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LCF PR student wins inaugural TCS Award for innovative Final Major Project

We Work Logo with colourful background
We Work Logo with colourful background

Written by
Lynsey Fox
Published date
24 September 2019

Final year students from BA (Hons) Fashion PR & Communication were shortlisted for the inaugural TCS Award with renowned communications agency, The Communications Store.  The award recognises LCF’s emerging talent in PR and communications and marks the start of a collaboration between The Communications Store and London College of Fashion's PR and Communications course.

Four shortlisted students - Natasha de Heney, Abbie Wilkes, Mayuri Jhalani, and Laura Ricaurte Devies presented their Final Major Projects to TCS who were impressed by their insight, confidence and commitment.

Laura was named as overall winner for her project on co-working space We Work. Abbie, Natasha and Mayuri received highly commended certificates.   Laura won an afternoon at TCS, learning from the senior fashion team, an invaluable experience for a graduate.

Francesca Shuck, Director – Fashion, The Communications Store says:

We were delighted to work with London College of Fashion to create a TCS Award. Championing creativity and strategic thinking is pivotal for us and we are always keen to support emerging talent.

"We were impressed by the calibre of the short-listed candidates and the level of commitment they had given to their Final Major Project. As our business continues to evolve, our ambition as brand guardians is to ensure that we always have a strategic, conscious-led and audience-first approach. Therefore, it was refreshing and exciting to see these pillars reflected within the students’ work."

Sophia Plessas, course leader for BA (Hons) Fashion PR & Communication says:

“We are honoured that The Communications Store decided to collaborate with LCF and offer the students an opportunity to win an award celebrating their innovative and professional communication campaigns produced during their final year.

We would like to congratulate all the students shortlisted who benefited immensely from presenting their work to TCS at their offices, gaining feedback from industry experts.  Well done to Laura who won the award for her confidently delivered and visually inspiring project on We Work.”

Laura's winning project:

We spoke to Laura about her win, her Final Major Project and her future plans.

Hi Laura, Congratulations! Tell us about working with TCS.

Since winning the prize, TCS has been absolutely lovely. They provided top-line constructive feedback on my dissertation which I took very seriously. Additionally, I will be meeting part of their Senior Management team the first week of October. I am really looking forward to this liaison.

They have organised a schedule all catered to my professional interests which focuses on PR areas I thoroughly enjoy. This shows how caring and invested they are in this project, overall the entire team has been amazing to work with.

What are your plans now that you’ve graduated?

My student visa is actually expiring soon, so I may have to go back home while I get a working visa sorted out. Since I graduated, I’ve been working full team with Victoria Beckham’s press team, which has been an amazing experience. Just last week we did the SS20 show in London Fashion Week, where I not only got to meet inspiring people but also work first hand with designers, casting directors and sponsors. The entire experience was eye opening. It was funny because TCS was actually in charge of the guest list and seating chart of the show, so I got to work with them as well.

Why did you choose your course?

I guess for me PR was always a perfect mixture of business, advertising and psychology. It’s a practice that even though has a lot of marketing bases, one is allowed to be more creative with projects and proposals.

Tell us about your time at LCF

My time at LCF was great! I got to meet a bunch of different people from various parts of the world. I guess that’s the best part about LCF, the contacts you make within the university, after all, the people you are studying with will be the ones you eventually go into the industry with. In my opinion, networking from the beginning is the best thing you could to for your future professional career.

Any advice for future students?

YES! The first advice I would give is to ALWAYS attend to classes that feature guest speakers. They are super informative and there is no better way to learnt Han from someone who has actually had experience in the field. Also, guest lecturers normally are renowned people within the industry, and having their contact never hurts: this is actually how I got my first actual job here in London. For international students I would say to stay strong, and try and make the most of your time here London. It is a city that has so much to offer, take advantage of as opportunities as you can.