across this industry.  Each second year student was nominated by her University, submitted a piece of coursework and then went before the judging panel in March.

Annabel receives a £500 cash prize, a trophy and the opportunity to take part in Women in Property’s mentoring programme.  She will represent South Wales at the national “Best of Best” final, in September, when she competes against twelve other students from across the UK.