The PIEoneer Awards 2025: winners revealed

Winners across 21 categories were announced at a glamorous gala hosted at the historic Guildhall in London, with many more entrants recognised as highly commended for their outstanding achievements and contributions to global education over the past year.

“It feels as though the quality of The PIEoneer Award entries improves every year, and 2025 has been no exception,” commented The PIE’s editor, Beth Kennedy.

A distinguished judging panel – representing a wide range of expertise and international backgrounds – sought out individuals and organisations redefining excellence and driving progress in global education.

“We, and our panel of judges, were truly blown away by this year’s finalists. It’s been another challenging year for the international education sector, but their hard work, innovation and drive to make life better for international students has been truly inspiring – a sign that our community is set to thrive for many years to come,” continued Kennedy.

In keeping with its commitment to sustainability, The PIE once again rolled out the green carpet, encouraging attendees to wear pre-loved outfits and showcase eco-friendly glamour.

This year, the Sustainability international impact award went to the International Education Sustainability Group (IESG) with QS Quacquarelli Symonds and the University of Exeter highly commended for their Future17 SDG Challenge.

The coveted PIEoneer of the year award recognised EasyTransfer for its efforts in simplifying global tuition payments for over 800,000 students in
more than 170 countries.

Each year, The PIE recognises an individual for their Outstanding contribution to the industry and this year Keith Segal, president and CEO at Guard.me, was recognised for his work in international education over the last three decades.

It’s been another challenging year for the international education sector, but their hard work, innovation and drive to make life better for international students has been truly inspiring
_{^{Beth Kennedy, The PIE}}

The full list of winners and highly commended for the 2024 PIEoneer Awards are:

• Business school of the year: UC Business School, New Zealand
  Highly commended: Leicester Castle Business School (LCBS), De Montfort University, United Kingdom
• Championing diversity, equity and inclusion award: Jusoor, Global
  Highly commended: Edward Consulting, Nigeria
• Digital innovation of the year – learning: Seenaryo, United Kingdom
  Highly commended: My Speaking Score – Real-Time TOEFL® Speaking Insights, Canada
• Digital innovation of the year – student recruitment: VisaMonk – AI Powered Visa Interview Prep Platform, India
  Highly commended: Platty – Innovative Online Government Student Management Platform, Australia & Gyanberry – AI Powered Medical Admissions Platform, United Arab Emirates
• Emerging leader of the year: Bimpe Femi-Oyewo, Nigeria
  Highly commended: Ricardo Tavares, United Kingdom
• Employability international impact award: Virtual Internships, United Kingdom
  Highly commended: Wayble, Canada & PeopleCert / PeopleCert Accredited Academic Partner Program, United Kingdom
• Excellence in data and insight: Beyond enrolment: Tracking international graduate outcome data, Netherlands
  Highly commended: Voyage’s Social Source, Australia
• International alum of the year: Adityakumar Shrimali, India, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts, London and International Students House, London, United Kingdom
  Highly commended: Chenai Dunduru, Zimbabwe, Torrens University, Australia
• International student recruitment organisation of the year: Keystone Education Group, Global
  Highly commended: NCUK, United Kingdom
• Language training provider of the year: Discover English, Australia
  Highly commended: International House Yangon-Mandalay, Myanmar
• Marketing campaign of the year: FPT University, Vietnam, STEM education in the age AI
  Highly commended: Queen’s University Belfast & PingPong Digital, United Kingdom, Bridging Research & Reputation: Queen’s Inspiring Experts Campaign in China
• Membership organisation of the year: AIRC: The Association of International Enrollment Management, United States
  Highly commended: AIEA, United States
• Outstanding contribution to the industry: Keith Segal, Guard.me, Canada
• PIEoneer of the year: EasyTransfer, United Kingdom
  Highly commended: Global Seal of Biliteracy, United States
• Progressive education delivery award: Kruu Edutech Private Limited, India & Global Cities, Inc., a Program of Bloomberg Philanthropies, United States
  Highly commended: Real Madrid Global Sports Management, Summer Discovery, United States
• Public / Private partnership of the year: ISDC, Jain University, GOAL Guyana and SQA, ISDC, United Kingdom, GOAL – Guyana Online Academy of Learning, Guyana
  Highly commended: International student higher education recruitment, marketing and admissions support, Kaplan International, United Kingdom, Arizona State University, United States & University of Greenwich and Studiosity – A multi-year partnership, Studiosity, United Kingdom, University of Greenwich, United Kingdom
• Secondary school international innovation: USAP Community School, Zimbabwe
  Highly commended: German European School Singapore (GESS), Singapore
• Student support award: IES Abroad, United States
  Highly commended: KI Student Grief Network and Mindfulness-based Resilience, United Kingdom & Shorelight – The Shorelight Center for Academic Success (CAS), United States
• Study abroad and exchange experience of the year: Coventry University Immersive Telepresence In Theatre (Romeo and Juliet Online), United Kingdom
  Highly commended: Think Pacific, United Kingdom
• Sustainability international impact award: International Education Sustainability Group (IESG), Global
  Highly commended: Future17 SDG Challenge by QS Quacquarelli Symonds and the University of Exeter, Global
• The Charlene Allen award for inspirational leadership: Kris Holloway, United States & Sonya Singh, India
  Highly commended: Miri Firth, United Kingdom

The PIEoneer Awards will return to the Guildhall in September 2026 for its 10th anniversary.

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