Each year, around 1,000 dedicated students earn the University of Bristol’s employability award, the PLUS Award, through extracurricular activities like volunteering and part-time work.

And each year, a small number of PLUS awardees go on to receive an Outstanding PLUS Award – and their achievements are truly outstanding.

The host of the Outstanding PLUS Awards, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching Dr Mark Allinson, told the crowd at the Bristol Beacon that the event was all about “showcasing our students’ success and congratulating them”.

The 2025 winners of the Outstanding PLUS Awards were:

Better World - Adishree Bansal, Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Innovation MEng

Adishree founded Pleasantri, which aims to tackle period poverty in educational settings though workshops, campaigns and a podcast.

Partnership builder – Ben Allen, Robotics and Autonomous Systems PhD

Ben built a business team within the autonomous racing society, fostering partnerships with businesses and academics and garnering £12,000 in funding.

Change Maker - Louis Angoy, Mathematics MSci

Louis built the African and Caribbean Society’s football team into an inclusive community, with custom kits, expanded inter-university events and team-building activities

Civic Superstar - Lisa Inneh, Biology MSci

Lisa founded d.irt.collective, which promotes LGBTQ+ creatives, especially people of colour, through club nights, fundraisers, workshops and networking events.

Innovation - Hasini De Silva, Bioinformatics MSc

Hasini founded Infinity, a drug repurposing platform using computational algorithms to combat antibiotic resistance.

Wellbeing Champion - Alfie Dickens, Zoology BSc
Alfie directed a documentary on men’s mental health and founded the ‘20 Minute Society’ to connect students through weekly events.

Dr Allinson told the students and staff at the event: “My own experience of university is that – important as the academics are, all the classes, lectures, assessments – the real value of university is far greater than that. The value is as much in the people you meet, the opportunities you take, the initiatives you seize.

“Achieving the PLUS Award demonstrates an excellent commitment to career development and has allowed you to develop a broad range of skills which employers value.”

The Outstanding PLUS Awards were sponsored by the University’s Think Big Scholarship, which provides funding for brilliant international students.

This year, 30% of Think Big scholars participated in the PLUS Awards. Three scholars were shortlisted for Outstanding PLUS Awards and one (Hasini De Silva) went on to win.

Since its launch in 2009, more than 7,000 Bristol students have achieved the PLUS Award.

The PLUS Award scheme is run by Amber Pinckney in the University’s Careers Service.