A HUGE congratulations to Pi Media for winning the Best Student Publication at the Student Publication Association Awards. Here's what they had to say about their win:
We are beyond proud to have won Best Publication in London at the Student Publication Association Awards. All of our three platforms – Pi Online, Pi Magazine and PiTV - have had to make considerable changes to their production processes in order to adapt to Covid-19 restrictions. This year, sharing student stories and reporting the news was not only more difficult, but also more important than ever, and all platforms rose to the occasion, exhibiting resilience, innovation and journalistic integrity across all content they produced.
One of this year’s biggest challenges was to maintain a sense of community within student environments that were broken apart by campus closures. For this purpose, we have emphasised coverage of student initiatives and quarantine lifestyles, through series like “UCL’s Lockdown Entrepreneurs” by Anna Val Navés, which spotlighted students who persevered against the pandemic and continued launching exciting projects in 2020. Another series which has grown popular is “Behind the Mask” in which our columnist Anna Sarasiti would Facetime UCL students that are studying from abroad and chat about their individual routines and experiences with online learning.
The Term 1 magazine, themed Defiance, was a celebration of boldness and resistance in these challenging times. This edition showcased the diverse perspectives of the UCL community; all of the magazine content came from original student writing, artwork and design. The magazine also featured a huge range of interviews with members of the student body and wider community, allowing exploration of the factors that matter most to those at UCL. Notable articles include “A Taste of Resilience in London’s Chinatown”, “UCL Occupation Movement: Ten Years On” and “Behind the Scenes: UCL Staff Reflect on Campus Reopening”.
Exhibiting incisive and often humorous authorial voices, our writers have come through this year to provide engaging content that kept students feeling connected to each other despite the circumstances. I would like to thank each member of the society for all of their hard work and dedication this year. I am incredibly proud!'