Coveted Green Gown Award for Exeter College Student

Exeter College student Scott Stephens has been awarded a prestigious Green Gown Award – the second year running an Exeter College university level student has received the sustainability award.

Scott has been named the winner of the Green Gown Award for Student Research with Impact, following in the footsteps of 2018 winner Alex Dixon.

The Green Gown Awards aim to put a spotlight on the innovative and inspiring sustainability work taking place in universities and colleges to create a brighter future for students and the environment.

“My work with Sibelco is not only saving the company money… but it’s also helping save the planet,”
Scott Stephens, Green Gown Award Winner 2019

Scott, 39, is currently studying for his Higher National Certificate in Electrical Engineering at Exeter College, while working in the industry with material solutions company Sibelco. His innovative, environmentally friendly work with Sibelco is what has seen him awarded this prestigious award.

Scott’s innovation for Sibelco involved him developing a filtration system to allow existing onsite water to be used for the site flocculent make down system. Previously, the company had bought in fresh water at the cost of over £25,000 a year, as completely clean water is needed for the process. Scott’s filter meant the company could use the onsite water and cut their costs dramatically, while also making a positive influence on the environment; saving fresh water and transportation time.

Speaking after receiving his award, Scott said, “I’ve never won anything, and certainly not anything like this, so I’m obviously really delighted.

“I couldn’t attend the awards ceremony because my partner was heavily pregnant but when I found out I had won I was over the moon and couldn’t really believe it.

“My work with Sibelco is not only saving the company money every year by not having to buy in fresh water, but it’s also helping save the planet.”

The role of Exeter College

Scott also wanted to pay tribute to the staff at Exeter College who have helped him during his academic journey as a mature student. He said, “The project I did for the Green Gown Award at Sibelco was a part of one of the modules on my course at Exeter College.

“The lecturers have been great in encouraging me to go for it and the teaching style is really enthusiastic which really helps you engage in the subject.”

Exeter College’s Programme Leader for Aerospace and Sustainability, Richard Masters, said, “We’re all over the moon for Scott’s achievements. It’s fantastic for him to be recognised with a national award regarding one of the most pressing issues in global society today. He has made a fantastic contribution to his workplace and we can’t wait to see what he does next.

“I’m also immensely proud that students from Exeter College have won this specific award two years running. This is vindication that our student first, industry led, mentality to university level teaching is creating independent and free thinking students who can be a positive force for change in industry.”

A word from the organisers…

The awards were organised by EAUC – the Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education, and inspirational students, universities and colleges were recognised with awards across a range of categories relating to creating a more sustainable world. An awards ceremony was held at Glasgow Science Centre to celebrate the achievements of all the winners.

Iain Patton, CEO at EAUC and co-host of the Green Gown Awards ceremony, said: “Now in its 15th year, the Green Gown Awards celebrate the very pinnacle of best practice in a sector that is well ahead of the curve on the sustainability agenda. The submissions this year were of an incredibly high calibre, tackling a huge array of sustainable development areas. It was a hard process to pick the winners, and it involved over 90 national and international judges.”

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Two Years On: Alex Dixon, Green Gown Award Winner 2018

As part of Exeter College celebrating 50 years as the UK’s first ever tertiary college, we’re talking to some of the inspirational students, staff and alumni who have helped make us the Ofsted Outstanding education provider we are today.

Exeter College student Alex Dixon made headlines in 2018 when he was announced as the Green Gown Award winner for Student Research with Impact, celebrating his achievements around sustainability as part of his electrical engineering course at college and in the workplace.

“I’m so proud to have won the award, not just for me personally but also for the college and the lecturers who helped me get there,”
Alex Dixon, Green Gown Award Winner, 2018

Two years on from his inspirational achievement, we caught up with Alex to talk through what he’s up to now and how winning the sustainability award has helped him develop his career, as well as play a small part in helping the environment.

The Green Gown Awards were created in 2004 to recognise the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges. Alex’s name joined the list of award winners in 2018 thanks to his sustainable, and money saving, circuit board redesign at his place of work during his studies, Fraser Anti Static.

Alex Dixon, pictured with his Green Gown Award in the Exeter College Technology Centre

Alex, now 27, was studying for his Higher National Certificate in Electrical Engineering with Exeter College when he found out that his work at Fraser Anti Static had been recognised with a coveted Green Gown Award.

“I was really pleased when I found out I was going to be getting the award,” said Alex, who is now studying for his Higher National Diploma in Electrical Engineering with Exeter College.

“I’m so proud to have won the award, not just for me personally but also for the college and the lecturers who helped me get there.”

“Since winning, I have definitely been given a boost in my career and it’s great to have made a positive and lasting impact on the way Fraser Anti Static was working.”

Alex’s innovation that won him the Green Gown Award was to redesign the Fraser Anti Static printed circuit board manufacturing methods, enabling the elimination of many environmentally damaging processes, including the lengthy transportation of materials. This redesign not only helped revolutionise the environmental footprint of the circuit board creation, but also saved the company in the region of £20,000 in 2018 alone thanks to the refined process.

Alex continued: “It was great to have a real, genuine impact on the running of that business but also to know that what I had done had been another small step on the way to a more sustainable world.

“By managing to dramatically reduce several environmentally damaging processes, including the transport of materials, we took a small step in the right direction to helping to protect the environment.”

Today, Alex has moved to work with leading electrical manufacturer MK Test Systems near Taunton while he continues his studies with college. He believes the opportunities in his career has improved thanks to his Green Gown Award.

“When I came to meet the team here they really wanted to talk about what I had done with Fraser Anti Static and how I achieved the Green Gown Award win,” said Alex.

“I plan to finish my qualification with Exeter College in August 2021 and go on to complete a degree in electrical engineering.”

A change of heart at 20…

It could have been a very different tale for Alex as he reached a crossroad in his life when he turned 20.

After completing his formal education from school and college, Alex found himself having to make a poignant decision in his life, as he was about to start a degree in business management.

Alex said, “I think I was going through the motions a little bit and I knew deep down that I really didn’t want to be doing that degree.

“I knew I had always been interested in engineering, but at that point in my life, moving into a career in it would have involved complete retraining from the ground up. Fortunately, I decided to go for it and started by getting a BTEC and worked up from there.”

Alex took some time to reflect on the impact his lecturers at Exeter College have had on his rise in the electrical engineering industry. He said, “It has been a great experience learning with the college.”

“The lecturers are really accommodating of all learners and understand the pressures that some adult learners have to deal with outside of the classroom. They’re incredibly supportive and Richard Masters [Programme Lead, Aerospace and Sustainability] was instrumental in me getting the Green Gown Award.”

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