Three Manchester Metropolitan University students have been awarded for their creativity and impact in two categories at the Manchester Publicity Association’s (MPA) Inspiration Awards.

Rebecca Watson (BA Hons Marketing Management) and Alessandra Valentini (MSc Digital Marketing Communications) were joint winners in the “MPA Student Award” category at the 2020 awards ceremony that had been delayed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the first students to ever be jointly awarded in the category, both were recognised for their academic achievements. The judges identified them as the stand-out talents from a shortlist of final year undergraduate and postgraduate students from participating universities, with the entire shortlist being a clean sweep from Manchester Metropolitan for the first time ever.

Ben Ryder, who studies on Manchester Met’s Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship, was also a joint winner of the “MPA Apprentice Award”. Ben was awarded for the impact and excellence he has displayed as an employee at the Manchester-based marketing and digital agency Access, and for making a positive contribution to the organisation.

Alessandra Valentini said:

This award has a special meaning to me in that it is a testament to my hard work and dedication. When I decided to start my MSc in Digital Marketing Communications, I quit my job in Italy and moved abroad. It is now an immense joy to see how far I’ve gone since then.

Winning such a valuable award is the crowning achievement of my studies. My gratitude goes to all the inspiring people I’ve met along the way, who have always believed in my talent and capabilities. Manchester and Manchester Met have offered me great opportunities to shape my future. Now that I’m about to enter the Digital Marketing industry as a professional, I’m confident that the MPA Award will pave the way to a rewarding career in this field.

Rebecca Watson said:

I’m absolutely delighted to have won the MPA Student Award. The MPA recognise talent, future innovation and creativity within the marketing industry so it’s an honour to be recognised for my work.

Manchester Met’s extensive partnerships within the industry have opened up so many opportunities, elevated my skillset and connected me with so many talented individuals. My degree at Manchester Met has certainly been a springboard in kickstarting my career in marketing. Take every opportunity you can – you could be the next winner of the MPA Award!

Ben Ryder said:

It’s an honour to be a joint winner of the MPA Apprentice of the Year Award. It’s been an exciting year and a half so far at Access and Manchester Met and I’ve learnt lots both academically and in the working world.

It’s extremely rewarding for me to see how far I’ve progressed already in my everyday work as an Apprentice Developer and it feels great that this has been recognised in such a way. I was especially moved by the level of support I got from the whole of the Access team; everyone was really supportive and it felt extra special to win with everyone cheering me on!

The annual MPA Inspiration Awards recognises the amazing talent across the city of Manchester, with the aim of inspiring future innovation and creativity to unlock the potential and address challenges in the creative, digital, communications, publishing and media industries.

The winners were decided by a judging panel, which included leaders from both industry bodies and national and regional businesses, with the awards presented during a virtual award ceremony on Wednesday, March 10.

Jeff McCarthy, Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University and MPA Board Member, said: “To have winners in the MPA Student Award and Apprentice Award categories is a fantastic achievement. To be recognised by industry in such a manner is a tremendous achievement for our students and University. I would like to congratulate Alessandra, Rebecca and Ben, plus all of our other finalists on their well-deserved success.

“As a result, our work at Man Met in the areas of creative, digital, comms, was described by Christian James (MD of the MPA) as ‘A powerhouse of creative industry talent’ saying ‘what you’re doing there is amazing’.”

Find out more about the MPA Inspiration Awards and view the winners on the MPA Awards website.