Faculty of Communication Sciences students took a very special flight on 10 May.  On this date, the Main Hall hosted the IMMA Awards Ceremony, a celebration set up like a trip on a plane where the destination was the start of each students’ professional career.  Those students were the same ones collecting awards that day for a whole year of work and enthusiasm. 

The hostesses welcomed the students, lecturers and professors, family members and friends and showed them the way to their seats from where they could watch the nominated projects at an awards ceremony piloted by three presenters: second and third year Journalism students Rubén Navarro and Susana Martínez, and first year Audiovisual Communication student Valeria Gálvez. 

Associate lecturer Pere Buhigas, director and presenter of Lab24 for C24h at TVE, attended the event along with other professionals from the communication sector.  The journalist expressed his enthusiasm about the awards ceremony and said that he had no doubt that many of the ideas were going to “be good contributions due to their creativity and the fact they are the result of effort and imagination”. 

In fact, all of the nominated projects were evaluated by professionals from the sector.  Cinema director Geoffrey Cowper, actor and UIC Barcelona graduate Christian López, and creative director and alumni member Ignasi Guerrero, were all members of the jury that awarded the best Audiovisual Communication projects. TVE reporter Cristina Pampín, Telecinco News writer Alberto García and the coordinator of Cuatro News and Tele 5 Catalunya Gemma Cuervas were members of the jury for Journalism.  Marketing professional and UIC Barcelona lecturer Luiggi Sarrias, partner at Onza Comunicación María Martín and creative director Susanna Jansana evaluated the Journalism and Public Relations projects. 

As a result of the evaluations, the best FDP for the Bachelor’s Degree in Audiovisual Communication was awarded to El color del agua by Belén González, Ana Mª Burgos, Elizabeth Lorda and Nadia Salmerón. In the Journalism category, the award was given to Alvoca’t al canvi! by Carla García, Laura Juanes, Silvia Martínez and Carla Mercadal. The best Final Degree Project (FDP) award for the Bachelor's Degree in Advertising and Public Relations was given to Natura Feeling by Camilla de Bastos, Loredana Martínez, Celia Muntaner and Paula Ramis. Finally, the best Final Degree Project (FDP) award was given to Los hombres y la publicidad: un análisis de la representación de la masculinidad en la publicidad impresa contemporánea by Natalia Caballero Mejía. 

During the break, attendees had the opportunity to watch a show by magician Paul Henry, just before the awards in the Miscellaneous category were presented. 

In this category, the best Journalism project was Diarios de guerra, by Mar Martínez. Under the same category but for the Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Public Relations the award was given to Sus arrugas son experiencias, by Fernanda Jacinto, Belen Arcentales, Ainhoa Asensio, Nina Göller, Marta Aluja and Paula Blanchart. The winning Audiovisual Communication project in the Miscellaneous category was ¿Y Qué Más? by Carlota Busquets, Adrià Cardona, Maria Colominas, Miquel Costa, Anna Escribano, Gisela Estrenjer, Blanca Guilera, Nicolás Kerner, Pol Mellado, Adrià Roig, Cristina Sabaté and Max Schmid.

Special mention was given to the best project in terms of values, for This is Bosnia, l'altra cara d'Europa, by Anna Armengol. This award was handed out by the Dean of the Faculty, Alfonso Méndiz. 

Upon his arrival at the awards ceremony, the Dean stated that “The IMMA Awards are a springboard to allow students to demonstrate everything they have learned throughout their degree programme and at the same time show society that they are ready to serve others from a communications perspective which offers solutions and contributes solidarity to the world”.  Méndiz also declared that he is “fully satisfied with the staggering quality of the projects” and underlined the fact that “in such a troubled world these are projects that transmit hope”. 

The projects were screened during an awards ceremony where the script was written by third-year Journalism student Guadalupe Galisteo. The students involved in this Faculty event moved far beyond the communication classroom. Bachelor’s degree in Architecture students also contributed by designing the statuette received by the seven awarded projects. INSTAX also sponsored the awards this year, for the second year running. 

The IMMA Awards were set up in 2009, are festive and celebratory and aim to recognise and award the best Final Degree Projects (FDPs) in Audiovisual Communication. Since 2018 the awards have been providing recognition for FDPs across the faculty (Journalism, Audiovisual Communication and Advertising and Public Relations) as well as other projects created by students throughout the year. Once the ceremony came to an end, the plane landed without a hitch after a flight that was moving and had an emotional impact on each and every passenger.