Welcome.
Headlines.
From the VC.
Stealing the show.
The next frontier.
What if you could just be all of you?.
A safe space for black students.
Celebrating Architecture at Liverpool
A lasting legacy.
Shaping the future.
A breath of fresh air.
Class Notes.
In memoriam.
Making a difference.
Your place to progress: postgraduate study at Liverpool

Welcome

In this edition we bring you Class Notes updating you on the journeys of our alumni following their University of Liverpool degree. We also share an update from our Vice-Chancellor on our University successes and look ahead to our new ambitious strategy with alumna and University Council President, Carmel Booth.

You can also read profiles from our alumni who have taken their experiences in Liverpool to forge varied and ambitious careers. This year we also celebrate the Liverpool School of Architecture and its future ambitions and update you on the global and life-changing research undertaken by our academics across Africa.

We hope that you enjoy your new-look digital magazine. We’d love to hear your feedback and ideas for future editions and e-newsletters, contact alumni@liverpool.ac.uk.

We continue to be thankful for the support our alumni give to support our students and graduate community and we also hope you continue to be proud ambassadors of the University and the city of Liverpool!

Caroline Mitchell
Head of Alumni Engagement

I hope you enjoy reading this issue of Alumni.

You will notice that it looks a little different this year. In the last alumni survey, we asked you how you usually consume information and how you wanted to receive information from us. It became clear that digital communication formats were the preferred option. So behind the scenes we have been developing a new look format that is accessible and engaging for our readers.

Producing more digital content and experiences like our online events and University podcasts, not only helps us to reach more of our global audience, but it also helps us to contribute to the University’s sustainability goals. We're taking active steps to look at our impact on climate change and are committed to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

These changes were made in response to your feedback, and we would be grateful for your feedback on this version. You can complete a short survey here.

Thank you as always for your support and I hope you enjoy our new look magazine.

Anita Irving
Associate Director of Alumni Engagement & Regular Giving

P.S. You can keep up to date with the latest news and events on our website or by following us on social media via the links below.

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Headlines

Other headlines

2024 marks the 25-year anniversary of Liverpool’s twinning with Shanghai, celebrated with a special collaborative event in China.

130 years after its creation, the Liverpool Law School has developed into one of the UK's largest and most successful Law Schools.

We've been ranked 19th in the 2025 Complete University Guide. That's an improvement of six places on last year and the University’s highest ever position.

A delegation to India, led by the Vice-Chancellor builds stronger ties in fields of mental health and neuroscience, and accepts £1.5m pledge.

The University gains a Race Equality Charter Bronze Award from Advance HE as it undertakes to reduce barriers across the institution.

University and Liverpool University Hospitals plan to improve healthcare in the region with announcement of Academic Health Sciences Campus.

Department of Chemistry wins a Queen’s Anniversary Prize, the highest national honour in Higher Education, in recognition of its pioneering research.

More news

University news pages

Research news

Alumni news

From the VC

A word of welcome from our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Jones

I have now been fortunate enough to be Vice-Chancellor of this fantastic institution for over a year and a half and, as an alumnus myself, I have taken particular joy in meeting with members of our alumni community – both here in the UK and further afield – and I have always been made most welcome.

The last twelve months have seen a number of important activities and significant successes, and it is always a challenge (albeit a pleasant one!) to pick a few highlights. I must start, though, with the launch of Liverpool 2031, our new strategic framework published last September. Setting out our ambitious vision for the future of the University, Liverpool 2031 builds on our institution’s distinctive strengths and characteristics with the goal of breaking into the top 100 universities worldwide. Work on all areas of the strategy has started in earnest and I am particularly pleased to see this already translating into rankings successes, with an 11-place rise in the QS World University Rankings 2025 taking us to 165th. This follows a recent five-place rise to 19th in the Complete University Guide 2025, which I believe is our first time in their top 20.

September also saw us awarded Gold in the Office for Student’s national Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) scheme; a fantastic achievement, which recognises the excellent education and learning experience we offer our students. The panel noted the impact of our alumni community in supporting our student offer by mentoring, speaking at events, offering placements and graduate opportunities, and supporting curriculum development. I would like to express my sincere thanks for the dedication and continued involvement from our alumni community; your support will always be invaluable to the future success of our University!

Turning to research successes, March saw the announcement that the University of Liverpool would lead a new £125 million national research facility to drive forward scientific discoveries and technological advances in areas such as sustainable energy, advanced materials, quantum technologies, and personalised medicine. The facility, known as RUEDI (Relativistic Ultrafast Electron Diffraction and Imaging), will be the world’s most powerful microscope for imaging dynamics, positioning the UK as a global leader in ultrafast electron microscopy. Staying in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, I was delighted to be invited to Buckingham Palace in February to be presented with the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Chemistry by Her Majesty the Queen. The Prize, which is the highest national honour in the sector, was awarded to the University’s Department of Chemistry for its pioneering research to address global challenges and benefit society.

Stealing the show

Liverpool’s very own ‘burglar for hire’, Jenny Radcliffe takes us through her Liverpool upbringing and education, and how she gained access to an unusual career in security

A born and bred Liverpudlian, Jenny is a self-confessed city lover who grew up feasting on Liverpool’s energy, history and culture. However, once she finished school it was the University’s English Language and Literature department that kept her local, as much as the city itself.

“I was lucky enough to study with Professor Jill Rhodes, who is an amazing person and an inspirational mentor,” says Jenny. “Liverpool has a very wide curriculum for English; we did everything from Old English to the New York poets. It was such a brilliant foundation to study. Now, I deliver a lot of keynote speeches as part of my job, and the foundation of language, storytelling and theatre that I learned during the course have all helped me to become a strong public speaker.”

Post-graduate pivoting

You might be wondering how, as an English graduate, Jenny pivoted into a career in social engineering. But first things first: what actually is a social engineer? “A social engineer is someone who's non-technical, typically, and who manipulates human traits, characteristics and errors in order to access unauthorised things like buildings, information, finances and data,” explains Jenny.

Jenny works with large corporations or high net worth individuals to test their security systems as a protective measure against those who would do the same thing with malicious intent. Essentially, Jenny and her team replicate human criminal activity in order to help their clients strengthen their security measures. Her ultimate goal, she says, is to educate anyone she can about protecting themselves from psychological breaches.

Shaped by Liverpool

The role certainly sounds quite niche, which begs the question: how did she fall into this particular line of work? Jenny’s answer is pretty simple. “You should never underestimate a bored, clever kid with no money.” Growing up in Liverpool, she and her cousins spent a lot of time outdoors sharpening their street smarts and gaining access into unoccupied buildings.

When the group ended up making contact with the city’s football players (“the only ones in the city who had any money at the time”), the exchange led to a job. Jenny and her cousins were hired to look after the footballers’ houses while they were away. “It was just extra money while I was at uni, to buy my books and go on nights out and things”, Jenny explains. “Then the word spread, and I went from helping some businesses in Liverpool to helping lots of businesses in Liverpool. I was then asked to do jobs a bit further afield.”

A colourful career journey

Jenny’s unusual career path took her on some wild - and sometimes risky - rides, including navigating rooftops, cellars and staircases across Europe to raiding the mansion of a suspected gangster in the Far East. Her career has been so colourful, in fact, that she’s written an entire book based on her stories. People Hacker: Confessions of a Burglar for Hire was only released last year, and is already being made into a TV series. The release date is yet to be confirmed, but Jenny had some non-negotiables in mind before filming even commenced.

“It’s important to me that certain things are put across accurately, and positively. The humour has to be Scouse humour - not just English humour, and my character and the city of Liverpool can’t be portrayed in a negative or malicious light. That requires elegance; I’m cheeky and I’ve taken risks, but fundamentally I’m on the side of the angels – and that has to come through.”

Making it count

With hundreds of break-ins under her belt, a successful book, a TV series in the pipeline and a job that enables world travel, you could argue that Jenny has already bagged some major career milestones. However, she’s not done yet. Alongside further security projects, Jenny is courting the idea of writing another book of tales yet to be told. Finally, she’s thinking about producing a podcast based on a quirky case that landed on her company’s desk.

So, as a successful social engineer, author and University of Liverpool alumna, what sort of advice can Jenny offer to students today? “Don't be prescriptive, and don't let other people decide what you are or are not good at,” she says. “Work ethic is the determining factor between success and failure. It’s great to have talent, but a strong work ethic will absolutely outrun it.

“In my belief, you've only got one shot at life – so make it count. Liverpool is a great city for that. Keep coming to Liverpool, keep adding to the diversity and the creativity and the innovation and the success of the city. We’ll always welcome people for bringing in more of that.”

Quick questions video transcript:

Hi, my name is Jenny Radcliffe. I'm a security consultant, author, media commentator on security matters. To do with the human elements of security. I studied English language and literature at the University of Liverpool in the early 90s. And they've asked me to answer some quick questions about my time there. So first question.

Standout highlight of study in Liverpool.

well, apart from the fact that I got to meet, some amazing, academics and friends there, particularly, I would shout out to Professor Jill Rhodes in the English department, who was amazing to me and who opened my eyes to really analyzing things and looking at things differently. so apart from the people, my highlights of studying in Liverpool is, well, Liverpool.

The campus is near the city center and Liverpool is an amazing, exciting city with lots to do, lots of different tribes that you can go and find and hang out with.

So my highlight of studying at the University of Liverpool was probably the fact that it was in Liverpool, which meant all the fabulous experiences at uni, were right in the middle of a fabulous city.

What was the biggest lesson learned at the University of Liverpool?

you don't have to choose a degree with a career necessarily in mind. Then you can choose to do a degree because it's what you go to. It's what you want to study. And as long as you, prepared to apply yourself and work hard, you will always benefit from doing that.

You know, studying a degree, sort of any degree, as long as your interest is in it and feel that you can work at it and enjoy it will always be useful to you in life.

Don't, you know, don't believe that it has to be something you directly connect to your future career. If a degree calls to you, if you want to do some studying because you think you'd be good at it and you can apply yourself, go ahead and do it.

Most embarrassing moment.

Probably just I went through a phase almost of sort of calling professors mom or dad or law or sweetie, and it just it just came out, and that was pretty embarrassing. my dad was elsewhere, I guess.

Something you can’t live without.

I guess very boringly, but, probably true for a lot of us. I can't live without my phone.

Coffee, especially facing the moon. Can't live without that. my passport and my hairdryer.

Advice for students?

we tend to catastrophize every decision. We tend to think that we if we make the wrong decision, everything could fall over and the world will end, and it doesn't.

So if you don't know what you want to do at the age of 6 or 16 or 21 or 30 5 or 50, I don't think that's necessarily a problem.

Life has a habit of of guide you on a path and things will work out. We don't need to catastrophize every decision. Sometimes we have to just take the leap and do something. Make the right decision for the moment. And it's okay to change your mind. Go forwards. If something else seems more appropriate.

Video ends.

The next frontier

We're on the brink of an AI revolution - and entrepreneur Jesse Lyu is in the vanguard

WHILE some entrepreneurs find fortune later in life, others hit the ground running – and Jesse Lyu’s early success is no fluke. In fact, he’s been hustling since the tender age of six. Having convinced his older sister to sign up to a computer coding class so he could pore over the study materials, Jesse learned the coding ropes that would act as the first building blocks for his future career in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.

Cultural collaborations

Although he was born in China, Jesse grew up watching Liverpool FC games on television and dreamed of visiting Anfield. Indeed, the sport, music and culture he observed from afar always drew Jesse towards studying in the UK.

This idea became a reality in 2009, when Jesse enrolled in the 2+2 programme - a result of the partnership between the University of Liverpool and XJTLU, where Jesse began his undergraduate programme in Mathematics and Marketing. Having spent the first two years of his degree studying in China, Jesse completed his final two years in Liverpool. During this time, he began to build his entrepreneurial experience – despite having no idea where to start.

“I was just so new to it. At the time, in 2011/2012, no-one was really talking about startups,” Jesse explains. “But I’d never been able to imagine working for someone. Some people have clear career paths in mind, but I just wanted to work for myself. I had that idea relatively young. And I kept that idea.”

Sowing business seeds

Jesse’s first entrepreneurial pursuit was a project called Timeet. “It was dumb and it was very short lived”, he says. “It was a social software that aimed to help students to coordinate their schedules for group study slots.

“We built a website prototype over two weekends, and eventually added in other features where students could plan social activities, too. Over the first week, we got 200 registered users. The next week, we got 5,000. By the following Monday, I was walking to my class, and a student I’d never met reached out and asked if I’d heard of Timeet. That was a cool moment.”

Although Timeet had interested investors, including a promising lead in Shanghai, Jesse’s three partners pulled out of the project in favour of pursuing a master's degree, which marked the end of the company. However, having by now thoroughly whet his appetite for business, Jesse had also realised that human-machine interaction was where his real passion lay.

Leading the AI charge

In 2014, Jesse launched a company called RavenTech, which was one of the first companies to work on consumer level AI – and the first company to develop a cloud API structure. In plainer terms, the solutions he designed allowed users to access services via their voice alone. Three years after RavenTech’s launch, Baidu - a Chinese technology company - acquired it for $100 million.

Aged 26, Jesse felt too young and too driven to retire, and he set his sights on his current business venture: Rabbit. The company’s dual offering consists of a revolutionary foundation model and the consumer mobile device powered by it.

An emblem of Jesse’s passion for human-machine interaction, the idea behind Rabbit is to allow users to interact with any piece of software using natural language. Despite the technology being at the forefront of the AI revolution, Jesse remains modest. “It’s really just a Tamagotchi, walkie talkie and Pokedex combined,” he says. “You press a button, you say anything, it understands your intention and you can get things done.”

“The openness and the culture”

The invention, Jesse explains, is a continuation of his original thoughts. These were formed during his time at Liverpool, and he’s grateful to the University for allowing him to nurture his passion for technology.

“The openness and the culture there allowed me to really think about what my future career could look like. In many other countries, the universities are set up quite differently, with a very strict, ‘locked in’ schedule that doesn’t always allow students the headspace to think about what it is they really want to do. If I was to choose again, I would definitely choose the same university, and the same city.”

Jesse was also able to take great advantage of the Science Park. Here, he was granted access to vacant rooms which functioned as an office space for his business pursuits. “I had great memories there, and I think it made me view myself more seriously; it was the beginning of an identity shift from student to entrepreneur.”

Next on the agenda

So, what’s next for Jesse? “I still have a lot of ideas, but AI is in very sensitive territory right now. We're close to a much, much more advanced artificial intelligence system. Whatever I do next, the main goal is to keep in touch with the boundaries; whoever opens Pandora’s Box first needs to know how to close it.

“At the end of the day, this algorithm is designed by humans and controlled by humans - but how can you control an algorithm that's smarter than the entire human race combined?” As far as the near-term benefits go, however, Jesse’s goal is simple: to build tools so intuitive that humans don’t need to learn how to use them.

Advice for others

Having spent the last decade honing his entrepreneurial skills to impressive effect, what advice would Jesse dispense to business-minded students today? “Launching a business isn’t like ticking items off a shopping list,” he says. “It’s the other way around. You have to just go for it, and figure out what you need along the way. I’ve not met a single successful entrepreneur who told me; ‘I knew exactly what I wanted to do - I had all the resources already.’ That's just not real; it’s not true.

“If you’re okay with less than a 1% chance of success, then don’t wait around. In technology - especially now with AI - it’s tough to catch up. If you're a student, start building ideas from the resources that you can get, learn fast, and don’t incubate yourself on your university campus. Get out there, dive into the deep end and put your survival skills to the test.”

What if you could just be all of you?

Surely the ultimate multi-hyphenate, Denise Nurse is a business coach, TV presenter and lawyer who kicked off her diverse career with a degree in Law at Liverpool. Today, you may recognise her from BBC One’s Escape to the Country, but behind the scenes, she still has many irons in the fire. Lucky for us, she took a break between jobs to share her inspiring career journey and reflect on what she’s learnt from embracing all of her passions

Video transcript of Denise’s interview:

Title: Alumni interview

I think Liverpool University chose me rather than me choosing Liverpool in some ways. And I mean that in that, when you choose law, it's one of those subjects that pretty much every university offers. So you start to think, well, what is it about the particular course or am I going to choose it based on location? and I chose Liverpool based on both the quality of the course, but also how friendly and at home I felt when I came to visit. And that was really one of the determining factors. and it's something that I do a lot in my life.

So it's that you arrive somewhere. And how I made to feel is really important to me. I knew of Liverpool two. I'm from East London. I grew up in East London, my parents of Caribbean heritage. I was the first in our family to go to university, and so I didn't know much about what university life would be like. And so there were two other factors that were important which might surprise you.

One was, I liked watching a program in the 80s called Brookside, and it was brilliant and it was fun, and it made me feel as if I knew the area and the second was that my mother, who was a microbiologist, had done a course and had stayed in the halls of residence. I think the year before, and had come back saying, what a wonderful time she had and what a lovely city it was. So had good connotations. The course seemed kid. And then I got there and I felt great.

Title: Expectation vs reality

My expectations of Liverpool were probably a bit naive. I assumed all big cities were similar to London, and I think I really appreciated how massive London is. And so Liverpool felt smaller and cozier, than I was expecting. and one of the things that I was surprised about was the diversity mix. I know it is one of the oldest cities that's had, a black population for a long time in its history, you know, from years ago with the Atlantic trade and people who … black people who settled in the area for a long time.

But the way that played out in the way the city dynamics was new to me. It was a diverse city, but I didn't feel it was as integrated as I expected. And that was notable with the university. When I went to freshers week and with round all the hundreds of different organizations, and there wasn't an African-Caribbean society or Afro-Caribbean society, as we called it then, and that was important to me, where I'd grown up in East London, very, very diverse mix of people from all over the world.

So I had been very used to that. and on my law course at university, as I recall, of about 200 university students, four of us were black, and that shocked me. And I was the only one of those students who had done her A-levels, you know, was 18 and decided to go to uni. So it's mainly a lot of international students.

So it's surprising, but my philosophy and ethos is, oh well, if there's something that's missing, then create it. I set up the African-Caribbean society, so I had the opportunity to immerse myself in the community. And one of the highlights from that big highlight was I got to meet John Barnes, who, if you don't know, you should know, famous Liverpool football player, at the time, and he would just be out being in Liverpool as you would because he lived there and as part of a fundraising activity we were doing for the African-Caribbean society, I approached him when I saw him in this bar. I kept seeing him and I thought, I'll just go and ask him if he would be willing to donate something and even appear at this event. And he was so nice, so welcoming, said yes, and turned up and did what he said he was going to do. And that kind of epitomized everything that I experienced about the local community in Liverpool, and was definitely a highlight.

Title: A learning journey

I loved family law, which was the one of the subjects I was studying that year, so that was great. I absolutely loved it and I can't for the life of me remember her name, but the dean of the faculty at that time was a professor and family, and she was amazing. So being in her classes, having her tutor ship and and immersing myself in that gave me something when I thought, well, I like this, can't stand everything else, but I like this, I do this.

So I focused on that and then I knew that I liked performing. I was a dancer before I got to You need. I studied dance for a long time. I thought, intellectual property law. That's about creativity. That was my naive thought process. So I knew I could do that in third year. So those two things were what I decided to focus on. What do I love? How can I do more of it?

Title: Career decisions

I came back to London to study and to work, and I went to work for Charles Russell, a traditional law firm. Wonderful training and a partnership that the diversity this time was different because it was 99% male, 95% male, middle aged, white. there were many female leaders and the ones who were there, the five only one had children.

And so as a young. As a young lawyer looking ahead to where I thought my career might go, I didn't think the structure would support the life I thought I wanted, which I thought, I'm going to want a family at some point, and I don't see how that will work here. And I'm not sure I want to be the one having to make the changes.

I also, I think the remnants of how I felt at university, being surrounded by lawyers. Lovely. There they are. Doesn't feel very diverse. I kind of like being around different people. Creatives. So I decided after qualifying to look for a way that I could be around much a much more diversity. And it turns out, being an in-house lawyers working for a company rather than for a law firm would offer me all of that.

And Sky also managed to bring in my love of media. at this stage, I dropped my love of family law if I'd made that decision. But I had the opportunity to explore both, and I realized I was leaning more towards the media.

Title: Making it personal

Whilst at Charles Russell, I found I was the founder co-founder of a dance group called Impact Dance Foundation, which is still going and that focused on helping young people age 11 to 18 who, like street dogs, have experience. Why do experiences of dance and do professional performances? So we fundraised. We ran classes. It was brilliant. So I always had performing.

So in my mind I was happy with my legal career and I would always do that. It's something additional and it balanced me out. I was very happy. joining Sky worked. It ticked all the boxes that I had. So the diversity of media was fast paced. It was entrepreneurial. It was at that point back in 2001, still quite a young ish business.

So things moved quickly and there was a lot of opportunity to be nosy and get involved in everything. So at that point I could I thought I would have a career there as a lawyer for quite a while, but one of the reasons I studied law in the first place is because I saw it as learning a skill set that was, flexible that you could apply to other disciplines so that I might be a solicitor, might be a barrister, I could work in a company, I could work elsewhere, and I could take that skill set and do something else that had always been in the back of my mind.

And a lot of people I admire, like Nelson Mandela, I knew was a lawyer originally and then was an activist and then eventually becomes president. There's lots of people who've got a legal background who then use it in other facets, which I think is wonderful.

Title: Stepping into the spotlight

The transition to TV feels like a happy accident. I think of luck as preparation, meeting opportunity. So I'd been preparing all the time because I'd never let go of my performing, and I'd been practicing these skills and self-development. It's also really important to me. So I've gone on a self-development weekend with my best friend, and I come away and thought, well, I love my job.

I'm happy, what else do I want to do? And I did a one day television presenting course just for the fun of it in London. and at the end they said, oh, you're quite good at this. This is how you could take it further. I still no thank you. This was just a fun. Couple of months later, a competition was launched at Sky called Sky Talent and literally I walked in and there was a poster on the wall that said, can you cut it?

Do you think you could be our next presenting talent? And it was like, no. Well, actually I do. And out of that, I got the opportunity to create showreel. And as one of the winners, you were voted on, the winners were voted on by all of our peers cos the business. And you got to meet the channel heads.

And they offered if there was a role that you could do, they offered it to you, which was not what I was expecting. They offered me the chance to screen test to become a weather presenter and cover someone on sabbatical. And my first thought was, no, I know nothing about weather and I really love my job. I like I wasn't planning to leave it or do something else.

So the question that I had was, well, what would make this something I'd want to do? Because I really enjoyed it. And I thought, well, if I could not leave legal, I'd still be a to try out television presenting. that would be fun, but that will never happen. But I did say that out loud to the head of legal, and I got a call that said, we've agreed you can have a secondment and you can do six months with the weather department and Sky news.

So in six months, TV presenting became a year. And then I was offered a job with the weather department. So I had a decision to make. Did I want to go back to my legal job or would I would stay? So the the choice at that point was to do one or the other full time. And what I wanted was to do both.

So that is what led to me co-founding the law firm Help Me, which was all about flexibility and lawyers being able to be amazing lawyers and provide that service, whilst if they wanted to, having a second career or if they wanted to, raising a family or being a carer or just doing something else.

Title: Finding balance

There was a period of time when all I did was help rates, so I stopped to, working on television because that required me to travel a lot. And I really wanted to build this business and built my family. So for nine years I focused on the business and making the most of that and and having a lifestyle I could raise my young son and were at high level and that was beautiful.

Then when we sold in ‘20… so it was 2020 when I finally stepped away. And that's probably the hardest part. Even though I'd had coaching, I knew about that. That was first time I had to reinvent my identity completely. There was no business. I wasn't practicing law, I wasn't on telly anymore, and we were in a pandemic.

So the whole world was crazy. Anyway, and I took some time and I got some deep coaching. Then, and out of that, I have set up a coaching business. And then I remembered how important it was to me to always have the performing side. So I made my way back into television. And so for the last three years now I am back presenting escape to the country, which is the show, that I've presented for over 20 years.

And now I'm also bringing my legal expertise into my presenting work as well. So I make guest appearances on Morning Live and have been watched on other shows.

Title: Doing it all

Way back, when I was deciding what secondary school sky to my parents that you want to go to school, I went here, which is quite academic. It was in Shoreline Convent because I was quite academic. Or do you want to go to stage school because I knew how much I loved dancing. So this kind of decision has been following me all the way through.

And as I've got older, I've realized, oh, it doesn't have to be one or the other like, who made that rule? it works for some people, but actually what works for me is doing both. And so as long as I can keep creating a world where I get to do both, then I'll just do that. And what I've discovered is it's not that unusual that there are lots of other people who really want to do this, and the shame is that they spend a lot of time believing that they can't.

It's they have to choose one or the other, and they always feel like a piece of them is missing and that, well, what if you can just be all of you and do both things and that's fine.

Title: Advice for students today

I would advise them what I would advise back then, which is to follow what you love. It sounds cheesy, maybe, or trite, and it's not to not do hard things. When you love something, it can be really hard. I worked really hard, healthy. I worked really hard as a presenter. I have to overcome things that I find difficult, but I love what I do so much that that's fine.

That's what I want to do. I stuck with law because I figured out the bits of it that I really loved. If they search for that, that just keep cultivating that. If there's a part of your course that really lights your fire, and when you turn up to that lecture, you're excited, then follow that. You know, spend more time in that.

See how you can apply that across the rest of the course to see the rest of it as what's going to support you spending time in that area.

Video ends.

A safe space for black students

Founded by alumna Denise Nurse (LLB Hons 1999) during her time at Liverpool, the University of Liverpool Afro Caribbean Society (ACS) continues to thrive today. Here, ACS Events Executive and second year Law student Ophelia Stone tells us about the support and community the society offers to its 250 members

The main aim of ACS is to encourage inclusion, and cultural awareness for our African and Caribbean students, but also with the whole student body. We look to provide a safe space for black students within the University, where they can make friends, find out about career paths which may interest them, and connect with the other ACS around Liverpool.

The committee manages varied activities and events for our community, such as rep your flag club night, debate night, sports day with local universities, games night, hair braiding classes, movie night, winter and cultural ball, and a how to survive Liverpool Guide. The highlight of my year has been the hair braiding class, with local braider and business owner Ene Nwafor, who runs HerlineHQ. She is a wonderful, friendly person, who loves to teach, and you can really see that through her dedication in working with the society so far.

Collaborations with other ACS across Liverpool and Manchester have been fantastic. We've slowly become a more connected city, where our members can meet different people and hopefully make lifelong friends. Society members can also learn more about scholarships and bursaries potentially available to them, as well as becoming interconnected with other black-led societies within Liverpool and beyond.

For me, ACS means the fair inclusion of Caribbean and African students, where everyone can work cohesively, have fun, and get the best out of their unique Liverpool experience.”

To find out more about the Afro Caribbean Society you can visit their website here: https://www.liverpoolguild.org/groups/society/6104/

Celebrating Architecture at Liverpool

2024 marks 100 years since the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) validated its first architecture course here at the Liverpool School of Architecture. To celebrate that milestone, we take a look back at the history of the school, the many achievements of our alumni, and a glance forward at our aims for the future, locally and globally

This March, students, staff and alumni of Liverpool School of Architecture (LSA) gathered in the city for the inaugural LSA alumni event. Timed to coincide with Professor Lesley Lokko’s RIBA Centenary Lecture discussing paradigm shifts in education and across the profession, the two-day event offered visitors the chance to connect with one another, gain an insight into life at the School and hear about ambitions and plans for the future.

The programme included talks from current students on LSA alumni and their impact around the world; the launch of student magazine Palette; Professor Robert Nicholls (BArch 1953, MA 1954) discussing his career and time at Liverpool in the post-war years; and an introduction to the new School building extension currently under construction.

‘I was thrilled to see so many alumni from near and far attend both days of our celebratory programme,” says Head of School, Professor Ola Uduku. “Professor Nicholls, our oldest alumnus in attendance, had flown all the way in from the USA at the amazing age of 92!”

Way way back

Established in 1894, LSA is Britain's oldest university school of architecture. Originally called the School of Architecture and the Applied Arts, its opening was an important event for the city of Liverpool and its artistic and architectural community. However, it was to prove a significant step for the wider international design community too. By the 1930s, LSA was the most famous British school of architecture in the world, promoting modern architecture and city planning across the world.

Among the school’s many impressive graduates and staff are influential names including Norah Dunphy (BArch 1926), the first woman to obtain a BArch; her contemporary Frances Thelma Silcock (Dip Arch 1926) who was awarded the RIBA Silver Medal; unorthodox innovator Sir James Stirling (Dip Arch 1950); town planner Lord William Holford (BArch 1930); new modernist Edwin Maxwell Fry (BA 1923); and architectural critic Colin Rowe (BArch 1945). Notable alumni such as Herbert Rowse (Cert Arch 1907), Harold Dod (BA 1909, MA 1910), Frank Williamson (Cert Arch 1914) and Maurice Lyon (MA 1906) built many important buildings in Liverpool, but they also spread a style of architecture that became known as the 'Liverpool Manner' around the world from Johannesburg to Cairo.

LSA today

The school continues to produce architects of outstanding quality and influence including multiple RIBA prize-winner Jonathan Ellis-Miller (BA Hons 1983, BArch Hons 1986); Jim Eyre (BA Hons 1980, Hon LLD 2009) of Wilkinson Eyre architects, the firm which designed the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, and Liverpool Arena; and Jonathan Falkingham (BA Hons 1984, BArch Hons 1988, Hon LLD 2022), co-founder of urban design companies shedkm and Urban Splash, which pioneered the regeneration of the city centres of Liverpool and Manchester together with other schemes throughout the UK.

LSA remains an important part of the cultural life of the City of Liverpool and the city's outward-looking international focus is intertwined with both the University of Liverpool and the school's research and teaching agenda.

Alongside the RIBA centenary, we have also recently celebrated 10 years since the first students graduated from our innovative 2+2 architecture programme created in partnership with Xi'an Jiaotong University. Located in the city of Suzhou on China's east coast, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) is a pioneering, international joint venture allowing students to spend the first two years studying in China before coming to Liverpool for two years to complete their degrees.

The creation of XJTLU was a significant moment in the LSA’s long history as an international school; one which created exciting opportunities for staff and students, bringing new faces, increased diversity, and different ways of working, as well as expanding facilities.

“The 10-year link that LSA has had with the XJTLU school of architecture has been central to the contemporary international development of the School,” says Ola. “It is unique as it is built on a genuine relationship with XJTLU which allows students from either institution to spend time in the other, and also allows for PG and staff collaborations at research levels. It has fostered a young XJTLU alumni community who have gone on to develop international careers.”

The XJTLU partnership is one of the reasons Senior Lecturer and alumnus Nick Webb chose to return to teach at the School. “This was an exciting and challenging venture for the LSA and wider university,” he says. “A strong international alumni community is of twofold importance to us. Firstly, incoming international students bring with them rich and varied experiences, which in turn are seen in the diverse body of outputs they produce. Secondly, as former students, alumni of the LSA are influenced by their studies here and go out into the world to put that knowledge into practice.”

Building the future

In order to allow LSA to continue evolving, impressive new facilities are currently under construction adjacent to the original school building. Students were fully involved in the judging process of a competition to find a winning design for the expansion, with Dublin-based architects, O’Donnell + Tuomey, ultimately winning the job.

The £23m scheme comprises a new-build addition of more than 2,000m², as well as a remodelling of the existing accommodation, facing Abercromby Square, and the neighbouring Leverhulme building, which was designed by Charles Reilly in the 1930s and revamped in the 1980s by King and McAllister.

“A highlight of our recent centenary celebrations was the popular site tour of our new school building,” says Ola. “Visitors, including myself, were so impressed with the progress of the project and excited about the opportunities it will bring when it opens in 2025. The School has more than doubled in size since the last rooftop ‘tardis’ extension was built almost 30 years ago, so this new extension will give student space that we desperately need, as well as an exciting new face and presence for LSA.”

The new school building will play an important role in our international expansion too. “As a School, we continue to grow, most notably through our MA/MSc programmes, where we have large cohorts join us from India and China as well as other countries,” says Nick Webb. “The new building will give us the space needed to better facilitate our educational goals, attracting students from around the world, and ensuring graduates are best placed for their continuing careers.

“As more students graduate and continue their careers internationally, this will offer more opportunities to invite them back to share their knowledge and experiences here at Liverpool. Today, I am in contact with alumni of the school in countries such as Canada, China, Pakistan, Australia, Germany, Egypt, Türkiye and the USA,” adds Nick. “For most, being an alum of the Liverpool School of Architecture becomes a part of your identity.”

Share your LSA journey

We are inviting LSA alumni to share their journeys since graduation by completing our online form. These will be showcased on the school web pages, where you can also stay updated with LSA news and events.

Ideas for future alumni events or support? Email us at alumni@liverpool.ac.uk

A lasting legacy

2024 marks the inaugural year of the Labid Al-Fakhri Scholarship, which will give vital funding to students from the Middle East, who wish to study architecture at the University of Liverpool

LABID'S wife Mrs Patricia Al-Fakhri established this wonderful scholarship to commemorate the life of her beloved husband. Here, she shares his life story, and why she has chosen to support the University of Liverpool, in his memory.

“My husband was born in Baghdad in 1941, and as he was gifted academically, his parents decided that Labid should complete his higher education in the United Kingdom. While completing his A-Levels in Bath, he successfully applied to the University of Liverpool to study at the School of Architecture.

Labid came to Liverpool during the 1960s ‘Merseybeat’ era, and thoroughly appreciated his education at Liverpool, and enjoyed living in the city. He immersed himself in the local music scene and even took up playing the saxophone.

After his graduation from Liverpool in 1967, Labid worked for various architectural practices, however there was a noted slump in the construction industry. During the 1970s Labid was offered a wonderful position with a large British Architectural firm, in the United Arab Emirates – where the economy was growing as a result of the oil boom.

We settled very well into our new life in Dubai, and it was a great advantage both professionally and socially that Labid was an Arabic speaker. Despite living far from Liverpool, Labid always took an interest in what was happening in the city, particularly the University. He was a big Liverpool FC fan.

During 1979 Labid took the plunge and set up his own business with just a handful of staff. By the time he retired in 2019, he had 35 employees who he considered his second family. It is a measure of the man that his staff, and all who knew him were deeply saddened when he retired.

Sadly, Labid died in April 2020, before we had the opportunity to enjoy his retirement. Labid’s memory and reputation lives on in Dubai, in the many buildings he designed and supervised. It seemed the natural thing to set up a scholarship, to celebrate his life and passion for architecture. Labid wanted to give other gifted architects from Iraq the opportunity to follow in his footsteps and to study at Liverpool School of Architecture.”

Together we can make wonderful things happen! If you’re inspired to remember the University of Liverpool in your Will, or make a gift in memory of someone close to you, please don’t hesitate to contact legacy officer, Carolyn Jones.

#YourLiverpoolLegacy Together we can make great things happen at Liverpool. You’re invited to participate in our Legacy Giving Survey

Shaping the future

President of the University Council Carmel Booth reflects on her special relationship with Liverpool and how she hopes to build on the University’s success, within the city and far beyond

Born and now based in Liverpool, Carmel graduated from the University in 1995 with a first-class honours degree in Geography before going onto forge an impressive career advising Government, local authorities and the private sector on business transformation and major infrastructure projects – from the development of the Liverpool waterfront to the London Olympics. The first woman to chair the University Council, Carmel has been instrumental in developing a new strategic framework, Liverpool 2031, which sets out our vision for the future and outlines our ambition to be globally recognised as a world-leading institution for research and education. Here, she shares her motivation and how she plans to help the University achieve its goals.

“Having moved away from Liverpool as a child, I am one of the many people who decided to come here to study and then made it my home. I was the first in my family to go to university and my time as a student at Liverpool gave me a thirst for knowledge, a passion for the city and great foundations for my career.

Professionally, I’ve been fortunate to be involved in some exciting projects all over the world but I have always been particularly keen to help Liverpool capitalise on its strengths as a city. One of those strengths is of course the University, which carries the Liverpool name all over the world.

A vision for the future

We want our new strategy to send out a message about who we are and what we can do. We are ambitious. We are bold. And we have a unique creative and collaborative culture, with our people at its heart.

To help achieve our vision by 2031, when we celebrate the 150th anniversary of our University, we have a number of objectives built around four key pillars. These are: Research and Impact; Education and Student Experience; Global Engagement and Partnerships; Place and Innovation. There are also two main themes that cut across all of the work we will do, namely: People and Culture, and Sustainability.

Within these pillars and themes, we have a whole raft of planned measures linked to our research, our student experience, our employability, and our international and local role, but the one major goal I would highlight above all else is our ambition to break into the top-100 ranked universities worldwide.

Achieving this would open up new doors for many of our students, alumni and academic staff, while also enhancing our ability to inspire the wider community here in Liverpool and grab the attention of prospective staff and students across the world. The important part is not the ranking in its own right, but the fact it really would allow us to extend the reach and impact of the University’s research and education in the long term.

Implementing our plans

The team is currently developing plans for how our approach will look over the next 10 years. In terms of our research, we are already globally leading in a number of research disciplines including Advanced Materials and Infectious Diseases, and we aim to become just as strong in more areas. Achieving this is about having a multi-disciplinary approach and working collaboratively across our research departments.

We see ourselves as future gazers and society changers, addressing the most pressing global challenges. Our global footprint, in terms of our student base and our collaborations with industry partners and other international universities is critical to our success. Our international alumni also have a critical part to play. We have a global family of more than 280,000 alumni, and part of our strategy is to better connect in a meaningful and powerful way so that they continue to feel like they are a valued part of the University’s journey and can advocate for us along the way.

Making an impact locally is just as important as our global strategy. We want to provide an outstanding experience for all of our students. As many of our graduates will naturally enter Liverpool’s workforce or found their own businesses, it follows that a more successful university will lead to a more successful city.

Heritage and culture are also of huge significance to the people of Liverpool, and to build upon this, we will invest in new facilities and digital technology within the Victoria Gallery & Museum on campus, while also nurturing our partnerships with partners including Tate and the National Museums of Liverpool.

Achieving our goals

Of course, as we seek to grow and pursue our goals, we cannot take our eye off the ball when it comes to student experience. We exist to educate, and our students will always be front and centre in everything we do. The University and the city already provide a wonderful environment for our students and that will only improve.

With the plans that we have in place and with the team that's been assembled, we should be able to achieve our overarching ambition of breaking into the top 100 universities in the world by 2031. It will also ensure that we continue to push the boundaries “for the advancement of learning and ennoblement of life” as set out in our original mission statement.

We’re a sleeping giant with huge potential and I’m so excited to be involved in this journey alongside Vice-Chancellor Tim Jones, other members of Council, and the wider University community."

Read the full Liverpool 2031 strategy.

A breath of fresh air

It’s a human necessity and a human right. But in some parts of the world, household air pollution is one of the biggest killers. In our special long read report, we spoke with Professor Dan Pope to find out about the ground-breaking research the University is leading, in an effort to bring cleaner air to sub-Saharan Africa

Photography by Nigel Bruce

When we want to cook or heat our homes, it’s as easy as flicking a switch, but billions of households across the globe continue to depend on smoky polluting stoves and fuels, such as wood and charcoal. “In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) alone, 900 million people rely on solid fuels and kerosene for household energy, and it's estimated that the resulting exposure to household air pollution from burning these fuels causes 700,000 premature deaths each year from respiratory and cardiovascular disease,” says Dan Pope, a Professor of global public health and epidemiology at the University of Liverpool. “That’s more deaths than those caused by Malaria and HIV/Aids; and between 4 and 11% of all deaths in Africa.”

Having spent 20 years researching the health, environment and climate impacts from polluting sources of household energy in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs), Dan became director of CLEAN-Air (Africa) [CAA] in 2018. A multi-country NIHR Global Health Research partnership, CAA is dedicated to addressing the burden of disease from household air pollution (HAP) through policy relevant research and health systems strengthening. The group is a successful collaboration of seven research institutions in five SSA countries, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Cameroon, co-led by the University of Liverpool and Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI).

Effecting change

The research agenda of CAA aligns with the recommendations from the WHO air quality guidelines which aim to rapidly scale adoption of clean household energy in LMICS. “We work with the Ministries of Health, Environment, Gender, Infrastructure, Education and Energy in our focus countries, to ensure our research evidence generates as much impact as possible and can really make a difference to policy,” explains Dan.

This work is underpinned by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework. “Raising population awareness on HAP, its health impacts and prevention through behaviour change is critical in supporting SSA to meet its SDG7 target: Universal access to clean modern energy by 2030,” says Dan. “It also has co-benefits for SDG3 (health), SDG5 (gender equality), SDG4 (education), and SDG13 (climate).”

Transforming community healthcare

In 2018, CAA’s first priority was creating a training programme to raise awareness of the dangers of air pollution in households around Kenya. “Our focus was really set after meeting with the Director of Public Health at the time Dr James Mwtari [now co-director of CAA], who implored us to focus on developing a module for their new community health worker training curricula” says Dan. “We put together a comprehensive training module which outlined the benefits of switching to clean household energy, while promoting harm minimisation, such as ventilation, for those households who may not be able to switch immediately, usually for financial reasons.”

In this short film co-produced by CAA and KEMRI, we see local resident Sheillah Angutwa who meets with a CAA-trained community health worker (CHW) and explains the severe headaches she suffers cooking inside on a traditional African charcoal stove. She knows people who have lost their lives due to carbon monoxide poisoning, known locally as ‘the silent killer’, and she worries for her son, who ‘often faints while she is cooking’. But while she can understand the risks explained to her, Sheillah worries about the expense of switching fuels.

The CHW is able to outline the actual costs using a table included with the CAA training, highlighting that liquified petroleum gas (LPG) is the most affordable alternative, and suggesting that Sheillah might approach the local ‘merry-go-round’ to help with the upfront costs of buying a gas cylinder. (Also called a Chama, a merry-go-round is a local micro-savings group which collect funds from their members at each monthly meeting, then pays the full amount out to one member at a time.)

When we return to Sheillah’s home several months later, it is to a much happier and healthier woman, who recounts how she was able to switch fuels using funds from the merry-go-round, and also how she helped a neighbour do the same. The positive impact of CAA’s training program is clear, and it has now been rolled across all 47 counties of Kenya, potentially impacting 60 million people.

CAA is now applying this public health initiative in its other focus countries: following a recent workshop with the WHO, Rwanda has established a ministerial sub-committee tasked with rolling out the CAA CHW training; while CAA partners in Uganda and Cameroon are working with their Ministries of Health to adapt the training to these contexts and have begun planning for piloting with the community health workforces.

Women & children

While the health risks of HAP do not discriminate, it is a sad fact that it is women and children who bear the greatest burden when it comes to this issue, due to their increased exposure. Traditional domestic roles in SSA mean that while men go out to work, women typically stay home with the children and cook. They are also responsible for gathering biomass fuels, which impacts on their safety and time (for education and work). For this reason, CAA have recognised the importance of specifically targeting messaging from their training towards women.

“In Kenya, we're now working with the Office of the First Lady (Her Excellency Rachel Ruto) on rolling out a shorter training programme which we have designed specifically to be shared with women’s groups across Kenya that adopt the community ‘merry-go-round’ system mentioned in our film,” says Dan. “It is hoped that through these table banking groups supported by the First Lady, we can reach 310,000 more women.”

However, households are not the only place that air pollution is a problem for women and children. Use of a simple wood fuelled stove at home has been likened to burning 400 cigarettes in an hour, this is multiplied many times over when cooking for school populations. CAA has crucially highlighted the issue of reliance on wood for cooking by more than 90% of African schools, a major health risk and a huge source of deforestation in Africa (the average school consuming 250 tonnes of wood each year) which has yet to be systematically tackled.

Improving school conditions

"In a school, you’ll have cooks who have spent 10 years working in intensely smoky conditions, where particulate matter [air pollution particles carried in breath] can reach 200 ug/m3 a day and 2,000 during cooking periods,” says Dan. That’s compared to the WHO safe guidelines of 5 ug/m3 in 24 hours.

In 2019, CAA’s pilot work took them to Mukuru, a slum area of Kenya’s capital Nairobi. “I was in the kitchen while one of the cooks was being interviewed and I couldn't stay there for more than a minute to listen,” Dan recalls. “My eyes were streaming, and I was finding it hard to breathe. Outside, the air was so thick with smoke, you couldn’t even see the children on the other side of the playground.”

CAA found that even in the playground, the levels of particulate matter were about 20 times higher than the WHO guideline levels. “Visiting the school was a very humbling experience for us as researchers,” says Dan. “Whilst school meals in the UK might have a mixed reception from pupils, their preparation is reliable (no one ever goes hungry) and is not a major health risk. Children in many African schools might miss meals due to insecurity in obtaining fuel wood and are surrounded by a permanent health risk from respirable particulate matter. It’s heart-breaking.”

As well as publishing the first paper on air pollution in schools from cooking, CAA have partnered with the main banks in Kenya and Rwanda who are starting to offer loan packages to help schools convert to clean cooking with LPG. “We are providing evidence on the positive health and educational impacts of clean cooking in schools,” explains Dan. “Drivers for promoting clean cooking in African public institutions tend to be to reduce deforestation. There are currently no real solutions for clean cooking in schools at a programmatic level, despite all public institutions in Kenya being told that they must convert to clean fuels by 2028.”

Barriers to progress

A barrier faced by CAA currently is the serious climate image problem suffered by the fuel they believe to be the only real scalable option to support the switch to clean cooking in SSA: namely, LPG.

While the International Energy Agency (IEA) has identified LPG as the most important and scalable clean cooking fuel for the transition to clean cooking for the SDG7 timeframe of 2030, influential donors are focussed on scale of non-fossil fuel options, for example improved wood stoves that do not achieve the reductions in HAP needed for health and cooking with electricity (which is unavailable to most homes, costly and unreliable in terms of supply).

“Concerns about LPG are currently inhibiting progress towards meeting SDG-7,” says Dan. “There is substantial evidence that switching populations from solid biomass to LPG can bring substantial health benefits, while having minimal impact on climate warming, and also protecting forest resources,” he argues.

Pragmatic change

The approach favoured by the CAA, and indeed the IEA, is a twin-track model where the international community moves rapidly to support African governments in securing widespread adoption of LPG, alongside the development of renewable alternatives (such as cooking with electricity and bioethanol). This approach can help make universal access to clean, efficient, and modern energy by 2030 a reality, without threatening the world’s vital targets to limit global warming.

Class Notes

What have your classmates been up to since graduation?

1940s-60s

J Brian Pyle (BEng Civil Engineering 1958)

I undertook the National Service Commission in the Royal Engineers. I spent three years as an Assistant Engineer building the M6 on the Warrington/Lancaster sections and went into consulting Engineering from 1963. Became a Fellow of Institutions of Civil Engineers, Structural Engineers, RIBs, and a member of the Institute of Arbitrators. I first ran a consultancy practice in 1985. I was greatly inspired by Arthur Bolton, hence my favourite speciality is structural design. I loved expert witness work - finding the true reasons for a failure. I am still designing the structure for small projects and loving it.

Dr Michael Turton (BSc Biochemistry 1967)

I completed my PhD at Liverpool Cardiac Centre, then joined Corning Medical as head of training, where I gradually got more satisfaction describing concepts than their subject matter. I became MD of Cambridge Communication, part of the Saatchi empire, where I designed documents for banks, utilities, NS&I, travel, manufacturing, mutuals and insurance companies etc. both here and abroad. The documents were simple to understand and made elegant by the intelligent use of typography and highlight colour. I left Saatchi’s in 1992 to establish Cavendish Communication, which I ran until I retired in 2010.

Dr Malcolm Gatley (MBChB Medicine 1957)

Long retired NHS consultant in Occupational Medicine. I am amazed to be still living at 90. Perhaps skiing over 60 until age 79 helped. Very happily married for a second time with four children, three of whom are pensioners!

Edward Vickers (BSc Hons Mathematics 1968)

Employed as a Dynamicist at Westland Helicopters from 1968 to 2006. Chartered Engineer and specialised in rotor systems and undercarriage systems. A member of the team that designed and developed the Lynx helicopter, which, fitted with the BERP main rotor, achieved the world speed record in 1986 which still stands currently in 2024. Also, I worked on Wessex, Scout/Wasp, Gazelle, Puma, Sea King and Merlin. I retired in 2006.

Christine Taylor (BEng Civil Engineering 1965)

On graduating I could not find a position in the UK so I emigrated to the USA and worked on designing a portion of I-77. I worked on the bridges for the intersection of the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. After many other interesting projects, I joined Mobil Oil as part of IT and started my computer career. While there, I went back to school and received an MBA from NYU. As the company headquarters started to move from Manhattan, I continued in IT but down on Wall St. By this time I was married to a Sicilian from Brooklyn and had two step-children. I retired from a Japanese Brokerage House in 2000, having been the lead technician on Y2K. I am now living in the Charleston, South Carolina area.

Dr Paul Williams (PhD 1958)

Key achievements:

1984 Elected Fellow of the Institute of Physics
1993 Awarded the Glazebrook Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics
1996 Awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours
1996 Awarded an Honorary DSc by Keele University
1998 Appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire
1958 - 1962 British National Hydrogen Bubble Chamber Project
1967 - 1970 Principal Scientific Officer, Head of Bubble Chamber Operations Group, Rutherford Laboratory
1974 - 1976 Principal Scientific Officer - Project Officer for Science, Research Council's High Power Laser Project, Rutherford Laboratory
1978 - 1981 Head of Astronomy, Space and Radio Division, Science and Engineering Research Council
1981 - 1983 Head of Engineering Division Central Office of the Science and Engineering Research Council
1983 - 1986 Deputy Director, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
1987 Director, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
1995 Chairman and Chief Executive of the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC)
1997 Director of The Oxford Trust
1997 - 2005 Councillor of the Japanese High Energy Accelerator Organisation (KEK)
1997 Member of the National Gallery Honorary Scientific Advisory Committee
1998 Retired as Chairman and Chief Executive CCLRC
1999 - Member of the Advisory Council of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Japan
1999 - 2005 Member of the Council of University College London

Ralph Gibbs (BA Hons Hispanic Studies 1952)

I spent a wonderful four years on the Hispanic Studies course at Liverpool. I lived in Greenbank House for two years and then in excellent digs in West Derby. My degree involved courses in Spain and at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. I played rugby for the 2nd and B teams with great success and enjoyment. I also enjoyed tennis with home and away fixtures at other universities.

The Union was terrific fun with lunchtime hops (girls from nearby colleges welcomed) and evening dances and balls with live bands. A great place to meet up with friends and make new friends.

John Hardy (BA Hons Economics 1964)

After Liverpool, I did an MA at UWO, Canada, then down to London to the EIU, Coopers & Lybrand and Chemical Bank. With Chemical (now JP Morgan Chase), I moved across to New York as Head of FX Advisory.

Then I became an independent International Economist and worked with a start-up investment banking firm. Since then, I have been an independent consultant; working on projects around the world for the UN, development banks, and financial institutions. I now live in West Palm Beach, Florida and am Treasurer of Millennium Institute, a quantitative development consultancy.

Photo of me with my wife Glenys and son Alex (I also have a daughter, Victoria).

Robert Jackson (BA Geography 1969)

Key achievements: MA Sheffield 1970. Research Assistant (Geography), Portsmouth Polytechnic 1970-73; Research Associate (Planning), Edinburgh University 1973-74; Research Fellow (Geography), Middlesex Polytechnic 1974-1976; Information Officer Handy Associates (Executive Search), London & New York USA 1976-77; Information Scientist PIRA (research association) & editor 'Management & Marketing Abstracts' 1977-1981. M.I.Inf.Sc. [chartered member of Institute of Information Scientists]. 1981-2007 Subject Librarian/Senior Subject Librarian (& Dep. Campus Librarian) Middlesex Business School, Middlesex Polytechnic/University (Hendon Campus).

I retired at the end of 2007 to indulge in interests in railways, railway modelling, local history and genealogy.

Grew up in Sutton Coldfield (West Midlands) then lived in London 1974-2009. I am now living in Dorking, Surrey.

Dr Brian H Jones (BEng Hons Mechanical Engineering 1961, PhD 1965)

After serving a five-year Aircraft Production Engineering Apprenticeship he was accepted by the Faculty of Engineering in 1958. After graduation he became an Assistant Lecturer while simultaneously pursuing a PhD with support from the National Gas Turbine Research Establishment. Dr Jones emigrated to the US in 1966 subsequently working for a number of aerospace companies on the West and East coasts. He founded his own company in 1975 designing and manufacturing aerospace structures using composite materials. He continued to be associated with the management of the company as President and Consultant until he retired in 2020. He obtained a number of patents having applications in aerospace, automotive and defence. During his career he lectured extensively on the technology of composite materials, including nationally presented seminars. He has been an active supporter of US Alumni activities, including being on the board of the University of Liverpool Foundation in America, Inc. He lives in Southern California with his wife of 50 years. They have one daughter.

Roger Mitton (BSc Biochemistry 1967)

He read for a PhD at the University of British Columbia and later worked in intellectual property, before becoming a published writer. His second novel Master and Son was glowingly reviewed in the Guardian, New Statesman, Irish Times etc, and his play, La Segunda, was staged to extensive reviews. He later became a foreign correspondent in the Far East for TIME-Warner and interviewed world leaders, including George W Bush, Lee Kuan Yew, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. His reporting often led to clashes with authorities and he spent time in prison in Malaysia. He now lives in Bangkok.

Dr Robert Kirby (BSc Bachelor of Science 1964, BSc Hons Geology 1965)

A BSc degree at Liverpool University starting Oct 1961 required four years of study. There was an introductory year in which four subjects needed to be studied. I chose Geology, Oceanography, Zoology and Physical Geography. On successfully reaching the end of Year 1 a further two years of study led to a BSc (ordinary) degree. An honours degree could then be achieved studying a single subject to the end of Year 4.

Dr Maurice Hirst (BSc Hons Chemistry 1962)

Happily enjoying retirement since 2000. I'm more than willing to chat (email or Skype) with contemporary graduates from the University of Liverpool. I also follow the fortunes of the Reds on a regular basis. I have wonderful memories of my time in the great city of Liverpool.

David Jenkins (BDS Dental Surgery 1964)

My Norwegian life started 58 years ago, of which 55 with my Danish wife Nina, with children and grandchildren, and all the pleasures and trials of family life combined with 45 years of dentistry.

My love for mountains continues. I still climb and ski but our summers are in Denmark. That's it! Now the important bit. A big thank you to all my classmates for their friendship during five good years at Liverpool dental school. You are not forgotten, and best wishes to you all for the future.

1970s

Dame Ann Limb (BA Hons French 1975)

An appearance as a University of Liverpool alumna on the Christmas 2023 edition of University Challenge was neither in my career plan nor my ambitions when I was an undergraduate - but I was honoured to be asked to be part of this team - and although we didn't win, we were not total rubbish! I was thrilled to answer a starter question correctly - especially as it was a History of Art question!

Terence Bouch (BA Hons Sociology 1979)

After leaving I did a PGTEC and went into teaching working in many schools in Liverpool. I ended my career at a Special School, Dyson Hall, Liverpool. I retired on health grounds in 1998. Since then I have enjoyed a long and lucky retirement. It would be nice to hear from fellow students, if they remember me.

John Regan (BA Hons French 1978, MA 1979)

From being immersed in Proust I started my career as a market trader in Blackpool selling candles, making an appreciable amount of money. After five years of doing the same job I got bored so I left and attempted to write a novel but failed (...but see below). After three years I decided to go back to work, driven by both my financial and psychological need. I successively served as a Manager of the Manchester Craft Centre; Development Manager, Harris Museum; Head of Fundraising, Alder Hey Hospital; and then I set up the first Development Office at Chester Zoo. Following this I went freelance across the European zoo community and finally published my first novel, unsurprisingly named The Zoo.

Professor John Moorhead (PhD Philosophy 1974)

The years at Liverpool and the inspirational supervision of Robert Markus set me up well for a career as a mediaeval historian, and I continue to think and write in the field back in Australia. It was a very intense and happy time in my life and I'd be delighted to hear from any old mates who may remember me. Floreatis omnes!

Professor Jose Caban (MCivic Design 1971)

After completing a Bachelor of Architecture degree from an American University and the Master of Civic Design from the University of Liverpool I went into professional practice in architecture and urban design, beginning in my native state of Puerto Rico, USA. and later in an American university where I rose to be Director of the Department of City Planning and Urban Design. Having a graduate degree from a renowned British university added a new perspective and a higher level of interest and credibility to my resume. Today, I attribute much of my professional success to the credibility afforded by a postgraduate degree from a British university.

Dr June Kane AM (BA Hons French 1968, PhD 1977)

There were dark days when we graduated, literally, as miners' strikes took out the heat and light. We escaped, first to Jordan, then the US, Singapore, and finally Australia. Some time later I left for Geneva to work with the UN, almost 30 years now of trying to make a difference and travelling the world. We married as freshers, divorced in our forties and remarried in our sixties. Danny Kane, economist extraordinaire and the love of my life, died suddenly in 2018 after a simple medical procedure led to a diagnosis of a rare form of leukaemia. I am still in Australia, still working, still travelling the world. A language degree certainly came in handy!

Photos: Danny and June Kane, Panto early 1970s and June working with the UN in Gaza, 1998.

Dr Sam Ramsay Smith (MBChB Medicine 1971)

I shall always be grateful for the high quality of teaching I received at Liverpool. It has allowed me to live a fulfilled life and to maintain some precious friendships which have endured over half a century. Our 10-yearly class of 1971 reunion will be this October, an event I much look forward to. We were all uniquely fortunate to be at university in those days when County Major awards existed and a pint of Tetley's was only a couple of bob. I pity today's students who begin their career with debts of over 50,000 pounds.

Dr John Pearson (PhD 1970)

University of Liverpool Computer Laboratory 1969
ICL 1973 – Project Manager
University of Manchester Regional Computer Centre 1979 – Computer Manager
Yorkshire Regional Health Authority 1981 – Head of IT and Management Services
Rolls-Royce and Associates 1991 – Head of IT and Electrical Services
Dumfries and Galloway Council 1996-2012 – Head of IT
National Computing Centre – Non-Executive Director

Professor Brian Boyd (MBChB Medicine 1972, MD Medicine 1980)

Over 50 years since graduation, I am still working and currently an academic plastic surgeon at UCLA. In 2022 our amazing 50 year Liverpool Medical School reunion put me in touch with many of my old classmates with whom I now have regular zoom meetings.

Dr Mark Brenner (BSc Hons Chemistry with Materials Science 1979)

I recall fondly my years at Liverpool as some of the best of my life. Liverpool city life was awesome and provided a perfect backdrop to academic study. An early academic career led to an executive role in an innovative UK plc and worldwide work experience. The technical and project management skills from a PhD provided a platform for a rapid career development to CEO roles. I am now CEO of a US Medtech company I helped to found in 2016. Liverpool still has a place in my heart and I look forward to visiting Anfield again next month.

Dr Alison Hooper (MA English Renaissance & Romantic Literature 2001)

I was Alison Hawthorne and I studied Mathematics at Liverpool University 1975-1978. I married Stuart Hooper, a fellow student on the same course at Liverpool and became Alison Hooper. After graduation, I did a PhD in Fluid Dynamics at Bristol University, graduating in 1982. I was a Research Fellow at Melbourne University, Australia 1983-1985. I moved to the University of the West of England (UWE) in 1992 where I was Head of Department in Mathematics and Statistics for a number of years. I retired in 2017. I have two children and am single again after becoming divorced in 2003.

John Peter Kyan (BSc 1975)

I had a career in software and systems engineering with Marconi Radar Systems (now BAE) for 35 years. Initially air defence and air traffic control systems, latterly, ship borne radar tracking and missile defence systems. Overseas assignments included the Middle East (Oman) and Australia (JORN). Achieved OU MSc in 2000 in Computing for Commerce and Industry.

Subsequently joined Servowatch, Ship Management Systems developer for the RFA Tide, class supply ships being built by DSME in Korea.

Finally Transport for London as technical assurance for suppliers of the Congestion Charge system technology upgrade and the Bus Radio system conversion to a digital technology solution.

Obituary

Over the years I kept in contact with a number of my university contemporaries. At this time I would specifically like to remember John Tuckey (English Literature graduate of 1975) who sadly past away in 2023. He spent much time in impoverished parts of Africa developing tools for educating the populous through the medium of radio. His legacy was the publication of a book Communication for Development: A Practical Handbook, ISBN: 9781784538200 published in 2022.

Jack Clarke (BEng Electronic Engineering 1975)

After graduation I returned to Northern Ireland to continue working in the air defence industry. Eventually, via Oxfordshire, Hamburg, and Warwickshire, after 25 years in the corona and plasma industry retiring in 2021. Still with fond memories of my time at Liverpool and Rathbone Hall.

Dame Julia Unwin (BA Hons Medieval and Modern History 1978)

A life spent in public policy, with a small escape back to academia doing a MSc at the LSE. I have two adult daughters, and was sadly recently widowed, but happily living in York where we moved in 2006 when I became CEO of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Now doing a mix of mentoring, commercial board roles, and chairing the Board of York St John University.

Alan Holmes (BSc Geophysics 1975)

I had no idea, when I began my Geophysics degree as a shy 18 year old, that I would end up the Exploration Manager in multiple regional offices of a major international oil company. My intention to travel and see the world began as a dream and translated into more than 30 years of living and working abroad, in places as varied as Yemen and northern Iraq in the Middle East, to a more relaxing Canada and Norway, with a few other locations in between. It's been quite an adventure, and it all started in Carnatic Halls!

Peter Maxwell (BSc 1976)

Since graduating I have worked in the UK, RSA, Canada as a wireline engineer. Then back in the UK with the NCB underground seismic team. In 1986 I moved to the Netherlands to work on geophysical equipment development and applications. From there I moved to the USA in 1998, continuing to work on land seismic equipment and later on seabed node development. I still live in the USA and retired in 2019.

Ian Mckee (BA Hons Geography 1977)

Ian is now retired from a 41-year career in HM Land Registry, working at the Lytham, Peterborough and finally, Hull offices. Married Carolyn nee Jones (BA Hons French 1980), in 1980, who retired as a Primary School Headteacher after more than 40 years in the teaching profession.

He has three grown up children and three grandchildren. Ian enjoys walking, travelling and volunteering on his local heritage railway, the NY Moors Railway.

Professor Michael Osbaldeston (BSc Hons Biochemistry 1969, MBA Business Administration 1971)

Professor Emeritus Michael Osbaldeston OBE (BSc Hons Biochemistry 1969, MBA 1971) started his doctoral studies at Liverpool Business School (now University of Liverpool Management School, ULMS) while waiting for his fiance (nee Valerie Davies, BSc Hons Geography 1972, PGCE 1973) to complete her course in the Education Department. They married in 1974 (pictured together) and are looking forward to celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with their two children and four grandchildren later this year. Michael’s career has included appointments as Deans of Ashridge Business School and Cranfield School of Management, in addition to Director of Global Learning at Shell International. Since retiring from full-time academic life, he has led the Quality Services function of the European Foundation for Management Development in Brussels and served on the advisory boards of business schools in France, India, Norway, Portugal, South Africa and the UK. He continues to travel the world for work and pleasure while living partly in France, and is a regular visitor to Liverpool as a member of the ULMS Advisory Board.

Glen Cayley (BSc 1976, BSc Hons Geology 1977)

My recollections of those 'salad days' are filled with larger than life characters led by the charming and fittingly, master of ancient granites Professor Pitcher. It did seem that the 'soft rock' and fossil hounds had a breezy gentle approach to sharing the mysteries of planet earth. Brenchley and Newell notably deploying deep insights with brilliant wit, that truly came alive in the pub after a tough day in the field. Meanwhile the near impenetrable riddle of how and why rocks deformed unveiled by the flinty Dr Flynn, fashioned by wartime deeds of great courage and extended periods in the howling gales of the Shetlands, left most of us baffled!

All this prepared me to a life dedicated to a career of treasure hunting on the grandest scale.

After a spell at Aberdeen learning how a love of rocks might be adapted to unlocking the secrets of discovering new energy in the form of oil and natural gas, I joined Esso and began a 50-year journey that took me around the world.

Dr Catherine Broun (née Gray) (MBChB Medicine 1972)

After two years in Liverpool, at the David Lewis Northern and Women's Hospitals, I came to Tasmania, Australia as a House Officer at the Mersey General Hospital, Devonport in 1974. After one year, I was a General Practitioner at the General Clinic, same hospital. I worked there for 10 years, gaining valuable experience in general medicine and walk-in emergencies. In 1988, I started in a General Practice in Devonport, where I still work today, despite my advanced age. I was on call for the Police for examination of sexual assault victims for 23 years. In 2022, I became Devonport Citizen of the Year.

Jacqueline Jones (BA Geography 1978)

After graduating I worked in London for British Airways in reservations and this helped to overcome a slight fear of flying. Then in Exeter, I qualified as a Chartered Accountant and moved to Scotland following my husband's job.

We settled in Scotland and became Christians (perhaps the University Christian Union prayers finally caught up with me!). Before retiring I used my accounting skills to work for Teen Challenge, a Christian drug and alcohol rehab for men. We have two children and five grandchildren nearby, which means along with voluntary works, I am busy!

1980s

Professor Aidan Dodson (BA Hons Archaeology 1985)

After graduation, I did a Cambridge MPhil in Museum Practice & Archaeology, and interned at the Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology in Cambridge, before taking a 'day job' with the Civil Service. In parallel I earned my Cambridge PhD on published work, and in 1996 began to teach Egyptology at Bristol University part-time, alongside the 'day job'. I escaped from the latter on early retirement in 2012, and thus got back to full-time academia, becoming an honorary Professor of Egyptology at Bristol in 2018. Over the years I have written some 30 books, both on Egyptology and naval history from 1850 to 1950.

Rob Steele (BEng Electronic Engineering 1980)

Wonderful memories of Liverpool, particularly Derby Hall, then an all male hall (sadly) where gowns were worn at formal events and for Sunday lunch. All meals were provided and served to students in the dining room. Career wise I enjoyed early experience abroad in Nigeria and Libya as a seismologist of all things, before returning to the UK to a varied career in the growing electronics industry. Now retired, there is a gathering of colleagues and friends planned for April 2024.

Dr Brendan McDonald (BSc Hons Biochemistry 1977, MBChB Medicine 1982)

After House Officer roles at Royal Liverpool University Hospital, I trained as a pathologist at Wycombe General Hospital, High Wycombe and John Radcliffe Hospital Oxford. In Oxford held Welcome Trust Training Fellowship (1987-1990) and Oxford University Consultant Neuropthologist (1995-1998) appointments. Then I held a portfolio career as Consultant Ophthalmic Pathologist, Oxford Radcliffe University Hospitals (1998-2018) and Principal & Partner in General Practice, North Bicester Surgery, Bicester (2002-2016).

Tim Kearney (BEng Mechanical Engineering 1984)

I graduated in 1984 after an enjoyable but very challenging three years and embarked upon a career in the automotive world with Austin Rover. I have lost touch with most of my contemporaries from Liverpool, but at times have come across old classmates such as Ged Keegan. After a few years at Austin Rover I moved on to Lotus and a more dynamic and exciting world. I somehow achieved CEng status and found work with a wide variety of automotive companies including a stint at Ford in the USA where I won a Henry Ford Technology award. My career highlight is five years in the early days at Tesla, which was a uniquely challenging experience. I was employee number five for Tesla UK, this included a stint in the USA in 2007 and 2008. Following this, I also worked on the hybrid electric TX London taxi with responsibility for a unique front suspension and overall control of the vehicle layout. I finished my career as Vehicle Engineering Director at Lotus and finally retired in 2023 after 37 interesting years in the automotive industry. I am now learning how to be retired whilst helping my children set up their homes and also helping tutor school students through the Access project.

Professor James Kingsland (MBChB Medicine 1984)

James is a primary care physician, former Senior Partner in a nationally renowned, award-winning general practice in England and is a clinical professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Central Lancashire. He has designed and led major national and international service transformation projects during a distinguished career in clinical practice spanning 40 years and is now regarded as a world authority on healthcare reform. In recognition of this, he was awarded the OBE for services to Medicine and to Healthcare in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee New Year's Honours 2012. A founding member of the Faculty of Disaster Medicine for Southern Asia, he now serves as the Clinical Director for Saving Lives International.

Professor Andrew Pitman (BSc Hons Geography 1985, PhD Geography 1988)

I moved to Australia in 1989 and have worked in the University sector, focussing on climate change, leading two of Australia's elite research centres concentrating on climate system science and then climate extremes. My personal research focuses on the flows of energy, water and carbon between the atmosphere and the land surface. I've been heavily involved in research infrastructure focused on high performance computing. I'm a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, and I shared the Nobel Prize for work with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Professor David Thomas (BSc Hons Environmental Biology 1984, PhD Botany 1988)

Left Liverpool as an expert in seaweed ecophysiology which started a lively academic journey, including posts in Germany, Denmark, and Finland. Seaweeds were soon replaced by two main research themes, the biology and chemistry of ice, and land-ocean interactions. The longest sojourn was at the School of Ocean Sciences in Bangor University where 24 years were spent teaching marine biology and researching sea ice in Antarctic and Arctic waters. Now back in Finland at the University of Helsinki, as Professor of Arctic Ecosystems Research since late 2020 looking at connections between climate change, thawing lands and coastal waters.

Mark Allsop (BA Social Studies 1981)

Diploma in Careers Guidance 1982 and worked as a Careers Adviser, Trainer, and Information specialist, in the Probation Service as IT and Information Manager then as a Business Intelligence Manager in a Local Authority. I then studied for a cert in practical statistics and then took an MSc in Knowledge Management. I took early retirement - minor heart attack - then returned to a part time job as data analyst. I am now retired properly! I have been married for 40 years to a fellow Liverpool graduate.

Anne Hodgson (BEd Bachelor of Education 1986)

My degree led me to a teaching career from which I retired at 55 just before the pandemic. My real learning journey began in April 2023, when completely out of the blue, I suffered an aortic dissection. I was away in the Lakes and felt a rip in my chest and told my husband that I had done something and it wasn't good! Little did I know at that point that only 50% make it to the operating theatre and then only 25% survive the 11 hour open heart surgery. I was one of the luckiest and I am still continuing my recovery journey, supported by my family and friends, some of whom are university friends I made whilst at Liverpool. It has been a tough journey but I know how much I am loved and cared for and feel privileged to be still here. My journey is well supported. I owe my life to the paramedics and skilled surgeons who gave me a second chance.

Martin Dixon (BA Medieval English & Medieval History 1987)

Having graduated I undertook a Graduate Conversion Course to secure a job with BDO Binder Hamlyn Chartered Accountants in Norwich. I changed tack after three years when part-qualified and completed a PGCE at UEA in 1991. For the next 29 years I taught at two schools in London, first in the discipline of History and subsequently in IT/Computing, reaching Head of Department level. In 2020 I took early retirement to return to my Norfolk roots and now live in Thorpe St Andrew.

Dr John Goodman (BA Hons Modern History & Politics 1980)

I spent 35 years working in advertising in London, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tokyo and Bangkok. In 2016 I retired from this and spent five years getting a PhD in Islamic Studies with the University of Exeter. My thesis was completed in 2021 and published as a book in 2022. In 2019 I returned to live in Liverpool, where I now volunteer for various local charities.

Patrick Higgins (BA Hons English Language & Literature 1984)

After leaving Liverpool University I spent my career as an English and Pastoral Leader in secondary schools in the Midlands. In the summer I usually work as a House Parent for a leading English Language company for young learners.

In the pandemic I worked in a Pupil Referral Unit and I am currently a House Parent in an international independent boarding school in Northampton.

Deborah Weir (BA Hons Combined Studies 1989, Diploma 1990)

I was a mature student from 1986-89 and a postgraduate student 1989-90. My closest friends were Angela Hewitt, Ruth Chesterman and Kathy Harrison.

Revd Dr Peter Colwell (BA Hons Classical Studies 1990)

Since graduating I have pursued a career in the church specialising in inter faith dialogue, taking the lead on this for Churches Together in Britain and Ireland since 2005, latterly serving as Deputy General Secretary. In 2023 I passed by PhD viva, the title of the thesis being Tilting Eastwards: The Jewish Christian Encounter and Theologies of Land, Palestinian Christian Thought, Zionist Political Theologies and the ecclesial perspective of Fr David Neuhaus SJ, with specific reference to the Holy Land as the renewed context for the theological turn in Jewish-Christian Dialogue.

Dr Peter Hannah (BSc 1979, BSc Hons Physics 1980, PhD Physics 1985)

Now retired after a career as a physicist, IT consultant and latterly care home operator. After a spell in the nuclear industry I worked in London, Copenhagen, Budapest, Prague and The Hague among other places. In all aspects of my career the analytical techniques and just the way of thinking I learned during my research at Liverpool have stood me in good stead, helping me solve various problems that cropped up. I helped run the AstroSoc at Liverpool and have been a keen amateur astronomer ever since, now specialising in deep space astrophotography.

Abdul Halim (MA Civic Design 1988)

After obtaining a Master Degree from University of Liverpool, I achieved promotion from my department Peshawar Development Authority, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan and a great exposure in my Province.

My professional achievements include being elected five times as a Vice Chairman Pakistan Council of Architects & Town Planners and nominated member Technical Committee University of Peshawar, Fata University FR Kohat and Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak Pakistan.

Professional Training/Seminars/Workshops;

Town Planning in Singapore
Training received from Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA) government of Japan
Seminar attended in China
Workshop attended through UNDP at Bangkok

Career:

Served as Chief Officer Municipal Corporation Peshawar
Director Coordination City District Government Peshawar
Director General Provincial Housing Authority Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province
Presently member Board of Directors Landuse & Building Control Council of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province

Dr William Thirsk-Gaskill (BSc Hons Chemistry 1988)

Further to my writing for fanzines while at Liverpool, I became a performance poet and writer of short fiction. I published a novella called Escape Kit in 2014. In 2019, I adapted this as a radio drama. It has been broadcast twice on BBC Radio 4. My work now appears in over a dozen printed books and I am president of my local writing group in Wakefield.

1990s

Tim Priestley (BA Hons Economic History 1994)

I retired early as a Primary Head Teacher in 2023 after 20 years in education. I am now working as a civilian with the police.

Anne Donnelly Bush (BA Hons Psychology 1990)

After qualifying as a solicitor in England in 1993, I moved to New York in 2000. I became an attorney in 2005 and set up my own practice specialising in employment discrimination in 2007. I am also a certified coach and I work with Neurodiverse/ADHD professional adults. I love to write and I am currently working on a detective novel. I occasionally write and perform stand up comedy. Since 2014 I have been the President of Alpha Ujuvi Collective, a Congolese 501c3 non-profit, which provides shelter and education to females impacted by the civil war in the Congo. I love theatre, cinema, poetry and literature. I am a keen traveller, and I have visited South Africa, Colombia, and Costa Rica. I hope to travel to the Congo this year to visit the charity I work with. For fun I love to spend time with my son and my cat, a Blue Russian rescue named Natasha.

Anj Cairns (BA Hons Sociology 1993)

Following a career spanning teaching, writing and leadership of national charities, Anj started ADHDing with Anj in 2023. She supports adult ADHDers to get to know their unique brains and advises employers on creating inclusive work cultures.

Sarah Hammond (LLB Hons Law 1992)

After completing her legal studies at the College of Law in Chester, Sarah became a Magistrate's Legal Advisor before joining the Crown Prosecution Service in 1998. She is currently the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the West Midlands region. She has responsibility for Crown court work across five police forces and nine court centres. Last year she also took up a part time judicial position and now sits as a Tribunal Judge.

Sir R Stephen O' Brien (Hon LLD Honorary 1994)

I have been Interim Chair of Essex County Cricket Club.

Helenor Birt (LLB Hons Law 1992, CE (PT) Academic Practice 2021)

After remaining in Liverpool after graduation and working locally I joined the University's law clinic as a solicitor/lecturer late 2019. In 2021 I became the Clinic Director and was appointed as a senior lecturer in 2023. Would love to hear from classmates and show anyone around the clinic if and when in Liverpool - please get in touch - helenor.birt@liverpool.ac.uk

Godfrey (aka Geoff) Nelder (Diploma 1989)

Via Chester I studied for a diploma in computing. Lord Blunkett was Education Secretary in 1994 and I asked him why on earth did he change the C in ICT from Communications to Communication causing thousands of shredded documents? He replied, ‘I didn’t know about it. I’d sent a memo around the department saying words are having an unnecessary s added, stop it!’

That diploma led to many stories and increased confidence in operating Word so that I plunged into writing a humorous crime novel. Now I’ve published many novels such as Vengeance Island, set on Malta. You can visit: Geoffnelder.com

Professor Arthur Kwena (MSc Veterinary Parasitology 1994)

After graduation in 1994, I went back to my country Kenya to continue working as a Research Scientist in Biochemistry. Two years later, I changed direction and Joined Moi University, in Eldoret Kenya as a lecturer in the department of Medical Biochemistry, School of Medicine. I registered and obtained my PhD from Jomo Kenyatta University in Kenya having done part of my research work at the University Hospital Nijmegen in the Netherlands as well as Kenya Medical Research Institute in Kisumu and Nairobi. I was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2009 and Associate professor in 2013 then to a Full Professor in 2023.

The University of Liverpool played a big part in moulding me to who I am today. The lecturers there instilled in me a research culture that made me see life from a different perspective. My classmates at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine were drawn from various parts of the Globe - South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, enabling me to appreciate humanity at large. I have lost touch with most of them although I clearly still remember Dr Hellen Cross who remained in Liverpool as a staff member of the University. Lord Professor Sandy Trees will always remain in my mind as a person who gave me a chance to shape my life to who I am today. Long live the University of Liverpool.

Dr Sameera Sayeed (PhD 1995)

After graduating from the University of Liverpool, I came to the USA for my post-graduation in Bacterial Molecular Biology at the National Institute of Health (NIH). More than 20 years in research generated unique and stimulating research articles in many peer reviewed journals. One of the figures from a research article was published on the cover page of Mol. Microbiol. 67: 15-30. Recently, one article from PA BOL was published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases, 28(9): 1911-1913. I also served as a Microbiology Faculty member at various universities, teaching both undergraduate and graduate students. Six years ago, I started my career in Public Health and served as a first responder during the COVID pandemic. Currently, I am overseeing the sequencing facility at Pennsylvania State Public Health Laboratories.

Jonathan Gordon (BA Hons Psychology 1994)

Currently Head of Ecommerce at Fabergé. Previously Head of Ecommerce at Penhaligon's. Deputy President of the Liverpool Guild of Students, 1992-93.

Janice Graves (BA Hons History 1999)

After graduation, I qualified as a primary teacher, two years later, we moved to Scotland, where I became a support teacher working with secondary aged pupils with challenges. I then started teaching young people with severe and complex needs, becoming the head of my department in 2011. My husband and I are now enjoying retirement, especially spending time with our young grandson.

Khan Aqa Aseel (MPhil Tropical Medicine 1999)

Completed MPhil in Health Information System (HIS) from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) in 1999. Since then, worked for the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a Technical Officer for HIS and Emergency Humanitarian Action (EHA) in different countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq and Jordan until 2013. Also worked with EPOS Health Management as Health Management Information System (HMIS) Expert in Yemen 2014/2015. From 2015-2019, worked with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) as the Migration Health Programme Coordinator. Studying at the University of Liverpool has been my best experience and I am still connected to some friends.

Professor Seetharama Rao (MChOrth Orthopaedic Surgery 1996)

I am a proud alumnus of Liverpool University completing the MCH course in Orthopaedics. Under study leave from my renowned institution in South India (Kasturba Medical College, Manipal), I had the privilege of getting trained in Great Britain and admitted for the prestigious MCH course in Liverpool. I have nostalgic memories of attending daily lectures in the evenings. Attending Friday meetings was the icing on the cake! I graduated in December 1997. After returning to India, I have held the post of Head of the Department of Orthopaedics in my institution and elated to the post of Professor in Orthopaedics. I am a full time teaching member of staff, having trained countless number of undergraduate and postgraduate students. At present, I have completed nearly four decades in my professional field and continuing under the postretirement scheme. My colleagues and students admire me for my UK experience, thanks to my alma mater in Liverpool.

Professor Mesa Ridel Guillermo (MPhil Tropical Medicine 1997)

He developed an extensive history in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching for Cuban and foreign students, with high dedication to scientific research in public health, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and epidemiology. He founded the National Health Surveillance System, chaired the training of human resources in Health and Disasters, was Director of the Latin American Centre for Disaster Medicine (CLAMED) with a large number of scientific articles and book chapters. He has a PhD in Health Sciences and is a senior lecturer in the international HELP-ICRC course as well as in disaster risk and climate change adaptation at the National School of Public Health (ENSAP) in Cuba.

Dr Colin Whiting (BVSc Veterinary Science 1998)

Colin (BVSc 1998) and Lizzy Whiting (BVSc 2001) have opened Beacon VetCare, an Independent two-site Community, Referral and Emergency practice in Cornwall. Their main hub has three operating theatres and CT, has been designed with two en-suite bedrooms specifically for EMS students, and an 'Education and Inspiration' classroom for visiting schools. The practice has 34 staff and Colin and Lizzy are joined by RVN Jade Pascoe as Directors.

2000s

Staff Sergeant Victor Segovia (MBA Football Industries 2007)

Growing up in Asunción, Paraguay, sports played a major role in my daily life. From a very young age, I was exposed to the game of soccer. Thanks to Paraguay’s heroics in the Davis Cup and the increasing popularity of tennis, I picked up the sport and dreamed of playing in Roland Garros one day. I was always involved in and fascinated by sports, but my experience differed from my later experiences with sports in the United States. When I first moved there for high school, I wanted to play football (soccer). Destiny, however, had other plans for me. I ended up enlisting in the US Army, where I continued to play football and tennis. After my years in the military, I enrolled in college and graduated with a BS in Sport Management.

I had the opportunity to go to the UK to pursue an MBA in Football Industries and visit iconic football stadiums like Anfield and Old Trafford, but the most valuable aspect for me was increasing my knowledge about the industry and learning from professionals already working in it.

FIMBA has positively changed my life. I’ve learned that there’s more to sports than just the game itself and that being well-informed allows you to make better decisions in life. Sports influences not only this country but every other country in the world.

Dr Robert Meakin (LLM Master of Laws 1987, PhD Law 2008)

My LLM was a research degree on The Interpretation of Diminished Responsibility. It was a fascinating subject of study covering criminal law, philosophy and theology. I thought at the time that I wanted to go to the criminal bar and I did follow that path for a while but diverted to become a charity lawyer at the Charity Commission and subsequently private practice. I studied for a part time PhD in charity law, my field of study being Limits on The Powers of the Charity Commission to Remove Charities from The Register of Charities. There had been much written about what was needed to be charitable in law but very little about what disqualified an organisation from being a charity. I did this over nearly seven years whilst working and bringing up four children which was challenging to say the least.

Dr Zaid Aziz (MTropMed Tropical Medicine 2006)

Following my post graduate degree in medicine from the University of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, I did a year as an emergency clinical fellow in Brisbane, Australia (tropical Queensland). After that time, I returned to the UK and worked in a substantive post achieving the role as a consultant/senior in emergency medicine in the NHS. I got married in 2008 to my wife Aysha Begum and we now have two lovely daughters, Zahra and Alizah. I continue to work in the medical field, with an interest in Infectious Diseases, Medical Screening, and Wellness. In addition, I enjoy pursuing my other interests, including travel, astronomy and reading.

Randolph Rochester (MBA Business Administration 2008)

Since obtaining my MBA in 2008, I was promoted from the Director of the Transport Control Department for the Government of Bermuda to the role of Permanent Secretary for the Cabinet Office (BDA Government) in which I held a number of portfolios from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Tourism and Transport, Economy, Trade and Industry to my last posting in the Ministry of Public Works. In PWs I was responsible circa 700 staff, all capital and operational budgets and various departments, municipalities and quangos such as the Tynes Bay Waste to Energy Facility, Water and Sewerage Section, the Department of Parks, Public Lands and Buildings Department, Works and Engineering, the Bermuda Land Development Company, Golf Course Board of Trustees, Bermuda Housing Corporation, Bermuda Housing Trust, West End Development Corporation, the Corporation of Hamilton and the Corporation of St. George. More recently I took on my new role in the private sector as Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Holding Company Ltd.

Mohamad Tabbara (MSc Information Technology 2005)

Joining the Master's program in 2002 was one of my life’s best decisions. I remember early that year I’d decided to do something big in my life and therefore I joined the University of Liverpool Master's degree program. Later in 2005, I graduated on the honour list and back then I was teaching at the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi, I instantly got a tremendous pay raise and a teaching upgrade. Now I am working in Duna International College in Budapest, and I am still using the knowledge and skills I acquired during my studies in ULP.

Keith Jordan (BA Hons Economics 2003)

I can't believe it has been 20 years since I graduated or attended Double Vision at the Student Union!

Joseph Mnzava (MSc Information Technology 2005)

Joseph, who currently works as a Principal ICT Officer at Tanzania Revenue Authority, is responsible for planning and managing small projects. He supervises and oversees safety and security activities on a daily basis (CCTV and Access Control Systems) across the organisation. Recently, he has acquired knowledge and experience that have provided him the opportunity to communicate and interact with management, thereby developing thinking, technical, and practical experience in project management. He has gained knowledge, skills, and techniques for effectively managing resources, establishing mechanisms and strategies for developing innovative ideas, and finding effective solutions to deal with complex business challenges to meet customers’ expectations.

Dr Steven Forsythe (PhD Tropical Medicine 2000)

After 35 years working in international development, I have recently chosen to become semi-retired. Among my achievements were working as a health economist all over the world, with a focus on HIV/AIDS and later, on COVID-19. The number of countries visited finally reached over 100, which was a personal goal of mine.

As an older father, I'm enjoying spending more time with my wife and four year old daughter. I also am teaching, consulting, writing and continuing my role as the President of the International AIDS Economics Network.

Professor Dr Babar Shaikh (PhD Tropical Medicine 2009)

After graduating in 2009, I returned to Aga Khan University where I worked as an Assistant Professor and taught Health Policy and Management. Later I worked for the Aga Khan Foundation too as the Director Health and Built Environment. A few years down the road, I got the opportunity to join the Ministry of National Health Services in Islamabad where I worked as Senior Technical Advisor in the Director General Health Office. I was tasked to scribe the National Health Vision 2016-2025. This was the greatest achievement that I take pride in. My exposure to health systems at LSTM in Liverpool helped me a great deal in my career. I still work in the health and development sector of Pakistan at a senior position in a USAID-funded program.

Nikki Uhure (BSc Hons Zoology 2003)

A couple of years following graduation from Liverpool University, I completed a PGCE in Secondary Science and began my career as a teacher in 2006.

I successfully obtained the post of Assistant Headteacher in 2023 at a school in Egypt.

I still remember Double Vision on Mondays and Time Tunnel on Saturdays at the student union and of course the great 699 bus ride home to our halls of residence (Carnatic). I was sad to see that Carnatic Halls of Residence is no more after spending the best year of my life living there.

McNair Massive for life x

Andrew Shave (BA Hons Architecture 2006, MArch Architecture 2009)

After graduating in 2009 I completed my Professional Qualifications to become a registered Architect and worked at a number of architectural practices in the northwest on a variety of projects. More recently I played a major role in the redevelopment of the Municipal Building, Liverpool from former council offices into a hotel and I have overseen the major refurbishment of a luxury hotel in London. Currently, I am enjoying working on various projects in the North West with a focus on adaptive reuse of heritage buildings for Ellis Williams Architects and I always take the chance to return to the School of Architecture to see the future talent.

Michael Hardman (BA Hons History 2006)

Since leaving the University of Liverpool, I have gone on to complete an MSc and I now live in New York where I am a Vice President at Turner & Townsend. In my role I prove commercial construction advice to blue chip clients in relation to their capital projects and programmes.

Dr Ellen Welch (MBChB Medicine 2004)

Since Liverpool, medicine has taken me all over the world, to New Zealands ski fields, to Kilimanjaro as an expedition doc, and to every continent bar the poles as a cruise ship doctor. Now a GP in Cumbria, my new book Why Can't I See My GP is out this week, and features stories from Frontline GPs - many of them liverpool graduates (including Dr Amir Khan, Dr Aman Amir, Dr Lois Muglestone, Dr Sarah Rushworth, Dr Robin Kass and retired Liverpool tutor Ron Templeton). The doctors association UK is sending a copy to every UK MP to put general practice on their agenda.

Xiaolu Sun (BA Hons Business Studies 2005)

I believe the most valuable experience during my postgraduate degree would be the "financial crisis" in the second year. Since the illness of my family member, I could not have enough financial support for my study and living for the whole year but I know I must get through it. I did three part-time jobs while struggling to finish my course. Since then I have had a very strong belief in myself that I could survive everywhere and however in this world.

Dr Samson Agbo (MBA Business Administration 2008)

From UNICEF to leading global health initiatives, my post-Liverpool journey has been profound. Notable roles include Head of Health at Merlin, SC UK, and senior positions in UNICEF, spanning Angola, Somalia to the UNICEF East and South Africa Regional Office. Post-2019, I confronted Covid-19 challenges with DFID (now FCDO) in Nigeria, culminating in 2023. An MBA in 2008 amplified my career, linking university-learnt wisdom with real-world impact. I hope my trajectory inspires fellow alumni, proving our shared Liverpool experience unites and propels us, no matter the distance.

Dr Sofia E. Acosta Ortiz (MBA Business Administration 2009)

It was wonderful for me to study this MBA online and I have had the opportunity to collaborate with so many important people around the world, some of them owners of very big companies, very different to mine, and to exchange experiences and advice that has helped me to improve my own work as CEO of my company, specialised in industrial laser technology. Now we continue growing, and to date, we have three granted patents, two in Mexico and one in the USA and one more patent pending in Mexico.

Assistant Professor Kalliopi Ladomenou (PhD Chemistry 2002)

Dr Kalliopi Ladomenou (PhD 2002) is an Assistant Professor, at the Chemistry Department in Kavala, of the International Hellenic University (IHU) in Greece. She was born in Heraklion Crete and holds a BSc and a MSc in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Crete (UOC). She obtained her PhD in synthesis and study of porphyrin-based complexes for carbohydrate recognition, from the Chemistry Department at the University of Liverpool. The time she spent in Liverpool, was a life-time experience from all aspects. Many thanks for all the opportunities that the University gave me!

Dialla Kassam (MBA Business Administration 2009)

From my degree I embarked on something entirely different – I started and managed business class lounges in Tanzania. Currently, I oversee one in Dar es Salaam at the International Airport, called the Twiga Lounge. I am in negotiations to open two more.

Dr Helen Brown (MBChB Medicine 2002)

Since this year marks 22 years since graduation, (and this is half my life), I have been reflecting on my journey in Medicine. It's been a varied and interesting one, with many jobs in many hospitals and many different specialities. I am grateful for my education and strive to help out the next generation of junior doctors who are facing many struggles, some old and some new ones. I am visiting Liverpool next week to see if some of my old favourite places are still there!

Dr Tina Evans (MBA Business Administration 2008)

Since graduating from Liverpool, I have gone to obtain my Doctorate in Business Administration from Drexel University. Currently, participating in a Fellowship Program headed by Dr David Livermore - Cultural Intelligence. Working to advance the importance of cultural intelligence and what it means to be culturally intelligent. I am a member of the SUNY Empire University Foundation Board and Jose Limon Dance Foundation.

Judy Pshechatsky (MA Lang Teach & Learning(Israel) 2005)

Upon receiving my MA I felt professionally ready to pursue more than teaching and was hired by the Ministry of Education as an English language inspector/advisor responsible for six cities in the Tel Aviv district. My responsibilities encompassed primary, junior high and high school: hiring teachers, setting up professional development courses in the pedagogical centres, updating the English language curriculum, supporting English language teachers in their schools, contributing to National English language conferences, etc. I am now retired and have been working in the US for a year teaching general studies to first graders. I believe in always expanding one's horizons above and beyond. I love learning something new every day.

Marwa Diaa Youzbachi (MBA Business Administration 2009)

The only way to succeed in our life is to know what we need to make our dreams true. We always look for opportunities and face challenges in order to become successful. My dream was and still is to study as education is the power of success. With the knowledge and skills, we shape our goals to create our futures. My study at the University of Liverpool made my dream true and always reminds me how hard work fills my mind and brain with the light of a successful future. What we study is not enough; we need to experience our knowledge in our daily career and social life.

I will never forget my experience of study, the supervisor’s support, and the continuous communication since the beginning of my studies in 2006 to date. Now, I am so busy in my career as a CEO and I will keep on struggling for a better future, every time the world goes up well.

Thank you, UOL!

Harriet Gilmour (née Jackson) (BA Hons History 2005)

Since graduation I've stayed in Liverpool and enjoyed seeing the transformation in the city. I worked hard to get into Museums and Galleries for a few years and then took a slight turn of direction in 2012 to train to be a professional Tourist Guide. I qualified in 2013 as a Blue Badge Tourist Guide and run Experience Liverpool as my own business showing people what a fantastic city Liverpool is.

David Schnare (MBA E-Business 2004)

Earning my degree from the University of Liverpool online in 2004 was pivotal. My dissertation on telecommuting, reflecting my work since 2002, informed my career path. The program taught me that despite early academic hurdles, success is attainable with persistence. This realization has been instrumental in my professional growth, proving that limitations are surmountable.

Dr Christopher Davies (BA Hons Ancient History & Archaeology 2005)

Following Liverpool I gained a PhD in Classical Archaeology from the University of Birmingham

John Flynn (BA Hons Philosophy 2006)

I have fond memories of studying Philosophy, playing football and music while at Liverpool. After graduation I have lived in the US, Mexico and briefly in Hong Kong. I now work in financial services in London.

David Finlayson (MBA Football Industries 2000)

David made the move from football to public service in Summer 2022. After working for four years with the Halifax Wanderers in the Canadian Premier League, Dave accepted an offer to serve Nova Scotians working in a variety of departments with a transformation mission. He is currently working for Build Nova Scotia as a Corporate Strategist.

David lives in Halifax with his wife Jen and two sons, Alec (13) and Darron (11).

Dr Judy Ford (PhD Mathematical Sciences 2001, CPD Health Sciences Health Sciences 2005)

Since gaining my doctorate, I have had a varied career, which included postdoctoral research positions in the Earth Sciences department at Liverpool and the Mathematics department at UMIST (now part of Manchester University), followed by research management roles in the NHS and part-time Mathematics lecturing at the University of Chester. Now that I am retired from the day job, I have started a new career writing detective novels, some of which are set in Liverpool. In my writing, my aim is to get people thinking about ethical issues and questions that have no easy answers.

2010s

Dan Tominey (LLB Hons Law 2017)

I am a solicitor at Francis Wilks & Jones specialising in dispute resolution and contentious insolvencies.

Liang Wang (MSc Human Resource Management 2013)

Since graduating, I have been acting as a vocational college lecturer for almost eight years. My city is in Jiangxi Province called Jingdezhen which makes ceramics. I have had many rewards from my teaching and all sorts of life experiences. I now teach a College English course and I will put all my efforts into this teaching role.

Charlotte Lewis (BSc Hons Computer Science 2018)

This past year has been amazing. I got married to my husband and I continue to work as an Account Manager for Microsoft. I get to meet customers all over the world and work on all different kinds of tech projects.

Gregory Pradervand (MSc International Management 2015)

Since 2014 I've built my career at the intersection of international trade and finance. It all started with optimising import logistics and expanding markets, before I transitioned to the thrill of brokering complex physical and derivative deals. In 2018, I co-founded Havona Technology, where I wear two hats; driving revenue growth as Chief Revenue Officer and utilising my expertise to consult on international trade and digital transformation. This dual role allows me to combine my passion for strategic business development with a deep understanding of infrastructure and efficiency optimization. Today, I continue to lead Havona's global digital trade network while offering insightful solutions to clients through my consulting work.

Dr Allysson Domingues (PhD Engineering 2019)

During my PhD program at the University of Liverpool, I have gained an in-depth understanding of complex engineering concepts and their applications. Through rigorous coursework and hands-on research experience, I have developed advanced skills in data analysis, problem-solving, and critical thinking.

One of the highlights of my PhD program was my research on the development and optimization of microfluidic devices for in-vitro diagnostics. I worked extensively on the design and modelling of fluidic platforms that can be used in different viral and bacterial assays. My research involved the use of advanced simulation tools and experimental techniques to optimise the system's performance and efficiency.

In addition to my research work, I also participated in various seminars, conferences, and workshops that helped me broaden my understanding of the field of engineering. I also had the opportunity to collaborate with industry professionals and other researchers, which enabled me to gain valuable insights into the practical applications of engineering concepts.

Overall, my PhD program at the University of Liverpool has equipped me with the skills and knowledge required to excel in the field of engineering. I am confident that the rigorous training and hands-on experience I received during my program have prepared me well for a successful career in academia or industry.

Rebecca Gibson (BA Hons English 2018)

Teaching English as a second language at a school in Stockholm, Sweden.

Professor Ahmed Al Shehi (MSc International Management 2013)

Please consider improving your skills, the more you gain multi skills, the easier selection of multi jobs offer with higher pay. More skills will definitely lead to a competitive advantage and quantum leap.

Thomas Bishop (MChem Chemistry with Research in Industry 2018)

I work as a process chemist at AstraZeneca, bringing life changing medicines to patients globally. Working at the Macclesfield site, I develop new routes and processes to deliver sustainable and scalable chemistry to patients.

Constance Compton-Stewart (BA Hons Music and German 2019)

After graduating, I moved to Berlin where I have since worked in music tech. I am excited to be starting a new position as Business Services Manager at ICE and looking forward to my continued adventures in Berlin!

Josephine Cobden (BSc Hons Geography 2018)

After working at various UK RAF bases over the past couple of years as an Operational Meteorologist for the Met Office, I have most recently branched out into the Flood Forecasting Centre. Now I am working as a Hydrometeorologist which serves as a partnership between the Met Office and the Environment Agency. The role started with being thrown in at the deep end (no pun intended!), with Storm Babet and Ciaran occurring during my first few weeks.

Dr Ziyad Almajali (PhD Electrical Engineering & Electronics 2015)

In March 2023, Ziyad was promoted to the position of Associate Professor and currently holds the responsibilities of Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Mutah University-Jordan.

Natalie Maharaj (DAPT Business Administration 2015)

After getting my Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration; I transitioned from IT Technican to ICT Manager. In this role I transformed HR operations in a state company from paper to digitalisation. My studies in Organisational Psychology helped me through that project, as well as Change Management and Operations Management. Currently, I am a Director of ICT working for my government. I can easily pivot my point of view from business leader to ICT technical leader. I believe my ability to seamlessly translate business strategy into ICT strategy is due largely in part to my studies at Liverpool.

Silje Laerk (MSc Computer & Information Security 2018)

Since my degree, life has taken me to Brussels where I now work as a Senior IT officer for the EEA, with the grants database for Norway and EEA grants in Europe. I am fortunate to work with people from 18 different countries and to make a difference in a more equal and harmonised Europe. My degree has brought me an immense quality of life and I would recommend it to anyone!

Glen Goodliffe (BSc Hons Psychology 2010)

This was my first ever experience of living away, living and starting afresh and being truly able to be myself and find who I was. I’ve got to say, Liverpool was the best decision I ever made.

Maha Abdelwanis (MPH Public Health 2011)

The Master of Public Health allowed me to move from an administrative position to be now the National Senior Health Specialist, World Bank, Egypt. It was a beautiful journey that equipped me with so many skills that made me far more aware of health systems. I am grateful for the University of Liverpool, as it is a great partner for my success.

Harry Jacobs (MSc Information Systems Management 2013)

After working for the Government of the Northwest Territories as a Business Analyst, I am getting ready to retire and open a board game cafe. Come visit Tabletop Games and Eats here in Yellowknife NT CA, would love to say Hi.

Zhi Wei Khoo (BSc Hons Physiotherapy 2016)

Since graduation, I have worked for the NHS for the last seven years and I started my own physiotherapy business two years ago. Being the first international student in my course with the University of Liverpool has challenged me to adapt, and learn the culture, both with my peers, placements and being in the society. These are transferable skills I gained and make full use of in running my business. I believe my transition from being a full-time clinician to entrepreneurship as an international student and ethnic minority can be an inspiring story.

Jessica Ivana (MSc Marketing 2019)

The Master's programme in Marketing at the University of Liverpool helped me to start my career path abroad and equipped me with transferable skills. I was a fresh graduate, and it helped me to build my career at Accenture, one month after my graduation. Now, I am continuing my career journey at Irish Manufacturing Research in Learning & Development field.

Adam Evans (BSc Hons Psychology 2016)

I began a career in local government communications after graduating and now lead a team of four other officers. I’m responsible for the communications, marketing and PR support we provide to our Adult Social Care, Children’s Services and Public Health departments who serve a population of 220k people.

Spiros Chatziangelou (MA Business of Classical Music 2018)

Spiros Chatziangelou, following his course placement at the Liverpool Philharmonic, has developed a career in the field of Artist Management, having worked for two of the most established management agencies in the world. In his role as artist manager for some of classical music's most acclaimed names, Spiros cultivates a strategic approach towards their career, from the orchestras they debut with, to the recording contracts and repertoire they perform around the world. It is a niche, but fascinating world, with plenty of international travel and concert evenings.

Rob Ware (BA Hons Architecture 2007, MArch Architecture 2010)

After graduating with my Master of Architecture in 2010 I immediately got accepted onto the Master of Arts in Landscape Architecture Course in Manchester enabling me to study for only a further year but re-enter the professional works with two master's degrees. Being dual qualified not only provided me with greater success in job applications but also allowed me to be more successful with my architectural projects having a mind of both professions and design skills. I now work as a principal urban designer while still being involved in architecture and landscape projects.

Andre Dieckvoss (MBA Business Administration 2016)

My time at the University of Liverpool was such a magical adventure. I am currently managing an IT team engaged with global digitalization of a medical device company. The company has 13 locations in six countries with 1800 employees.

Professor Richard Ekins (MA Popular Music Studies 2011)

I recently published my book The Politics of Authenticating: Revisiting New Orleans Jazz (Lexington, 2023), with interlocutor Robert Porter (Experiments⁄on the Political Series). It drew on six (of the seven) assignments I did - all published in refereed academic journals (e.g., Popular Music History; Jazz Research Journal) - while on the Liverpool MA. The course was a dream come true. In my Acknowledgements, I write: 'In my later revisiting of New Orleans jazz as an academic, my principal indebtedness is to the social anthropologist and musicologist Sarah Cohen of the Department of Music, University of Liverpool. In her quiet, sensitive, intelligent and efficient way she was inspirational.’

Dr Mohamed Tawfik (MBA Business Administration 2017)

I graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2016, and since then my career has been constantly developing. I received promotions and became a supervisor, then a marketing manager, and now I am a marketing and sales director in my organisation. However, my secret of success is that after a hard day at work, I never forget to feed my soul by practising my favourite hobby, playing the piano. Feed your brain, your soul, and embrace your life.

Bryan Lau (MSc Operation & Supply Chain Management 2019)

Bryan has completed the Master of Operations and Supply Chain Management and is now working in the public sector. His time studying at Liverpool opened a lot of doors for him in an array of supervisory positions within the logistics and supply chain industry. The experience at Liverpool was challenging but also rewarding; it gave him the confidence needed to excel in his career path through higher education and personal achievement. He would do it all over again if he had the opportunity.

Seyed Ali Vakil Zadeh (MSc Project Management 2016)

Ali is now a portfolio manager and consultant in a small investing group. He is working to establish a mining truck manufacturing factory and two green energy projects. He is also working nightly to launch his startup idea, which is an AI-driven project assistant, and he loves every moment of his challenges.

Alexander Carzo (DAPT International Management 2013)

I am glad to be part of the University of Liverpool community. Currently, I am working as a manager overseeing personnel from various nationalities and countries at a gas plant facility. Additionally, I manage the facilities, which generate revenue of 25 million dollars a day. I believe that the course and the learnings from the University have helped me.

Chien Hu (MSc International Management 2014)

Chien Hu is an executive coach providing coaching services for her clients to maximise leadership effectiveness, in order to achieve the organisational and key stakeholders expectations. One of her main focuses is to help leaders align their personal values with their organisational goals and pursue a meaningful professional life. Her clients are in various industries, such as technology, financial services, consulting, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and FMCG, etc. and mostly FORTUNE 500 executives, as well as entrepreneurs and small-medium business owners. She was born in Taiwan and has lived in Australia, US, UK, China, and Singapore. She is now living in Germany. She likes to keep exploring and make the most of life's experiences.

Dr Azeez Oseni (MPH Public Health 2013)

Since graduating in 2013, I have worked with several international nonprofits including Save the Children, CARE USA, and Catholic Relief Services. I currently run my own development consultancy called Revive the Future LLC and support four nonprofit organisations in the USA with strategic planning, grant management, and organisational development. I am so happy to have learned so many important skills when I studied at the University of Liverpool!

Xing He (MSc International Business 2017)

My dissertation is Operation of American Firms in China.

Dr Junkyu Shim (MBA Business Administration 2014)

Junkyu earned an MBA in Liverpool while directing brands in Shanghai and the UK since 2010. He later established a management consulting firm in Korea, supporting management strategies and the policies of the Korean government. After earning a doctorate in business administration in Korea, he has been focusing on establishing ESG-related response directions and policies for governments and companies. He has published several books related to marketing and ESG in Korea and actively lectures at universities and companies. He is always proud to be from Liverpool.

Aminul Haque (MEng Aerospace Engineering 2017)

After graduating from the University of Liverpool with a degree in engineering in 2017, I returned to Dhaka with a fervent passion for aviation. Despite the heartbreaking loss of my father to Covid-19 in 2021, I pursued my dreams relentlessly. Joining the teaching faculty at CICA, I imparted knowledge in Aeronautical Engineering and Aviation courses, shaping future generations of aviation professionals. Transitioning to US-Bangla Airlines, I embarked on a journey to elevate standards. Through dedication and leadership, I spearheaded Corporate Quality Assurance, leading the airline to become the first private carrier to achieve IOSA and ISAGO certification, marking a pinnacle of success in my aviation career.

Tomas Studenik (MBA Business Administration 2012)

Tomas Studenik is the man behind a project named THEaiTRE, which marked a significant milestone in the integration of artificial intelligence within the realm of theatre. This pioneering initiative was designed to commemorate the centenary of Karel ÄŒapek's groundbreaking play R.U.R., which introduced the word ‘robot’ to the world in 1921. THEaiTRE's crowning achievement was the creation of AI: When a robot writes a play, in 2021 a theatrical piece entirely authored by AI, a first of its kind. This historic event took place in Prague, where the play was brought to life on stage by human actors, showcasing a unique collaboration between AI and the traditional art of theatre. Through this project, Tomas and the THEaiTRE team bridged a century-old narrative with the future of creative storytelling, underscoring the boundless potential of AI in artistic expression.

Janet Ndau(MSc Finance & Investment Management 2018)

Hey everyone! Since graduation, I've been exploring diverse opportunities while developing an exciting app project. It's been a rewarding journey of growth and learning. Recently, I attended an inspiring Liverpool alumni meetup in Kenya, filled with laughter and nostalgia. Looking forward to catching up and discussing more about my project soon! Attached is a photo from the event.

Shanaaz Kapery Randeria(MPH Public Health 2017)

MPH from the University of Liverpool has been life-changing for me. My reach has been expanded to include working with youth across the education, community and health sectors. My focus has been on mental health and sexual and reproductive health and rights. I've debriefed postgraduate medical students and professionals as well as conducted online sessions with as many as 900 participants from students to university professionals and donors and funders.

Dr Adolph Vincent Vigor (DAPT Project Management 2016)

Dr Adolph Vincent Vigor became a Chartered Architect at the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2017. He joined academia as an instructor at the University of Science and Technology in Southern Philippines in 2018. He finished his Doctor of Technology Education degree with a GPA of 1.03 on a scale of 1.00 last August 2023. He is currently the Chairman of the Architecture Department of the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) in Cagayan de Oro City. He is also a licensed Architect, Real Estate Broker and Real Estate Appraiser by profession.

Edouard Kamangaza (MBA Business Administration 2010)

Since obtaining my MBA degree, I have had a successful career in the non-profit sector of an international organisation. The knowledge and skills I gained at the University have contributed significantly to my achievements. I secured a managerial position in Contracting and Supply Chain, where my strong analytical skills and comprehensive understanding of various business functions allowed me to provide valuable insights and make strategic decisions. Overall, the skills I acquired from the University of Liverpool have been crucial in shaping my career success.

Eve Mulholland (BSc Hons Ecology & Environment 2016)

I'm currently working as Project Manager for Natural England, overseeing the development of a multi - partner project to connect people with nature which will lead to a five-year delivery programme based from a new environmental hub and beach school intended to be developed. Whilst I didn't pursue academics I've developed a career in environment engagement since graduating.

Christelle Cortbawi (MBA Business Administration 2012)

Since my graduation from the University of Liverpool, I am on the journey to build my personal business. I am currently the creator and director of B for Balo, a fashion accessories brand that aims to mix art and fashion handcrafts to create commercial and practical products that can compete on a global scale. Currently I am based in Beirut and cater to a local and regional clientele. But my goal is much more and I believe that my experience and knowledge will lead me towards these plans very soon. As a University of Liverpool graduate I have always been at an advantage when competing in commercial environments.

Lieutenant Oliver Thomas (BA Hons Criminology 2018)

Lieutenant Oliver Thomas is currently the Commanding Officer of HMS Example, one of the Royal Navy’s Archer Class P2000 working as part of the Coastal Forces Squadron.

Dr Neidi De Carvalho (MSc Forensic Psychology & Criminal Investigation 2014)

Having moved from my home country to a lovely country in the Caribbean to provide technical support to the government in the establishment of appropriate policies regarding child abuse and its associated reporting and referral mechanism. Since graduating from Liverpool I have obtained my Doctorate and I am thankful for the learnings obtained through Liverpool which supported me in obtaining my Doctorate.

Isaac Macauley (DAPT Information Systems Management 2019)

It was great to be part of the student group who graduated in 2019 although I completed it in 2013. Work and other urgent needs did not permit me to graduate in 2013.

Dr Augustine Eginong (DAPT Information Systems Management 2009)

After graduation, I pursued a Global Business and Leadership Doctorate at California Intercontinental University, USA. I graduated in August 2022 and currently work as the CEO of Brand Matrix Consulting Ltd. I also lecture with the Simon Page College of Marketing, tutoring the following courses; Global Marketing Decisions, Innovation in Marketing, and OHTM Strategic Management, for MBA students in Nigeria.

Michael O'Donnell (MSc Project Management 2014)

I am very proud of and grateful to the University of Liverpool. It was a challenging study program, but very rewarding and one of the best memories of my life is going with my family to Liverpool and graduating. Sincere thanks again to all.

Dr Monica Chavez (MA Applied Linguistics 2006, PhD English 2011, CE (PT) Learning & Teaching HE 2018)

Since graduating, I've built a career focused on community-building and inclusive transformation. After working internationally, I returned to the University of Liverpool in 2019 and received the Learning & Teaching Innovation Fellowship for my work in fostering communities and collaborations with industry leaders like Microsoft and the British Council. Recently, I established Represented Consulting, a minority and women-owned consultancy and research firm in Liverpool, aiding organisations in reaching their Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion goals.

Thamasha Samarasinghe (MPhil Engineering 2019)

After I graduated from University of Liverpool, I got a scholarship to study a PhD in National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) Cambridge and Brunel University London. The project was funded by Lloyds Register Foundation. I successfully defended my PhD thesis titled Design and develop of composite panels with variable thermal conductivity for Li-ion battery module in February 2024. Also, I became a IMechE Chartered Engineer in October 2024. Furthermore I started my first job as a Design Analyst Engineer in Advanced Innovative Engineering (UK) Ltd, Lichfield which is a leading company in aerospace engine design and research.

Ghanshyamsinh Jethwa (MBA Business Administration 2015, MBA Business Administration 2017)

Having had a career in the nonprofit sector for over 20 years, I was struggling to rise in leadership roles. From my online search, I found the University of Liverpool's MBA the best course for me.

After completion of my MBA, I received an opportunity to mentor a PhD candidate studying leadership. It was an amazing experience and I am grateful to the University of Liverpool for great leadership lessons. In 2020, I got inspired and wrote a book, Be The Leader: Follow Your Inner Voice, which I self-published and the book is available online at Amazon in 13 countries.

I love sharing my experience and knowledge with others.

Dr Kai Haverila (BA Hons Marketing 2014)

In November 2023, I successfully defended my thesis titled Trolling Behaviours and Victimisation in Online Brand Communities at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. The two essays in this dissertation provided significant contributions to the fields of marketing and online trolling behaviour. The first essay conceptually investigated trolling from a marketing perspective by assessing how trolling can emerge in brand communities. The second essay developed robust measurement scales for both trolling behaviour and trolling victimisation. Currently, I am teaching at Concordia University and also looking for assistant professor positions at North American and European universities.

Kishman Spence (MSc International Management 2014)

Since graduating in 2014 I have had the great fortune of leading two shared service delivery hubs in my home country, Jamaica. The sites have both been part of a global delivery network and affords me a lot of opportunities to apply my International Management training to the world of work.

Dr David Kenrick (BA Hons History 2010, MA 20th Century History 2012)

After Liverpool I studied for a doctorate in history at Oxford University, graduating in 2016. My book, Decolonisation and Identity in Rhodesia 1964-1979, was published in 2019 and I became a fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2020. Then I left academia and began a career in the civil service. I've worked in the office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and on maritime and housing policy at the Department for Transport. Since 2019 I've lived in Wellington, New Zealand, working for the government. I'm a long way away from Liverpool but the city's always in my heart!

Harry Grewal (MBA Business Administration 2018)

Since graduating from the University of Liverpool, I have moved on from my role as Director of Resource Planning at Air Canada in Toronto. I have now joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as its Director of Airport Infrastructure and Customer Experience. In my current role, I am responsible for overseeing a range of global standard setting initiatives as well as advocacy activities focused on topics such as digital identity, passenger facilitation, operational performance, airport development as well as airport and air navigation service charges. In addition to this, I am in the process of developing a digital platform called The Inner Playbook where my aim is to create and publish insightful content which will provide guidance and coaching via digital articles, engaging videos as well as publications and online coaching.

Noor Zaiedurra Irdawatie Nordin (MSc (Eng) Product Design & Management 2013)

It has been a pleasure to be part of the University of Liverpool. I have learnt a lot from the lecturers, in their teaching and especially those from industry. Currently, I am part of the energy and power industry and going to fly high in any career enhancement I choose in the future.

Spencer Li-Hao Dai (MSc (Eng) Aerospace & Mechanical Systems Engineering 2010)

Not too long after graduation from the University of Liverpool, I started my flying career and I am currently working as a first officer for the local airline in Taiwan, flying between remote islands to carry local aboriginals, tourists and cargo. It was very challenging to do my job during the COVID pandemic. However, I feel a great sense of achievement by helping people transport to and from the remote islands. Meanwhile, takeoff and landing in short runways of those islands are also a great opportunity for a pilot to build up skills. Thanks to the knowledge gained at Liverpool, I'm very happy with what I'm doing now, it means a lot to me, it's my childhood dream come true.

Hamid Ansary (MPA Public Administration 2019)

Upon earning my master's degree from the University of Liverpool, I was promoted to a senior position at UNDP. I led a parliamentary project, overseeing implementation and collaborating with the Lower House and Upper House of Afghanistan to strengthen their institutional capacity. This involved representing the electorate, crafting laws, and overseeing the government through hearings and inquiries. Currently, I am currently working for Entrust and Pacific Gas and Electric Company, one of the largest utility companies in the United States.

Hannah O'Neill (BA Hons Criminology & Sociology 2016)

Hannah is the Head of Philanthropy at the national education charity, Action Tutoring. Determined to use her Sociology & Criminology degree within the Third Sector, each day of Hannah's life is dedicated to closing the academic attainment gap between under-resourced children and young people and their more affluent peers. Hannah sits within the Senior Management Team and leads both the fundraising team and corporate partnerships team in all their endeavours, activities and initiatives. Her careers ranged from securing small grants to specifically support schools in her beloved city of Liverpool, to securing transformational six-figure gifts for the charity's national work.

John Pooley (BA Hons International Business 2012)

John Pooley joined the founding team of Milanote as Head of Growth and currently lives in Melbourne, Australia. John credits his time at the University of Liverpool, and particularly the opportunities offered to study and work abroad, as having a profound impact on the trajectory of his life.

Slobodan Mijailovic (MSc Project Management 2012)

I completed an online Masters degree in Project Management from the University of Liverpool in 2012. At the time of my application in 2009, I had already worked as a seasoned management professional for over 15 years across Serbia and Greece.

The application process for the degree at Liverpool was eye-opening for me. Unlike my own region, where BSc graduates can easily jump to a MSc, to apply to the University of Liverpool programme, I had to explain my previous experience and prove adequate capacity and know-how. Once I had attended my first few classes, I really understood why this was so important - a significant portion of the knowledge gained through the program was via discussions with peers from around the world, all with very interesting field experiences, which I found complemented the professor's guidance, material and facilitation very well. One of my favourite anecdotes from my time at the University of Liverpool is how I only met the peers that I went through the programme with for the first time on the day of our graduation - and I am pleased to say that our common experience has kept us in friendly contact many years later.

My experience during the program marked a shift in my whole career. Shortly after my graduation, I completed a PMI-PMP® certification as well, and started an independent consulting practice. Ten years later, I have accrued over 50 professional consulting projects in my portfolio, mostly in the fields of corporate organisation, strategy and governance, process re-engineering, risk management, project and program management. I also conduct interactive training in project management based on PMI methodology, customised to the needs of companies and professional teams in various business fields. In this phase of my life, I enjoy giving back to the profession and business community, and feel I am fulfilling my mission as a Master in project management.

Dr Alejandro Garcia Sosa (PhD Physics 2015)

After working for some years as an Ion Source Scientist at the European Spallation Source in Lund (Sweden), Alejandro will soon join the Low Energy Beams Group at the ISIS Neutron and Muon source in Rutherford Appleton Laboratory as a Senior Ion Source Physicist. After working as a specialist in Ion Sources and Accelerator Physics, Alejandro is thrilled to start a new life in the UK, and to collaborate with other world-class scientists to take the state of the art in ion sources to the next level.

Bryan Lau (MSc Operation & Supply Chain Management 2019)

Bryan pursued his Master's degree at Liverpool because he wanted to further his education with an international focus. During his studies, he had the great privilege to learn from other students all around the world online and to visit Liverpool firsthand, which was a memorable experience. Since graduating, he has explored an array of job opportunities within the supply chain and logistics industry. After graduating, he encountered multiple job opportunities and now works in a government organisation, where he plans to further his career.

Dr Emmanuel Bimba (MPH Public Health 2014)

Emmanuel has worked in various humanitarian and development focused organisations since graduation and currently works with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). He says having the opportunity to work in humanitarian emergencies have really shaped his perception on crisis and the sad aftermaths, especially the resultant effect of malnutrition and loss of livelihoods amongst children and women.

He recently received the 2023 University of Liverpool Alumni Award for his immense achievements in managing and leading the implementation of life saving and life changing interventions in northeast Nigeria with the World Food Programme (WFP).

With the help of his qualifications and experience, WFP Ethiopia requested his support to coordinate the Assurance project in Amhara and Somali regions where he continues to make a positive impact.

He believes the quality of education and the recent award he received at Liverpool have shaped him beyond measure and will certainly propel him in future endeavours.

Dr Diana Powell (MA Victorian Literature 2006, PhD English 2012)

I'm the founder and director of the non-profit UK Unplugged, which helps families unplug from screens, explore and connect with each other and wider communities. We do this through volunteer-expert designed, sustainable events and learning-through-play boxes. Created locally with artisans and makers, our boxes give families 10 hours of screen free time at home to support their wellbeing and raise aspirations on topics from Environmental Chemistry to Japan. Although I graduated in 2012, I'm very much still on campus as many of my volunteers are University of Liverpool students and I teach a course for the School of the Arts called Change Makers which explores the third sector and socially trading businesses in depth and gives students practical experience: last year they worked with local B-Corps to raise money to support young people on the CAMHS waiting list. I love that I get to work with such a wide range of talent, and give young people on campus important community volunteering and work experience that will help shape their futures.

Mitchell Naibaho (MBA Business Administration 2017)

Life has taken me on an unpredictable adventure. After the completion of my Liverpool MBA in 2017, I returned back to the group of companies where I previously worked before my MBA education as Finance Controller. Two years later, I was entrusted to lead the company as the Country President.

During COVID, the company restructured its shareholding by selling parts of it to the management team. Now, I am the CEO of the company, whose shares I partly owned. This is my journey starting 2017 till today, from a student, an employee and now an employer and entrepreneur.

Paul Tudor (MSc International Management 2012)

My journey after graduating from my Masters Degree in International Management (IM) from the University of Liverpool, has been one of the most enriching experiences I have had. I applied all this knowledge to projects in Zambia, Russia - Siberia, Kazakhstan, Arabia Saudita, Mozambique, India and Liberia where the results were really positive, managing different cultures, solving complex negotiation, managing people from different backgrounds and experiences, preparing financial CAPEX and managing OPEX budgets and applying Change Management techniques. All of the knowledge received from University of Liverpool really served for practical use, not only in theory. I am really grateful to my Academic Tutor Dr Lucia Morales and those involved in the Academic Program.

Damian Pang (MSc Psychology 2018)

After graduating, I continued working as an airline pilot, becoming a captain on a long-haul wide-body fleet. At the same time, I embarked on an entrepreneurial journey and continued my research project that started with my dissertation at Liverpool with the continued support of my dissertation supervisor. We found evidence for a new type of memory and published our results. I am now embarking on a new adventure by leaving aviation and pursuing further research as a PhD (or DPhil) candidate at the University of Oxford on a dual Clarendon Fund and Medical Sciences Graduate School Scholarship.

Vince Yap (MBA Business Administration 2016)

Our vision is to assist our business partners to attain manufacturing expertise throughout our operation. We provide a full range of intelligent solutions to transform traditional manufacturing into smart manufacturing. Specialise in medical equipment manufacturing operations in China.

2020s

Dr Duncan Adamson (PhD Computer Science 2021)

Since graduating with a PhD in Computer Science in 2021, I have completed PostDocs at Reykjavik University and the University of Göttingen before returning to Liverpool as Theme Lead at the Leverhulme Research Centre for Functional Materials Design. Now, I am beginning the next step in my career as a lecturer in Computer Science at the University of St Andrews.

Dr Temitope Aiyewunmi (MSc Environment & Climate Change 2016, PhD Environmental Sciences 2023)

For me it's a privilege to have studied in one of the best Universities in the world. The high quality of education and exposure I have acquired is a blessing to my country and the entire world. Now I'm back to work in Nigeria, happy to be an alumnus of the prestigious University of Liverpool. Will like to say if invited I'm available to contribute and attend conferences organised by the alumni association. I wish all the students of University of Liverpool best of luck.

Alexander Jarrett (BA Hons Politics with History 2020)

It’s nearly four years since graduating and it's been a rollercoaster but I have had the best time. My partner and I have started our own property investment company in Birmingham whilst working full time in jobs we love! I work within an M&A team and my partner is a construction manager so we bring skills from our jobs into our business and it's a fantastic situation. However, when I first graduated I had no clue what I wanted to do. I jumped around four different jobs until I got my current role and who knows where I will be next year! The advice I give is that; it will all work out in the end. As long as you persevere and don't give up, you can achieve whatever you want!

Eng Fawaz Alotaibi (MSc Project Management 2023)

My experience at the University of Liverpool pursuing a Master's in Project Management was truly transformative. The comprehensive curriculum, combined with exceptional faculty support, equipped me with invaluable skills and insights crucial for navigating the complex landscape of project management. The vibrant academic environment fostered rich discussions and collaborative learning, enhancing both my theoretical knowledge and practical abilities. Engaging with diverse perspectives and hands-on projects further enriched my understanding, preparing me to excel in the dynamic field of project management. The University of Liverpool has truly been a cornerstone in shaping my professional journey.

Daniel Brannan (BEng Hons Aerospace Engineering with Pilot Studies 2023)

I completed my dissertation in collaboration with aircraft manufacturer Britten Norman (BN), focussing on developing a flight simulation model. Upon graduating with a first class, I secured employment with BN as a Graduate Aerospace Engineer and am currently enjoying my time here!

Nandhini Balan (MSc Business Analytics & Big Data 2023)

I am a proud MSc Business Analytics and Big Data graduate from ULMS, having graduated with a Distinction. Leveraging the skills acquired during my studies, I am currently working as a Data Engineer at Allianz, UK, where I actively contribute to the development of insurance data models and provide valuable insights to support business growth. In addition to my professional role, I had the opportunity to learn and build my first novel Generative AI model during my master's program. This endeavour marks the beginning of my journey into research within the field of generative AI. I am forever grateful for the education and experiences gained at the University of Liverpool, making me a proud and accomplished alumnus.

Dr Dennis Tuyogon (PhD Environmental Sciences 2021)

After graduating, I joined a green tech waste treatment company specialising in the secondary aluminium industry. As a Development Chemist, I focused on implementing sustainable practices for waste management and environmental preservation.

Exciting news! I'm transitioning to a new role as a Lead Analytical Chemist at Element Materials Technology and I'll be contributing to technical compliance and governance, particularly in smoke and toxicity testing. I can't wait to embark on this new journey!

Moises Barbera Ramos (MPhys Physics 2020)

Graduating in the middle of a pandemic wasn't easy, studying and taking exams in ways no one prepared us for, and being apart from our loved ones, but as I said during my graduation speech four years ago, 2020 was the class of opportunity, those thriving against adversity, and that resilience has followed me ever since. A time I have not used lightly, founding Drill Surgeries, the first startup to operate a broken bone using Artificial Intelligence in 90 seconds. Based in Liverpool and London, we are improving healthcare for 100s of millions of patients.

Alex Geddes (BA Hons History 2022, MSc Marketing 2023)

After being awarded Student of the Year and graduating in 2023 with a Distinction in MSc Marketing, I joined Vodafone on the UK Business Graduate Scheme, which is based in Newbury and Paddington. My first rotation is in Customer Experience, looking after our Business Broadband proposition that we sell to SoHo customers. So far I'm just over four months into the role and I'm really loving it! The culture is amazing, and although the role is separate from my previous marketing experience, it's been great to utilise the skills my degree taught me, whilst constantly developing new ones.

Emma Ferguson (BA Hons English Literature 2020)

After completing a placement with Liverpool University Press in my final year, I have gone on to work in academic publishing full time. I recently received the prestigious Society for Scholarly Publishing Early Career Fellowship, one of a cohort of sixteen that were selected globally.

Emmy Kelly (MBA Business Administration 2020)

Emmy Kelly, COO at Blue Door, drives impactful change for marginalised communities, expanding services by 500% since graduation. In 2020, she graduated with Distinction as Student of the Year with an MBA, also achieving Dissertation of the Year for her business plan, Construct. Under her leadership, Blue Door launched Construct, a homelessness prevention initiative, and TradeWorx with Home Depot Canada Foundation. Emmy's contributions earned her the 2022 Woman of Excellence award. Emmy volunteers on the Board of Directors for the Daily Bread Food Bank and the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association to further the mission of justice and poverty alleviation.

Nai-Ling Kuo (MSc Psychology 2020)

Nai-Ling Kuo has served as a mental health lecturer for Taiwan's government agencies, a smoking cessation psychotherapist, and a supervisor in the health sector. She has written articles on mental health and worked as an EAP consultant for international companies. Presently, she is the Chairperson of the Taiwan Association for Holistic Mental Health Development, actively enhancing mental health awareness and practices in Taiwan.

Harper Clayson (BA Hons History 2022)

Currently studying a part-time Master by Research in Heritage with plans to transfer onto a PhD. I have also managed to secure my dream job working in the heritage sector, working part-time to support both my studies and my future career.

Lily Jones (BA Hons Criminology 2020)

Currently working for Staffordshire police in their corporate resourcing unit, gaining experience in resourcing operations and logistical planning, after starting my career and gaining a commendation for my work in their control room answering 999 calls and dispatching officers to incidents.

Mayada Gadir (MBA Business Administration 2020)

The up-to-date knowledge and industry-relevant curriculum of the MBA at the University of Liverpool ensured that I was well-prepared for the dynamic and ever-changing business landscape of Dubai. The networking opportunities extended beyond the classroom, providing a strong professional support system. These connections have been instrumental in my growth and have opened doors to new opportunities.

Upon graduation, the ambition to pursue my entrepreneurial dream became more apparent, and I decided to establish my own business in Dubai. The skills, confidence, and network cultivated during my MBA journey laid a solid foundation for this new chapter.

My post-graduation journey included a reunion with the University of Liverpool alumni group in Dubai. Engaging with fellow alumni has not only strengthened my ties with the university but has also facilitated valuable insights and support in both personal and professional aspects. The alumni network serves as a constant source of inspiration and fosters a sense of community.

Dr Mohamed Maher Sayed Ahmed Hammad (PhD Management Studies 2022)

I graduated in July 2022 from the University of Liverpool and re-joined in March 2023 as Lecturer in Marketing at the Management School. It feels really good to be colleagues with people who you were looking up to at some stage of your life.

Sergi Labadze (BSc Hons Computer Science 2023)

I Applied to so many companies that I lost count. After a lot of rejections I finally got a job at TSYS. Now I get to learn how payment systems work around the world and contribute to this giant market.

Dr Adolphus Lye (PhD Engineering 2023)

Hey everyone! I'm currently a Research Fellow at the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Institute within the National University of Singapore. My role is to look into the risk assessment of nuclear reactors and partake in outreach efforts by the research institute in communicating the radiation safety concepts to teachers and students from secondary schools and sixth forms. Work aside, I'm also a member of the University Staff Cross Country Team which competes for various competitions and public races. I miss the University of Liverpool and am truly thankful for the chance to be there and experience life with everyone!

Elle Loren Ross (MPsych Psychological Sciences 2020)

Currently working for three years in the NHS as an Assistant Psychologist. I am applying and continuing with doctorate applications.

Nauman Chicktey (MIM Management 2021)

After Graduating from the University of Liverpool, I am currently working as a Graduate Planner for John Sisk and Son which is a Construction Company. I have been with Sisk for almost two years now working on different projects. I am currently based in Birmingham working on a £170m Residential Project for MODA. I have worked on a £150m Commercial Project which is the new Santander Headquarters in Milton Keynes and a £110m Preconstruction for a Resort. I am enjoying my role and learning something new everyday. Looking forward to acquiring CIOB qualification in the coming few years.

Olivia Atkinson (MA Sustainable Heritage Management 2023)

After graduating from the University of Liverpool, I was fortunate enough to find myself in full time employment as an Assistant Planning Officer for Wirral Council. I am overjoyed to be putting my degree to good use and applying all the knowledge I learned during my studies to further my career.

Prajul Vishnu KL (MSc Entrepreneur & Innovation Management 2023)

Prajul took a unique path in the entrepreneurial world that has defined his career trajectory. Volunteering at Slush 2023, his journey unfolded with unexpected turns and opportunities. Representing Kerala Startup Mission in Finland and orchestrating the KSUM-Business Finland Ecosystem Meetup marked a pivotal moment, fostering the Kerala - Finland Innovation Corridor.

Prajul's global networking efforts at Slush paved the way for his current role as Alumni Enterprise Advisor at the University of East London, showcasing the transformative power of seizing opportunities in the entrepreneurial landscape.

Rosie Danks (BSc Hons Geography 2022)

After graduating with my Bachelors in 2022, I decided to apply for my masters at the University of Law in Liverpool. During my masters, my mind kept on wandering back to Geography and how much I missed the scientific side of knowledge. I made an executive decision to apply for a PhD, whilst my law degree would open up to a range of pathways, my heart belongs in science. Within four days of completing my Masters, I moved straight to Leeds in 2023 to start my PhD in which I study Arctic Atmospheric Boundary Layers.

Dr Amal Binti Shamsudin (LLM (T) Law, Medicine & Health Care 2023)

When I chose my dissertation topic, I discussed it with my supportive supervisor Dr Emily. I knew what I wanted to do on the issue of minors and medical consent but in the context of my home country. Emily encouraged me to carry out the topic and tailored the issue so that it is more realistic and feasible for me to research. Fast forward, after I graduated I am now being involved in the legislation review looking into this subject matter at the national level, as part of my core job.

In memoriam

Remembering alumni, University staff and Honorary Graduates

Alumni

Charles Martin Edward Abbott (BA Hons 1973)

Dr Katharine Elizabeth Ainsworth (MBChB 1941)

Dr John William Anderson (BSc 1954, BSc Hons 1955)

Dr Brian William Cunningham Ashcroft (PhD 1970)

Keith Raeburn Baker (BEng Hons 1961)

Gerald Ashton Banks (MEd 1981)

John Martin Barnes (BA Hons 1979)

Edward Bateman (BSc 1961)

Dr Roy Arthur Leonard Batt MRCVS (BVSc 1958, BSc Hons 1960)

Martin Joseph Benn (BEng Hons 2005)

Sybil Benson (née Elbogen) (BA 1954)

Arthur Bessell (MEd 1965)

Neil Matthew Billingham (BA Hons 1994)

Patricia Birtles (née Goodrick) (BArch 1952)

Paul Bowman (BA Hons 1997)

Philip Robert Braden (MBA 2005)

Dr David Neil Carmichael (MBChB 1986, MD 2003)

Peter James Challis (MSc 2000)

Dr Chamson Chau OBE (Dipl in Civic Design 1959, Hon LLD 1994)

Henry Chesters (BEng 1954)

Emeritus Professor Michael John Clarkson MRCVS (BVSc 1955, MVSc 1959, PhD 1963, DVSc 1977)

Dr Michael Richard John Claxton (MBChB 1961)

Dr Michael Cook (MBChB 1961, BCom Hons 1967)

Dr Leslie A Cort (BSc 1950, PhD 1954)

Bernard Howard Coultous (BEng 1958)

David Frederic Watson Cross (BSc 1959, MSc 1961)

Alma Valerie Cullen (BA Hons 1972)

Peter Anthony Daniel (BA Hons 1962)

Anthony David Graham Devonald (BArch Hons 1957)

Alistair Roy Dixon (BEng 1982)

Kevin Paul Dolan (BA Hons 1985)

Geraldene Mary Done (née Hooper) MRCVS (BVSc 1949)

Dr Andrew Kenneth Wissett Douglas (BA Hons 1982, PhD 1993, MPhil 2000)

Dr Frank Carter Duckworth MBE (BSc Hons 1961, PhD 1965)

Dr Alwyn Evan James Evans (MBChB 1957)

Diane Jeannie Fawcett (BSc Hons 1990, MSc 1998)

Hilary Fox (née Colecliffe) (BA Hons 1952)

Roger Manley Francis (BDS 1968)

Diana Joyce Freeman (née Morgan) (BSc Hons 1952)

David Andrew Fullelove (BCom Hons 1962)

Mary Elizabeth Garland (BA Hons 1953)

Dr Maria Helena Gilleece (BSc Hons 1981, MBChB 1984)

Ronald Goldberg (LLB Hons 1957)

John Bertram Greenwood (BA 1961)

Justin Mark Hammond (BSc Hons 1993)

Dr David Spencer Harty (MBChB 1966)

Dr Frank William Heaton (BSc Hons 1953, PhD 1955)

Dr Kenneth Hurrell Hedges (MBChB 1962)

Thomas Gareth Henderson (BSc Hons 2009)

Ralph Noel Hodge CBE (BEng Hons 1956)

Dr Peter Geoffrey Holt (MBChB 1953, DPH 1957)

David William Giles Hooper (BSc Hons 1955, Dipl in Education 1956)

Baroness Elspeth Jane Howe (née Bound) of Idlicote CBE (MA 1988, Hon LLD 1994)

Dr Roderick Reginald Hudson (PhD 1969)

Dr John Hurdley (MBChB 1963)

Antony Terence Hutchings (BSc 1964)

Derek Richard Ingle (BSc 1981)

Dr Elizabeth Mary Jennings (née Grantham) (MBChB 1953)

Godfrey Kaye (BA 1962)

Frank Joseph Kelly (BA Hons 1957)

Barry John Kemp (BA 1961)

Rachel Elizabeth Kempster (BA Hons 1992)

Austin Paul Kirwan MRCVS (BVSc Hons 1987)

Evan Anthony Kneale (BArch 1956)

Dr Budugar Lakshminarayana (DEng 1981)

Dr Derek Alwyn Law (BSc Hons 1958)

Professor Peter John Lea (BSc 1966, BSc Hons 1967, PhD 1971, DSc 1983)

Eur Ing Colin Ledsome (MEng 1969)

Emeritus Professor Michael Anthony Lennon (BDS 1966)

Dr Raymond Maurice Lewkonia (MBChB 1966)

John Bernard Livesey (LLB 1962)

Leslie Longworth (BA 1954)

Gordon John MacArthur MRCVS (BVSc 1958)

Dr Dorothy Ann Magennis (née Langton) (MBChB 1961)

Joseph Malone MRCVS (BVSc 1961)

Erna Mandel (MSc 1940)

Reuben Charles Paul Margerison (MRes 2016)

Dr Edmund Ian Marshall (PhD 1965)

Lucas Paul Martin (BA Hons 2023)

Kay Susan McGibbon (LLB 1985)

Dr John McGurk (PhD 1983)

Professor Paul McMaster (MBChB 1966)

John Brian Merrick (MEd 1985)

Jennifer Mary Milne (BA 1969, MA 1971)

Sharon Ruth Moore (LLB Hons 1985)

Howard Simon Moss (BCom Hons 1977)

Dr Anthony John Mudd MRCVS (BVSc 1962)

Donald George Mutch (BA Hons 1954)

Dr Thomas Paul Edgar Nener (MBChB Hons 1966)

Titilope Funmilayo Odukoya (MSc 2013)

Hugh Charles Parkman OBE (BEng Hons 1958)

Ronald Arthur Phillipps (BEng Hons 1956)

Mervyn Hugh Phillips CBE (LLB Hons 1952)

Carole Margaret Robertson Potter (née Bain) MRCVS (BVSc 2005)

Dr Allan Vincent Pullin (MBChB 1961)

Phil William Quinn (Master's 1993)

Dr Peter Sidney Richards (MEd 1983)

Margaret Louisa Robinson (BA Hons 1975)

Dr Freda Sanderson (MBChB 1961)

Professor Umaru Shehu (MBChB 1956, Dipl in Public Health 1967)

Dr Karnail Singh (MBChB 1974)

Christine June Soulsby (née Cannings) (BA Hons 1966)

Ian James A Stocks (BA 1961)

Michael Humphrey Carlyle Swan (LLM 2016)

Henry Morton Teasdale (BA Hons 1953)

Linda Jane Thurlow (née Knight) (1993)

John James Tiernan MA (MA 1997)

Rosalind Elizabeth Tigwell (née Glover) (BA Hons 1971, MPhil 1978)

Nigel Howard Tootill (MEd 1995)

John Stuart Tuckey (BA 1975)

Paul James Turner (BA Hons 1990, BArch 1994)

Nathan William Turner (BDS 1979)

Marie Barker Turner (BA Hons 1959)

Beryl Mary Tyndall (née Powell) (BA 1958)

Roger Thomas Upsdell (BSc 1963)

Dr Margaret Ann Upsdell (née Biggs) (MBChB 1965, Dipl in Venereol 1986)

Dr Richard Gareth Vaughan-Hughes (MBChB 1959)

Professor David Walker FRCVS (BVSc 1960)

Derek Arthur Waller (BSc 1962)

Dr Mark Ian Washington (MBChB Hons 1989)

Barry Waterhouse (BEng Hons 1969)

Bertha Marjorie Wells (BSc 1959, BSc Hons 1960)

Margaret Wilford (Dipl in Education 1951, BA 1950)

Maureen Esther Williams (BEd 1979)

Dr Norton Elwy Williams (MBChB 1956)

Geoffrey Richard Wilson (BSc Hons 1966)

Professor Stephen Young (BCom Hons 1965)

Peter Joseph Zanetti MRCVS (BVSc 1960, BVSc 1960)

University of Liverpool Staff, Donors, Honorary Graduates and Emeritus Professors

Robert Alexander Bell

Neil Bickerstaff

Edward John Billington CBE DL

Jean Boht

Jill Brock

Dame Antonia Susan Byatt DBE FRSL (Hon LittD 1993)

Carol Chapman

G.K. Crook

Professor Terence Davies (Hon LittD 2010)

Dr Carl Davis CBE (Hon DMus 2002)

Lord Frank Field of Birkenhead CH DL (Hon LLD 2006)

Professor Alan Gibbons

Gordon Hall

Sir Christopher Raynor Hewetson

Dr Glenda May Jackson CBE (Hon LittD 1978)

Dr Peter Robert Johnson (Hon LLD 2023)

Bernard Jubb

Joan Margaret Kenworthy

Dr William Kenwright CBE (Hon LittD 2011)

Philip J Leonard

Emeritus Professor David Allden Lloyd

Emeritus Professor Alan Ralph Millard

Brian Frederick Nellist MBE

Dr Michael Stuart Potts DL FCA (Hon LLD 2007)

Anthony Shorrocks

Sir Peter Anthony Thompson

Jill Westhead

Professor Sophie M Wuerger

Making a difference

The difference Liverpool can make to a talented student is life changing and it all starts with you.

When you make a gift to the University of Liverpool, you are doing something very special. You are joining a community of likeminded individuals who believe in the power of a Liverpool education.

With demand for student support at its highest; you can be the difference for a student in need. You can help students who are facing challenges to stay on their course and make the most of their time at Liverpool.

You can support students like Lily, who received the Liverpool Bursary:

“My family were over the moon for me when I got a place at the University of Liverpool. It’s such a special place to be. But I was really worried about how I would pay my way.

I’m a young carer for my mum, so it’s really hard for my family to support me financially. When I found out I would have a bursary to support me through my education, it was like a weight was lifted. Without this support, I would have struggled, and I might even have dropped out. I would have worried far more about my financial situation, which would have affected the quality of my university work. I’d have had to work more hours to pay my way. It would have been incredibly stressful.”

– Lily, History and Sociology (third year)

Get in touch and find out more:

Call: 0151 794 6987

Email: giving@liverpool.ac.uk

Web: www.liverpool.ac.uk/giving/student-fund

The University is an exempt charity under the terms of the Charities Act 2011 (Exempt Charity Number: X7758)

Your place to progress: postgraduate study at Liverpool

Ready to take your next step? Explore where master’s study could take you with a return to the original redbrick.

A postgraduate qualification from Liverpool can get you to where you want to be. Whether that’s becoming more employable, switching direction, or specialising in the subject you’re passionate about.

Master’s study

At Liverpool we have a vast range of master’s programmes that can develop your knowledge and skills, and give you the confidence to achieve your aspirations.

You can deepen your knowledge in the subject you’ve studied and grown to love at undergraduate level. You can switch direction and study a closely related or even a new subject. We also have vocational master’s courses that prepare you for direct entry into rewarding careers.

According to the Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020/21, within 15 months of graduating, 89% of Liverpool postgrads were in highly-skilled employment. That’s compared to 81% of Liverpool undergrads.

Funding your study

Designed to help you study with us in a more affordable way, we’re offering a range of Advancement Scholarships.

University of Liverpool Graduate Loyalty Advancement Scholarship

If you’re a University of Liverpool alumni, progressing to either a full or part-time postgraduate taught programme in September 2024 or January 2025, you’re eligible to receive our University of Liverpool Graduate Loyalty Advancement Scholarship: UK students will receive a £1,500 reduction in tuition fees, and International students will receive a £2,500 reduction in tuition fees.

Postgraduate Opportunity Bursary

If you have been in receipt of one of our Widening Access Awards during your undergraduate studies, you may be eligible for the Postgraduate Opportunity Bursary; a £3,000 reduction in tuition fees.

The median salary for working age postgraduates in the UK is £45,000, which is £6,500 more per year than the working age graduate salary*

*Department for Education: Graduate Labour Market Statistics 2022.

Career opportunities

Coming back to Liverpool means you can reconnect with our Career Studio. Whether that means exploring your options, connecting with potential employers at exclusive events, or working with a Career Coach to perfect a job application or prepare for an interview, we’re here for you every step of the way

Interested in postgraduate study at the University of Liverpool?

View our master’s programmes, apply online and find out about loyalty discounts for alumni.

Back to: Alumni magazine