University of Chester-led Festival of Ideas wins top international award

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has recognised the festival's quality and impact with a Silver 2026 Circle of Excellence Award.

Now held for three years in a row by the University of Chester, the four-day, free summer festival offers celebratory, entertaining, creative, informative and inspiring events for all ages and interests, from talks by famous figures to hands-on activities, at venues across the city.

With audiences growing year-on-year, the recent 2026 festival featured comedian, writer and broadcaster David Baddiel in conversation, spectacular science shows and a Wild Futures drop-in event with a range of partners, to name just a few of the 100-plus events.

The Circle of Excellence Awards celebrate universities, colleges and schools whose teams demonstrate exceptional ingenuity, creativity, and resourcefulness in the advancement of education. They acknowledge inspiring projects and programmes, and how institutions are strengthening educational communities and helping to transform lives around the world.

The festival earned the award in the category of Special Events (In-Person, Multi-Day Events) and was among 493 winners selected from 4,185 entries, spanning 628 institutions and 33 countries, for bronze, silver, gold, and grand gold recognition.

Winning entries were chosen by volunteer judges from CASE’s membership for overall quality, innovation, effective use of resources, and measurable impact on their institutions and communities.

Judges said: “The University of Chester Festival of Ideas is a highly collaborative and creative initiative that successfully strengthened connections between the University and the broader community. Notable was the co-creation of programming with community stakeholders, the use of accessible off-campus venues to break down barriers to participation, and the strong emphasis on inclusivity. The festival’s measurable growth, broad audience engagement across generations, and demonstrated community impact were all strong.”

Katherine Wilson, Director of Chester Festival of Ideas and Professor of Later Medieval European History at the University of Chester, said: “We’re thrilled that the Festival of Ideas, and the collective efforts of all involved, have been recognised with a CASE Circle of Excellence Award.

“This recognition reflects the commitment, support and collaboration of colleagues and partners from across Cheshire and beyond who help to make the festival possible, as well as the many people who attend our events each year and contribute their ideas, energy and enthusiasm.

“The festival is rooted in the University of Chester’s mission to create community and serve society through the transformative power of education. It is shaped with, by and for our University’s communities, creating opportunities to connect, share learning, research, ideas and inspire positive change. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has played a part in its success.”

The festival has received an award previously from the Chester Civic Trust for bringing people together through free, inclusive events. It was also a finalist in the Times Higher Education Awards, the 'Oscars' of UK higher education, for Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year and Visit Cheshire Tourism Awards in the Best Event or Festival category.

To find out more about Chester Festival of Ideas, please visit www.festivalofideas.chester.ac.uk. To be among the first to hear about the next, use the ‘Get In Touch’ form on the website to let the team know you would like to join the mailing list.

For more details about the CASE Circle of Excellence Awards, go to: https://www.case.org/awards/circle-excellence