Westminster joins world elite: The top news stories of the year

The Act of KillingIt has been a busy year for the University of Westminster. We have been moving up the ranks, winning BAFTAs and enjoying success with our students.

Now we are reaching the end of the academic year, we thought it would be a good time to round up the most popular news stories in case you missed any.

In first place…

1. The University of Westminster joins world elite

Westminster is ranked as the number one university in the United Kingdom for "Media, Journalism and Communications" according to a leading international league table.

2. Architecture ranked second in UK

Westminster has been ranked joint second in the UK by the highly respected professional publication Architects’ Journal in their AJ Top 100 special issue.

3. Oscar nominated, BAFTA winning: The Act of Killing

The Act of Killing was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards ceremony held on 3 March. The film has also scooped a BAFTA for Best Documentary and has won a string of awards with more than 40 prizes in film festivals around the world over the last 12 months.

4. New niche photography short courses now available at the University of Westminster

The Department of Photography at the University of Westminster has launched an exciting new programme of short courses. Photography and film education at the University has a unique depth of tradition, with the world's first courses in photographic chemistry delivered at the then Polytechnic, where the Lumière Brothers screened the first ever film shown in the UK.

5. University of Westminster fashion graduates show off their collections

The University of Westminster’s BA (Hons) Fashion Design graduates showcased their debut collections in style as their designs hit the runway at the University’s Ambika P3 gallery in London.

6. Architecture students score a bull’s eye in RIBA awards

Two undergraduates and one graduate from Westminster have been commended in the RIBA Journal Eyeline drawing competition, announced this month. This is a fantastic achievement for Janis Atelbauers and Kishan Bhopal, who are both Architecture BA honours students, and Jimi Deji-Tijani who graduated from the course in 2011.

7. OPEN2013: a snapshot of our architecture exhibition

This year’s end of year show, opened by Westminster alumnus, Vicky Richardson (Director of Architecture, Fashion and Design at the British Council), rivalled the best work internationally, for its vibrancy, diversity and depth of content.

8. School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages students celebrate their achievement awards

Sixty-eight students from the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages, who are currently in their second and third year of studies, have been awarded a University of Westminster Achievement Award in recognition of their success in coming top of their undergraduate degree course studies last session.

9. University Of Westminster launches collaborative art and science exhibition

The University of Westminster’s Broad Vision project opened with an exhibition at the GV Art gallery, which brought together the works of an interdisciplinary group of art and science students engaged in collaborative experimentation and research.

10. DNA sequencer acquired by the University of Westminster

The University of Westminster has recently purchased the latest technological breakthrough in the field of DNA sequencing; the semiconductor Ion Torrent™ Personal Genome Machine (PGMTM). This is the most advanced and efficient semiconductor sequencing-based machine currently available