A university in Scotland has created an annual prize in memory of an aspiring journalist who died suddenly in January at the age of 21.

Darren Joliny, a journalism student at Glasgow Caledonian University, collapsed while playing football on 7 January from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome.

Now the university has created the The Darren Joliny Prize for Journalism in his memory, which will recognise the top students in the BA Journalism graduating class.

Nick Bevens, BA multimedia journalism programme leader, said: “We are delighted to launch this award in memory of such a talented and popular student as Darren.

“Darren’s untimely death stopped us all in our tracks. He graduated last summer and he was justifiably looking forward to a very promising future. Darren was enormously popular among his tutors, his peer group, and right across the university.

“He was an integral part of every class he was in, a larger-than-life character in every sense.

“His loss was felt by everyone here, so we hope this annual award will act as a timely reminder of what a great person he was, and what a great contribution he made to so many people, and to GCU.”

Darren’s uncle Michael McCann, added: “Darren was only with us for 21 short years but his family knew he was a special individual. The Darren Joliny Prize for Journalism will be awarded annually in his memory and many more people will find out how special a person he was.

“Darren wasn’t naturally academic but he worked hard as a student to achieve his goal – a degree in journalism. Hopefully his endeavours will inspire others.

“On behalf of the family, I’d like to thank the Glasgow School for Business and Society GCU for remembering Darren in such a unique and special way. We will never forget our golden boy and this award will ensure his memory lives on.”

To find out more about how to support the Darren Joliny Award, visit http://www.gcu.ac.uk/alumni/makeadonation/