A module taught in the University's Law School, with employability at its core, has been shortlisted in a prestigious national awards programme.

Our Business Law and Practice module, taught to between 250 and 300 undergraduate law students, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the national LexisNexis Legal Awards. The awards celebrate innovation and progress in the legal industry and the module has been shortlisted in the University Commercial Impact Award category.

The category, which is new for 2025, recognises universities that excel in equipping their law students with strong commercial awareness and strategic thinking skills, and entrants need to demonstrate how their programmes or initiatives foster a deep understanding of the commercial landscape, preparing students to navigate the complexities of legal practice in a business context.

The module’s shortlisting for this award recognises the excellent embedded employability skills which have been built into the module, including virtual work experience tasks, input from legal practitioners and business, a skills audit and a 'meet the start-ups' event in conjunction with the Careers and Entrepreneurship team. Associate Professors Kieran Durcan and Jeanette Ashton designed the module in collaboration with students.

Professor Rosie Cox, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, said: “The Business Law and Practice module puts employability at the centre of our teaching practice, and it is wonderful to see the module, which was co-created with students, recognised in this way. Huge congratulations to everyone involved, particularly Kieran and Jeanette, on being shortlisted and I wish you the best of luck on awards night.”

The LexisNexis Legal Awards 2025 ceremony will take place on 13 March in London.