King's College London

King’s Careers & Employability (KC&E) has won the Student Partnership Award for the Inclusive Careers Education Ambassador Programme at the inaugural Graduate Futures Awards 2026 (also known as ‘the GRAFTAs’). The King’s initiative was selected from a competitive field of eight shortlisted institutions, including the University of Bristol, University of Glasgow, and Queen’s University Belfast.

This award follows a hugely successful year so far for KC&E, having been awarded Higher Education Careers & Employability Team of the Year at the targetjobs National Emerging Talent Awards in April, and Graduate Initiative of the Year at the UK-China Business Awards in May.

The Graduate Futures Awards recognise the fantastic individuals, teams, and projects that transform careers and employability across higher education. They are run by the Graduate Futures Institute, who bring together members from over 150 universities to champion innovation, collaboration, and evidence-based practice across careers and employability to improve student and graduate outcomes.

The ceremony took place at Nottingham Trent University on 2 July, and celebrated excellent work across the higher education careers and employability sector. Over 200 high-quality submissions in 11 award categories were received from institutions across the UK and Ireland. GFI’s 40 judges had a difficult task in choosing the winners, saying the calibre of submissions was “exceptionally high…reflecting the breadth of brilliant work taking place across the sector”.

The winning Inclusive Careers Education Ambassador Programme (ICEA) was launched in 2021 with the aim of enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion within careers provision for the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences (NMES) at King’s.

The programme, led by Careers Consultants, Laura Oxley and Catherine Alcraft, recruits students from underrepresented backgrounds to co-create careers events, workshops, and resources for their peers. Student ambassadors decide the programme's shape each year, ensuring it evolves with real student needs. Judges praised the programme as “a long-standing successful project that demonstrates excellent collaboration and strong outcomes”.

The King’s Careers & Employability team were delighted to also be shortlisted for three other categories, including Inclusivity & Opportunity and Sustainable Careers. Careers Consultant, Jan Orlebar, was also shortlisted in the Careers and Employability Professional category.