Imperial College Union’s Student Academic Choice Awards (SACA) will have its official launch this Monday, 15th January.

The awards, which the Union describe as the “flagship event for empowering students to recognise, reward, and celebrate excellence among College staff”, have been running for the past six years. College staff can be nominated by students across eight categories, such as ‘Best Supervision’ and ‘Best Support Staff’.

Last year 831 nominations were received in total for the SACAs, the most they had ever received since their inauguration in 2012; ‘Best Teaching for Undergraduates’ was the most popular category, with nearly 300 nominations received.

Nick Burstow, the Union’s Deputy President (Education), described the SACAs as “the best campaign the Union runs.”

He told Felix: “I can guarantee that every single student here will know at least one staff member they will remember long after they graduate, because of the positive impact that member of staff has had.”

“We all know how great we feel when we’re congratulated and thanked for a job well done, and we mustn’t forget that our teachers and support staff are just the same. It’s so important that we take a couple of minutes to say “thank you” and let that member of staff know we appreciate all they do for us.”

Nominees will receive a branded SACA mug, and the shortlisted staff will be invited to the awards ceremony on May 14th.

Nominations may be made online at the Union website.