School of English student bags VC Medal 2021

On 16 February 2022, the University of Nottingham Malaysia will be hosting a ceremony to present the Vice Chancellor’s Medal 2021 to five members of staff, 14 students and four teams. 

Every year the Vice Chancellor’s Medal is awarded to candidates from all three campuses who have had exceptional achievements in a particular field or area. The criteria for nominating candidates for this medal include outstanding contribution to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion in university life; notable endeavours which have made a difference to the University; a substantive contribution which has enhanced the reputation of the University of Nottingham; an activity which has had a noticeably positive impact for students, staff or the local community; and an individual achievement or sustained achievement over a period of time. 

The year 2021 was special as there was an additional criterion to commemorate the heroes who had demonstrated exceptional achievements in supporting the response to the pandemic in any capacity. 

The 2021 winners were mainly those who had performed exceptionally in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The staff team winners were chosen for their dedication to making the lockdown work for the University community of staff and students. 



School of English student, Swetha Siva a English with Creative Writing BA student will be receiving her medal as well. Swetha founded the University of Nottingham Malaysia’s Writer's Society, a student organisation that provides a space for conversations about writing. Under her leadership, the society promoted writing on campus and supported new writers through its blog Drafts, writing sessions, workshops on both creative and academic writing, and other events. Swetha writes fiction from marginalised perspectives. A young adult novel she wrote won the competitive The Word Editor-Writer Programme for a mentorship with an editor from Macmillan, and another young adult novel is being published by Meraki Press (as of January 2022).