Our alumni are a talented community who go on to achieve wonderful things after graduation.
Here we’re celebrating just a few highlights from the past year.
Recognising success at our Alumni Awards
We were delighted to host our first Alumni Awards event in May 2022 to celebrate the many achievements of our graduates and reveal our Alumni of the Year award winners for 2022, recognising outstanding professional achievements, contributions to the community, and an ongoing commitment and contribution to Brunel. Based on the votes of our alumni community, Meesha Turner (BA Drama & English, 2012), Dr Soloman Moses Almadi (PhD Information Systems & Computing Research, 2011) and Dr Akuha Aondoakaa (PhD Electrical Engineering & Electronics Research, 2020) were named as this year’s winners. We were also pleased to announce the winners of our Alumni Association of the Year and Supporter of the Year awards and recognise success stories within the alumni community.
Alumnus secures greatest honour within occupational therapy profession
Keir Harding (BSc Occupational Therapy, 1999) has been selected to deliver the 2023 Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture, widely considered as the greatest honour of the occupational therapy profession.
MBE honour for charitable services
Connie Henry (PGCE, 1997), founder of Track Academy, was honoured with an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours for charitable services to young people through sports and education.
Creative alumni win Santander funding
In partnership with Santander Universities UK and as part of our Creative Industries Alumni Network, we were thrilled to announce Holly McComish (BA Theatre, 2018) (pictured), Josie Daw (BA History, 2013) and Janet Bulla (BSc Sociology, 2015) as the winners of our 2022 Creative Development Competition, each securing £1,000 of Santander funding to support their personal and professional development within the creative industries.
Alumna named as world leading scientist
Dr Amina Buallay (PhD Management Studies, 2020) was included in the listing of the World’s Top 2% Scientists (by Stanford University) out of 160,000 global researchers from 22 fields and 176 sub-fields.
Practical Design Innovation Awards for design graduates
Alex D’Souza (BSc Product Design Engineering, 2021) won the only Gold award from the first Practical Design Innovation Award for his design, ‘Viu’ - whilst Barney Twine (BA Industrial Design & Technology, 2021) scooped a Bronze award for his design, ‘Aeolus’.
Olympic debut for alumna
Bryony Pitman (MA Intelligence and Security Studies, 2021) made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games, representing Team GB in Archery.
Sporting success for Brunel athletics stars
Brunel sporting talent took to the 2022 Commonwealth Games with alumnae Holly Mills (BSc Sport Sciences, 2021) (pictured right) in the heptathlon, Ellie McCartney (BSc Sport Sciences, 2022) (pictured left) on pole vault and Melissa Courtney-Bryant (BSc Sport Sciences, 2014 / MSc Sport & Exercise Psychology, 2017) in the 1500m. Melissa also represented the Great Britain and NI team in the 1500 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
PhD alumnus elected a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS)
Professor Abba B. Gumel (PhD Mathematics, 1994) - who currently holds The Michael and Eugenia Brin Endowed E-Nnovate Chair in Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA - has been elected a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) for his “contributions to the mathematical theory of epidemics, applied dynamical systems, and promoting the use of mathematics to help solve global health challenges".
Alumna celebrated as an ‘Awesome Entrepreneur’
Solveiga Pakštaitė (BA Industrial Design & Technology, 2014) is featured in the new Rebel Girls Awesome Entrepreneur book (two pages after Rhianna!), showcasing epic female entrepreneurs.
Celebrating innovation in international education
Dev Aditya (LLB Law, 2017) (pictured) was named International Alumni of the Year at the PIEoneer Awards for innovation and achievement in international education. In 2022, Dev Aditya was also recognised as a Top 50 Global Student by the Global Student Prize and selected for his PhD research into the enrichment scheme studentship of The Alana Turing Institute; the premier AI institute in the UK.
Alumna recognised for Iraq’s first Code Club
Nadia Alaboody (PhD Electrical & Electronics Engineering, 2017) was named a Global Finalist in the 2022 Study UK Alumni Awards and the winner of the Pass It On Awards Program for women technologists for leading Iraq’s first Code Club and encouraging the next generation of digital makers.
Fundraising for the community
Arun Koshal (MSc Building Services Engineering with Sustainable Energy, 2011) supported his local community, joining other parents from Northwood College to raise over £17,000 for the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in a charity 10k run.
Alumna named as Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Ariana Abawe (BA Journalism, 2020) (pictured) was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the recent West London Business Awards, with Bizhan Neromand (Business, BSc 2018 / MSc 2019) highly commended in the same category.
Young Innovator Awards for alumni trio
Entrepreneurial alumni Anastasia Georgievskaya (BSc Biomedical Sciences, 2020), Joanna Power (BSc Product Design Engineering, 2021), Peter Griffin (BSc Product Design, 2021) were all recognised with a 2021/22 Young Innovator Award by Innovate UK and The Prince's Trust.
Bringing drama to our TV screens
Actress Adelayo Adedayo (LLB Law, 2011) gave a sterling performance in the BBC drama series, The Responder.
Going electric in Oman
Co-founder of Mays Motos, Haider Al Zaabi (BSc International Business, 2012 / MSc Management, 2015) has launched Oman's first electric car (pictured).
Alumna recognised as inspiring individual in industry
Nipuni Karunaratne (MEng Aerospace Engineering, 2014) was recognised in The Manufacturer Top 100 list, showcasing the most inspiring individuals in industry.
Alumni trio named as Brunel Freelancers of the Year
12 fantastic freelancers were crowned ‘Brunel Freelancer of the Year’ by the Entrepreneur Hub, including alumni Ariana Abawe (BA Journalism, 2020), Chloe-Anne Cortes Dellipiani (BA Creative Writing, 2021), and Matthew Huy (MSc Sport Sciences, 2022). Each won a share of the £15,000 prize fund at the 2022 Freelancer Awards.
Celebrating 20 years of music for percussion duo
Katie Stephenson and Dave Smith (both BA Music, 2002) (pictured) celebrated the 20th anniversary of Bang On! - the junk percussion duo started during their Brunel studies, whose performances include the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent!
Alumnus recognised as Computer Educator of the Year
Dr Yogesh Dwivedi (MSc Information Systems, 2002 / PhD Information Systems & Computing Research, 2006) was named as the winner of the IACIS 2021 Computer Educator of the Year Award; the first time it has been awarded to a UK-based academic.
Alumna shortlisted for 'Women in Tech' award
Ilesha Dua (BSc Finance and Accounting, 2015) was shortlisted to the final 200 candidates for the 2021 #TechWomen100 Awards.
Double award accolade for Law alumna
Nasim Bazari (LLB Law, 2010) (pictured) was named as the ‘Rising Star In-House Legal Counsel of the Year by LexisNexis Middle East and recognised for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning’ by Middlesex University, Dubai.
Gameshow fever for our alumni
Presenter and journalist Ria Hebden (BA Film & Television Studies with American Studies, 2004) featured as a contestant on the ITV show, Dancing on Ice whilst presenter, award-winning journalist and documentary maker Nikki Fox (BA Music, 2003) appeared on BBC gameshow, The Wheel.
Alumnus premieres his second opera
The Red Room - the second opera from Dr Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour (PhD Music, 2016) - premiered as part of the Tete-a-Tete Opera festival.
Competing for design superstar title
Henry Collins (BA Industrial Design & Technology, 2015) (pictured) competed in the Sky Arts series The Big Design Challenge to be crowned “Britain’s next design superstar”.
Enterprise funding win for entrepreneurial alumnus
Pet Instincts - a business from Anil Puri (BSc Product Design Engineering, 2018) - was selected for the Hillingdon Enterprise Fund, putting them well on the road to launching their first product.
Brunel in Print highlights
Showcasing some of the latest publications from our alumni authors:
- Anna Tan (MA Creative Writing: The Novel, 2019) released her novel, Amok - the first in her Absolution series.
- Bestselling author Arushi Vats (MA Creative Writing, 2019) released her latest novel, When Broken Hearts Meet.
- Dr John Matlin (American Studies, BA 2004 / MA 2006) released his novel, Trade Off, with his next novel, End Game, available in early 2023.
- Rob Ellis (BSc Sport Sciences, 2003) published his new book, The Soccer Coach's Toolkit - sharing a wealth of coaching activities for players of all ages and abilities.
- Olympic gold medallist Kate Richardson-Walsh (BSc Sport Sciences, 2003) released Winning Together - her new book written with Helen Richardson-Walsh.
- Philip Nourse (BTech Psychology, 1972) released his memoir - One Life, Two Worlds - recounting his days living in Windsor Castle, singing in the choir of St George’s Chapel and meeting royalty.
- Cuckoo In The Nest - the debut novel from Fran Hill (PGCE, 2003) - will be hitting bookshops in March 2023.
Do you have a success story to share?
If you have an achievement or success story to share, we’d love to hear from you - email the team at alumni@brunel.ac.uk.