Bartlett School of Planning students received certificates at the annual Volunteering Awards Ceremony held on Thursday 31st May 2012.

The annual Volunteering Awards Ceremony organised by UCLU Volunteering Services Unit provides the opportunity to recognise UCL students for their volunteering contributions over the course of the academic year.  The event was attended this year by the Mayor of Camden as well as UCL staff and students.

Introductory speeches were given by John Braime, the Volunteering Services Unit Manager, and the Vice Provost of Education, Professor Anthony Smith.  John Braime formally thanked all students who had participated in the various volunteering activities throughout the year.  He appreciated the fact that the number of students participating in voluntary activities was increasing year by year.

The Vice Provost of Education, Professor Anthony Smith, noted that UCL began its volunteering scheme in 2002, 10 years ago, and since then the numbers of students participating in schemes has increased dramatically.  This year a total of 1550 students participated in various projects, and students from the Bartlett School of Planning were amongst that number.

Seven students from the Bartlett School of Planning volunteered for a number of different organisations, including LOCOG (London Organsing Committee of the Olympic and Paralymic Games), the Canal Museum, SIFE, and Interact (Interfaith Action).

Meiyu Huang, a student on the MSc Urban Regeneration programme at the Bartlett School of Planning, said she enjoyed her volunteering experience very much. She acted as a volunteer for UCL's International Student Orientation Programme (ISOP) in January, supporting new international students in their first few days at UCL.  She said she particularly wanted to volunteer for ISOP since she herself had benefitted from attending the programme when she first came to UCL in September 2011.