Ayrshire College has picked up two awards at the College Development Network (CDN) College Awards.

The college won the Health and Wellbeing Award and the Research Project of the Year Award.

The college was also highly commended in the 'Inclusive College' category, while David Dougan, a sport and fitness lecturer at the college, David Dougan, was a Lecturer of the Year finalist.

Ayrshire College’s Connecting Communities initiative – which also won a UK-wide Green Gown Award at a ceremony in Liverpool on the same night – earned the College the Health and Wellbeing Award.

The education centre has campuses in Ayr, Kilmarnock and Kilwinning.

The CDN awards recognise the talent, innovation and achievement demonstrated by Scotland’s colleges, their staff and their learners.

The Research Project of the Year win was for Ayrshire Cares, a joint research project between Ayrshire College and NHS Ayrshire and Arran which involved students on the HND Coaching and Developing Sport course evaluating the impact of the Connecting Communities initiative.

Connecting Communities is Ayrshire College’s fully sustainable project dedicated to tackling inequality and enhancing the overall quality of life for everyone in thecommunity.

The Connecting Communities initiative is led by the college's sport and fitness department, in partnership with East Ayrshire Council’s Vibrant Communities service.

David is involved in many of the activities organised as part of Connecting Communities, such as a group for older adults, which allows sport and fitness students to work on personal workout plans for older adults in the community on a weekly basis.

David’s lecturing colleague Stephen Leckey was involved in the Ayrshire Cares research project, which evaluated Connecting Communities based on the themes of confidence, engagement and concentration in children.

The student-led 16 Days of Action project involving 135 students, was highly commended on the night in the Inclusive College category.

The project empowered students, from eight different courses, to raise awareness of domestic abuse and coercive control.

Angela Cox, Principal at Ayrshire College, said: “The College Development Network awards provide valuable and important recognition for our sector, and our hard-working staff.

"It was brilliant to see Ayrshire College win these awards as a result of partnership working between students and staff.

"Our staff continue to go above and beyond to make Ayrshire College a special place to learn for our students and communities.”