Jolel Miah was awarded the Lord Lieutenant Community Engagement Award and Hamdi Lemamsha scooped the Research Impact of the Year Award at a ceremony at the Putteridge Bury campus.

As well as studying for a PhD in Behavioural Psychology, Jolel is the Founder and Chair of Luton based charity Our Minds Matter, which aims to promote mental wellbeing in the town and beyond.

He recently organised the charity’s first conference at the University, which saw students, academics, medical professionals, politicians and service users come together to look at how faith and culture can help maintain mental wellbeing.

The University’s Vice Chancellor Bill Rammell said: “Jolel is an outstanding student and a credit to the University. His work in the field of public health within the local community is very visible and his research, that encourages sustainable travel and promotes physical activity, has had a great impact.”

On receiving his award, Jolel said: “I was shocked but pleasantly surprised when my name came up. I didn’t expect this to happen but it just shows that goods things can happen if you work hard. I’m also really grateful to everyone who nominated me.”

The Research Impact of the Year Award went to Hamdi, who is originally from Libya and was studying at the University when civil and political unrest broke out in the country.

Despite the dangers, Hamdi returned to Libya under strict security provision to carry out fieldwork for his PhD looking at obesity management in the country.

Mr Rammell said: “Throughout his PhD, Hamdi's commitment to seeking to improve the lives of the Libyan population was abundantly evident. His resilience in carrying out fieldwork has been recognised by the Libyan government, who attended his recent graduation. He is a real inspiration, not only to students but also to staff researchers, who may be contemplating research within a conflict area.”

On receiving his award, Hamdi said: “It’s so amazing to win. I am honoured to receive this award and I accept it from the bottom of my heart. I want to give special thanks to everyone who nominated me, but also to my supervisors who helped me on my journey.”

There was also success for the Bedfordshire Police Community Cohesion Team. The team was named Partner of the Year for the collaborative work between Bedfordshire Police and the University’s Careers and Employability Service to encourage students from all backgrounds to consider a career within Bedfordshire Police.

• See the full list of winners here