University of Gloucestershire student, Elizabeth Rimmer, has been named as the South West regional winner of the 2021 National Women in Property Award.

The National Women in Property Award Student Awards seeks out the best Built Environment degree students, highlighting to industry the necessity to link with universities early and also to improve students' knowledge of the career options available to them.

More than 100 undergraduate and masters students from 54 universities were nominated by their lecturers in 2021, with the judges drawn from different industry disciplines, including surveying, engineering, construction, architecture, planning and law.

Elizabeth Rimmer, a BA Landscape Architecture student, won the top award thanks to both her first year assessment score and the exceptional performance of her two design project concepts: the design of Magnolia Court at the University of Gloucestershire's Francis Close Hall Campus and her sustainable public space design of St James Square in Cheltenham.

The Magnolia Court project focused on creating a space for reflection and communication by using the element of water that would bring people together on campus. The concept for St James Square was on a larger scale, creating a network of multifunctional dome spaces (reflecting the ever-changing nature of the briefing element 'youth culture') set into a landscape of mounds and dense vegetation to create a space that is both an experience to walk through and to use.

The judges described Elizabeth's presentation to them as "giving excellent, unique answers to the questions, she is a confident individual, with a strong self-awareness and a good sense of how to engage with people."

Elizabeth said: "I have loved my course so far. The lecturers really care about their students, and the modules are interesting and thought provoking. I learn not only about the landscape, but also the cultural, artistic and sustainable principles that underpin it.

"I have felt inspired to achieve in this environment, and winning this award has pushed me to go further in my studies and prepare for my future using the invaluable information I have learned so far.''