Our Awards

The Easter Bush Campus has received a number of awards for equality, diversity and inclusion; sustainability; and biodiversity.

The Roslin Institute

The Roslin Institute holds a Gold Athena SWAN award in recognition for its commitment to women's career development. 

The Athena SWAN Charter recognises and celebrates good employment practice for women working in science, engineering and technology in higher education and research.

The Institute was granted the award in recognition of the additional efforts made, over and above standard university-wide policies, to promote gender equality and address particular challenges for women within science.

The Institute has been a proud member of the Athena SWAN Charter since 2011. The Institute received the Athena SWAN Bronze award in 2012 and the Athena SWAN Silver award in 2014. The Roslin Institute is one of only 10 University departments or institutes across the UK to hold this prestigious award.

The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary studies

The Athena SWAN Charter recognises and celebrates good employment practice for women working in science, engineering and technology in higher education and research.

Granted for a three-year-period, our third consecutive Silver award was granted in 2025. In 2013, we were the first veterinary school to be recognised with Athena Swan status. 

Although there are increasing numbers of women entering the veterinary profession and female undergraduates and recent graduates now outnumber men, there is still a ‘leaky pipeline’ in the progression of women through to more senior and professorial roles in the academic sector of the profession.

The Dick Vet has demonstrated and been recognised for its clear commitment to gender equality and support for career development and progression for women, and has embraced and embedded the Athena SWAN principles, which will benefit all staff - men and women alike.

We will continue to develop our efforts towards gender equality and an equitable working environment.



The Easter Bush Campus was awarded an Investors in Young People award in 2019 in recognition of the support, development and opportunities open to young people.

We were the first University body in the country to hold IIYP accreditation at silver level.

This is a fantastic accolade for the Campus, which demonstrates our commitment to providing opportunities and experience to local youth within our community.

As part of the assessment the external assessor spoke to approx. 30 staff members including apprentices and students. The feedback was very positive with staff and students (including  PGR students) noting :

  • A strong, positive and supportive culture on campus
  • Good training and development  opportunities
  • Readily available internal and external support networks
  • Approachable and supportive management


The University of Edinburgh was awarded a gold accreditation as a Hedgehog Friendly Campus in 2022 thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers.

The University is taking action for hedgehogs because they are now an International Union for Conservation of Nature Red Listed vulnerable species due to population declines in both urban and rural areas. Action for hedgehogs benefits other wildlife and is part of our species-level work for the University Biodiversity Plan.

Efforts are ongoing to make the Easter Bush Campus a place where hedgehogs can safely feed, shelter and breed. Surveys conducted by staff and students continuously find evidence of hedgehog activity on the Campus, while temporary tunnels and cameras are used to ascertain the level of hedgehog activity.


Hedgehog Friendly Campus Gold Award 2021/22

The Easter Bush Campus won Gold for Offices and Labs at the University of Edinburgh's Sustainability and Social Responsibility Awards in 2022, marking the tenth year in a row we have won an award at the ceremony.  

The Office Gold Awards recipients fulfilled a range of social responsibility and sustainability criteria, focusing on communications & engagement, energy saving, sustainable travel, resource efficiency, responsible purchasing and staff wellbeing.

The Gold Project Proposal focused on reducing packaging across the campus which  incorporated a  variety of initiatives seeking to reduce-re-use-recycle packaging.   There is a strong and integrated focus on reducing plastic waste across the campus.  The success of the campus is being shared with colleagues across the University, with other Schools and suppliers invited to discuss ways to embed these practices across the University, or find new ways to make further improvements. 


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