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LSE and Oxford Students are runners up, winning £2,000

The winner of the annual Real World Graduate of the Year awards was announced at a ceremony in London.

Alexander Mclean, a 22-year old Law undergraduate at the University of Nottingham, beat a shortlist of four other inspirational final year students to win the top prize of £5,000. His remarkable achievements include helping to found the African Prisons project and holding the position of vice president of the University branch of UNICEF.

Alexander was the founding member of the African Prison's project - a charity which raises money to refurbish clinics and libraries in maximum security prisons in sub-Saharan Africa. The main aim of the charity is to provide a basic level of education and healthcare to death row prisoners. He has set up a website, www.africanprisons.com, which documents the charity’s development and media coverage.

In addition to this, Alexander was elected as a welfare officer for his student halls, holds the title of being the youngest magistrate in Nottingham and has been volunteering at Trinity Hospice since he was 16. His activities have helped to earn him the title of UK Charity volunteer of the year 2006 and prompted interviews with national newspapers and radio stations. He says of the competition, "I think the award is a good way of highlighting the fact that students are capable of achieving a lot whilst at university, much of it outside of the lecture theatres".

Asked where he sees himself in ten years he answers "I don't tend to plan in advance because I have no idea what opportunities I will be presented with but I would like to work as a barrister in Africa representing people who are on death row for capital crimes and who often go to trail without having a lawyer".

The Real World Graduate of the Year, now in its fourth year, recognises that there is more to university than just academic achievement. Students are rewarded for extra-curricular, work-based or campus activities that demonstrate their attitude, energy and commitment whilst at university. This could be through voluntary work, setting up a business, student union activities, environmental work or other contributions to society at large.

There were also two runners-up for the competition who received prizes of £2,000. Saravan Nagappan, an Economics student at the London School of Economics was praised for mentoring young students from underprivileged schools and backgrounds in the UK and in Malaysia and David Langer, studying Mathematics at the University of Oxford was rewarded for the entrepreneurial start up of his company Click Uni. Two further finalists take home prizes of £500.

Darius Norell, founder of Real World magazine says, "Alexander's achievements are a real inspiration to us all. The competition was particularly fierce this year, making judging extremely difficult, but Alexander really demonstrated a determined enthusiasm and commitment to making the most out of his time at university. As well as studying hard for his Law degree, it was his commitment to improving conditions in African prisons that particularly grabbed our attention."

"However, all five finalists should be proud of their achievements, especially at a time when graduates and the value of university are under intense scrutiny. We have seen a diverse range of skills in this year’s applications – from those promoting enterprise to those excelling in debating, journalism, charity work and sport. Employers everywhere should be heartened that students are making the most of their time at university to develop experience that will benefit them in their career and life as a whole."

Sonja Stockton, the head of student recruitment at PricewaterhouseCoopers, followed by saying "it was an honour to host the graduate of the year event to endorse the excellent work completed by some very talented individuals. Their activities and contribution beyond the academic whilst at university was exemplary and demonstrates the richness of experiences of university life."

Real World Graduate of the Year 2007 is jointly sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Moloney Search.