The RSB’s annual Accreditation Awards Ceremony saw nearly 100 programmes across various higher education institutions around the world accredited this year.

The Degree Accreditation Awards Ceremony celebrates universities, both in the UK and internationally, that have been awarded Accreditation, Foundation Accreditation, Advanced Accreditation, International Accreditation, Master’s Accreditation, Apprenticeship Accreditation, and Doctoral Training Accreditation, showcasing institutions from the past year. 

This year’s ceremony took place on Thursday 10 April 2025 in the House of Commons with over 80 graduates being awarded prizes for gaining Top Project Awards and almost 100 programmes across 16 higher education institutes globally receiving awards.

Preceding the ceremony was the Accreditation Conference held at One Great George Street, Westminster with over 80 guests in attendance. Professor Richard Reece CBiol FRSB, Chair of the RSB’s Accreditation Committee, welcomed the event with an accreditation overview from the last year. There were several talks throughout the day from various higher education institute speakers – on themes ranging from best practice to digital literacy – followed by Q&A sessions and a networking lunch. In the afternoon, Professor David Coates MBE FRSB introduced the new proposed accreditation criteria. The feedback gathered from those in attendance will be incorporated into the final version of the criteria, which will be published in autumn 2025.

The welcome speech at the evening’s ceremony was given by Professor Reece who provided a brief history of the RSB’s accreditation as a whole, which began in 2012, with our aim of showcasing excellence in biology. This year was notable in particular because for the first time, apprenticeship programmes received accreditation from the RSB. Professor Reece then thanked RSB staff and the Accreditation Committee for making the day’s events happen.

The RSB’s Honorary Treasurer, Dr Louise Leong FRSB, took to the podium next. She highlighted that we have entered the second decade of accreditation work at the RSB, while signposting some of the RSB’s upcoming events, including Biology Week 2025 which takes place later this year, and Parliamentary Links Day which will be held in June.

Dr Louise Leong FRSB, the RSB's Honorary Treasurer

The keynote speech was then delivered by Michael Tonge, Director of Global Graduate, PhD and Placement Programmes for R&D at AstraZeneca. He congratulated all the remarkable efforts of the institutions and graduates for receiving their awards while highlighting the advancements in science in the last decade alone. From the AI revolution in science and healthcare to the hard work and dedication needed to succeed, he stated that the young graduates are the future of biological research and progress for addressing the most pressing challenges we face today. Tonge also placed emphasis on the need for academia and industry to work together to make innovative therapies to transform patients’ lives in addition to ensuring there is a smooth STEM pipeline in the education system.

The awardees were then presented with their certificates followed by the opportunity to network. Our congratulations go to all the graduates on gaining Top Project Awards from Accredited, Foundation Accredited, Advanced Accredited, Master’s Accredited, and International Accredited courses.

With thanks to Platinum event sponsor AstraZeneca for sponsoring the evening’s ceremony and LearnSci for supporting the Accreditation Conference.

Learn more about accreditation on our website and discover which programmes and institutions are accredited by the RSB.

Institutions awarded Accreditation:

• Bath Spa University
• Manchester Metropolitan University  
• Queen’s University Belfast
• Royal Holloway, University of London
• University of Aberdeen  
• University of Central Lancashire
• University of Glasgow  
• University of Huddersfield
• University of Leicester  

Institutions awarded Foundation Accreditation:

• • Queen’s University Belfast
  • Belfast Metropolitan College

Institutions awarded Advanced Accreditation:

• Queen’s University Belfast
• University of Glasgow
• University of Leicester
• University of Warwick

Institutions awarded Doctoral Training Accreditation:

• • Imperial College London

Institutions awarded Apprenticeship Accreditation:

• Keele University  
• Manchester Metropolitan University  
• University of Kent

Institutions awarded International Accreditation:

• United Arab Emirates University
• Universidad de las Américas Puebla