Welcome to the the September edition of the alumni enewsletter. I hope you will enjoy reading it and that you will find something of interest. We're getting ready for our 2007 graduation ceremonies. For all of you 2007 leavers who have signed up to the Alumni Network - have a wonderful time at the ceremony!. You will see we have our annual business networking and careers event for alumni. It's on 17th October and it will be very useful to all alumni who are job hunting, and to those who would like to network with other graduates. I hope to see you there.
Also new is our list of volunteering opportunities - giving you the chance to get involved with the work of the Alumni Network - please see below for details. Remember, if your details have changed please let us know so we can make sure you receive the most up to date information.
Happy reading!
Emma Cale
Development and Alumni Officer
Over a hundred graduating students from all over the world gathered at our Docklands campus on Friday 6 July for this year's International Celebration of Success.
Lord Rix, our Chancellor, personally awarded degrees, diplomas and certificates to graduating students from more than forty different nations, as far afield as Botswana, Bangladesh and Brazil.
Distinguished guests at the ceremony included representatives of the governments of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nigeria, as well as the Vice-Chancellor of Amity University in India, envoys from our partner institutions in China, and Cllr Omana Gangadharan, Civic Ambassador of Newham.
Addressing the assembled graduates and their families, Lord Rix said: “It is now ten years since I was installed as Chancellor of the University of East London – July 16 1997 to be exact, at the award ceremony for overseas students. Not only was this ceremony my first official duty, but it has always been one I have enjoyed immensely over the years.
“International students are very active here at UEL, both in student life and in the wider community. The experiences you have shared and friendships you have forged will stand you in good stead on the road that lies ahead.”
Over 3,000 of our 20,000 students come from overseas, with representatives of over 120 nationalities around the world.
In his welcoming speech, Professor Martin Everett, our Vice-Chancellor, said: “Internationalism is particularly important at a university like ours. We are a truly global community, and very proud that London’s rich multicultural mix is well reflected in our student population.
“I hope that for each and every one of you, wherever your path now leads, you will look back on your time here as a great learning experience, that it will help open doors to your chosen career, and above all that you will be happy and fulfilled in life.”
The awards ceremony was followed by traditional afternoon tea in University Square, with musical accompaniment from UEL’s resident steel band, Nostalgia.
We will be holding six graduation ceremonies at the Barbican from October to December. If you are interested in helping out at the graduation ceremonies this year, please get in touch with the alumni office.
£3,000 Cass Foundation scholarships on offer for postgraduate study.Local residents interested in postgraduate study at UEL may be eligible to apply for £3000 scholarships from Sir John Cass’s Foundation, one of London’s oldest and largest education charities.
Ten of our students will receive £3000 towards the fee costs of full-time Masters degree programmes in a range of areas including science, health, ICT subjects and financial management.
Applicants must be under 25 on the day of enrolment and resident in the London Boroughs of Camden, City of London, City of Westminster, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets or Wandsworth.
The Reverend Dr Brian Lee, Chairman of the Grants Committee of Sir John Cass’s Foundation, said: “I am extremely pleased that the Foundation has agreed to establish a postgraduate scholarship scheme at the University of East London.
“The Foundation is conscious that access to postgraduate education is currently an issue which should be addressed. We very much hope that this scheme will enable students from the inner London area to progress into postgraduate education without the fear of incurring additional debt.”
Professor Martin Everett, said: “We are delighted that Sir John Cass’s Foundation has chosen to bestow this generous grant. We offer an expanding number of innovative and exciting programmes at Masters level, and strongly believe that students from our local communities should be able to benefit from postgraduate education in vital subject areas.
"With the help of partners including Sir John Cass’s Foundation, we look forward to developing this work further in the years ahead.”
To find out more about the scheme or apply for a Scholarship, visit www.uel.ac.uk/pgscholarships or email smart@uel.ac.uk.
One of our academics has been awarded top honours at a film festival in Milan.
Dr Marta Rabikowska, Senior Lecturer in Media and Advertising, won the Grand Jury Award at the European Association for Consumer Research Film Festival, the highlight of a major international conference held in Milan from 10-14 July.
Her award-winning documentary, Consumption, Belonging and Place, investigates the relationships between ethnicity and consumption in a single street in south-east London, exploring the complexity of the community through the eyes of the researcher herself.
Dr Rabikowska said: "As a Polish academic living and working in London, I'm extremely interested in how people develop a sense of 'home'. This documentary began life as a way of understanding my research in the context of one of London's most multicultural and underprivileged areas: Plumstead.
"By focusing on a single street, I was able to closely observe socio-cultural relationships at work as residents carried out their daily shopping. Following their routine activities gave a great insight into the role that market places can play in influencing people's attitudes towards their area and fellow residents.
"Winning the Grand Jury Award in Milan is delightful recognition of the significance of this project. Filming the documentary was a real team effort, and I'd like to thank everyone involved."
Dr Rabikowska produced Consumption, Belonging, and Place with support from several of our staff and students, including cinematographer Matthew Hawkins, a recent graduate of the BA (Hons) degree in Film and Video: Theory and Practice.
A special screening of the documentary will take place at our Docklands Campus this September. The film will also be published as a DVD available through the international journal Consumption, Markets & Culture.
Our School of Humanities and Social Sciences is 5-rated for research in media, communications and cultural studies, placing us in the top seven universities in the UK. For further information, visit www.uel.ac.uk/ssmcs
17th October 2007, 6.00pm, Docklands campus.
We welcome all alumni to an evening of networking, information/presentations and refreshments, on what the Alumni Network and UEL can do for you and give you tips for your career.
The evening will feature a presentation from Prospects – the careers specialists for graduates. They will be discussing some important issues for alumni looking for the right job, including;
We would like to invite alumni who wish to take advantage of the networking opportunity and learn about how they could benefit from the services offered by Prospects.
Please come along for this invaluable presentation and also an opportunity to meet fellow graduates, socialise and network.
Food and drink will be served.
The event is free, but you must register as places are limited - please email Emma Cale at alumni@uel.ac.uk, or call 020 8223 2222 to book your place.
I look forward to seeing you there.
We would like to invite you to attend a meal for all alumni living in Ghana on Saturday 13th October at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel.
A representative from our International Office at the University of East London, Anthony Dangerfield, will be hosting an informal dinner for alumni to meet, get to know each other and find out what is happening at UEL.
Please pass this initiation to other alumni from UEL if you are in contact with them. The more the merrier!
Dinner will be paid for by UEL – please feel free to bring spouses and children.
Please let me know if you are able to attend by emailing me on alumni@uel.ac.uk
We hope you will be able to make it.
The UEL Entrepreneurship Society invites you to our first end of year event to be held on 26th September at 5pm at the Knowledge Dock
A fantastic opportunity to look back at a prolific and rewarding year and look forward to a new exciting and challenging year ahead, guest speakers, business representatives and student high achievers have been invited to present our final year awards in what promises to be an exceptional evening of accomplishments and entertainment.
Refreshments will be provided.
To register your interest please contact Awad Bhenick (Society President) at a.bhenick@uel.ac.uk
The Centre on Human Rights in Conflict at UEL presents a panel discussion on the subject of the extraterritorial application of human rights obligations. This event brings together leading legal practitioners and scholars in the UK to discuss landmark cases which have affirmed the extraterritorial application of national and regional European human rights obligations to UK personnel acting not only outside the UK, but outside of Europe.
Recent decisions in the cases of Al-Skeini & others v Secretary of State for Defence and Jones v. Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be discussed by some of the leading figures involved in litigating them. A question and answer session will follow the panel discussion. This discussion will be of interest to anyone interested in the development of human rights in the UK, Europe, and globally.
Panel: Sapna Malik, Leigh Day & Co; Richard Hermer, Doughty Street Chambers; Dr. Ralph Wilde, University College London
Discussant: Professor Chandra Lekha Sriram, Director, CHRC.
All Welcome, admission FREE
For details and registration, contact Johanna Herman 020 8223 6329 or email: j.herman@uel.ac.uk
Inaugural Lecture by Professor Andrew Silke, School of Law
Preventing and tackling terrorism requires a clear understanding of terrorists themselves and the circumstances in which individuals and groups turn to violence.
When this understanding is lacking, myth and innuendo can dominate the wider perception of who terrorists are, what drives them, and what might be done to prevent and deter such extremism.
Psychology is increasingly recognised as key to developing an effective understanding of terrorists and terrorism. This talk aims to provide a review of some of the psychological approaches to studying terrorism and the key findings which have emerged.
This lecture will try to assess the overall role psychology has played in developing insight into terrorism, the impact of 9/11 and the subsequent global war on terror. Bearing this in mind, Professor Silke explores some implications in terms of developing effective counter-terrorism strategies. The focus of this lecture is to present a clear and succinct view of what terrorism is, and is not, at the start of the 21st century, and future trends and scenarios.
All Welcome, admission FREE.
For details and registration, contact Miriam Watt 020 8223 2884 or email: m.watt@uel.ac.uk
Duncan House is 5 minutes walk from Stratford Station (tube, rail and bus)
For travel information to our Stratford Campus see: http://www.uel.ac.uk/about_uel/why_uel/travelwise.htm#stratford
On 18th July 2007, one of our Professors, Chitral Wijeyesekera (DC) visited Sri Lanka for the purpose of recruiting new students to UEL. While there, he attended a dinner of over 20 of our Civil Engineering graduates at the Concorde Hotel. Alumni brought their families along for an enjoyable evening of socialising and finding out about what is happening at UEL today.
On 1st July 2007, dozens of our alumni from North East London Polytechnic, Polytechnic of East London and UEL attended a reunion and family day in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Once again, our Civil Engineering Professor DC attended the reunion and met with some familiar faces for an enjoyable afternoon.
Our three representatives for this group, Bernd Zimmermann, Christian Metzner and Gerald Koenen, all MBA graduates, have set up a website for other alumni to join. The currently have over 150 members on the networking site at the following address:
Coming soon is the first official meeting of the network - we will keep you informed.
We have just completed a project with the Business School for their induction this September. We asked our Business School alumni around the world to make a recording of themselves talking about their experiences of UEL and what they are doing now. We would like to say a big thank you to all who gave up their free time to do this for us. It is very much appreciated and you have all contributed to the new student experience. Our volunteers were:
Hunaiz Zia (2006 MSc International Marketing Management)
Claudia Mollidor (2006 BA Business Studies)
Hammad Baig (2003 BA Business Studies)
Emmanouel Yavroglou (2000 MSc Marketing)
Evelyn Chanda Mwila (2003 MBA)
Yu Qin Wang (2005 MBA)
Sharmila Paramaswaran (2005 BA Accounting and Finance)
Dickman Maulana (2001 MBA)
Rolf Werner (2004 PhD Business and Managment)
Phillip Cooper (2003 MSc Business Information Systems)
Dare James (2007 BA Accounting and Finance)
Andrew Cranmer (1986 BA Accounting and Finance)
We will very shortly be circulating the finished product for you all to have a look at.
The Alumni Office would like to feature our volunteers, show a profile of them on the website and other publicity material. In addition, if you run your own business, or would like to let others know about what you are doing/working on – we would love to help by sharing that information with other alumni.
Participate at a graduation ceremony. We have six ceremonies each year and we invite alumni to join us on the alumni stand, chatting to graduates about the network and encouraging them to join.
Attend our employability events. Give careers advice to current students and let them benefit from your knowledge.
Careers talks/placements/workshops. Could you speak to students and other graduates about your work, offer advice and tips, or even offer a placement within your organisation?
Help organise alumni events and reunions. Help the alumni office organise our events.
Participate in fundraising activities. Help organise and attend our fundraising events, or assist on our campaigns.
Recruit new members to the Alumni Network. Put your friends and colleagues in touch with us and help spread the word about the Alumni Network.
Set up alumni groups. Help the Alumni Network set up regional, subject specific or year of graduation groups.
Become an alumni group representative. Represent alumni in your country or region by being the organiser of an international group.
The Alumni Office would like to feature our volunteers, show a profile of them on the website and other publicity material. In addition, if you run your own business, or would like to let others know about what you are doing/working on – we would love to help by sharing that information with other alumni.
To volunteer or find out more, please email alumni@uel.ac.uk
If so you may be entitled to professional recognition from the Chartered Management Institute.
A special arrangement between UEL and the Chartered Management Institute has been set up which guarantees graduates professional recognition. This means you can capitalise on achieving your degree by applying for member status (designatory letters MCMI or ACMI depending on your qualification and management experience).
This guarantee is available to graduates of these programmes:
Postgraduate degrees (ACMI or MCMI)
MBA : DMS : Diploma in Business & Management : CMS : Certificate in Business and Management
Undergraduate degrees (ACMI)
BA (Hons) Business Studies
BA (Hons) Business Studies graduates with these specialisms: Corporate Responsibility, Entrepreneurship, Logistics & Supply Chain Mgt, Business Finance, HRM, Marketing
The Chartered Management Institute is recognised by Royal Charter as the professional body for managers in the UK.
This fast track guarantee means you don’t need to undergo any assessment process for Institute recognition, enabling the CMI to offer you a discount of at least 30% off the first year’s membership fee.
Benefits of Membership of the UK’s leading organisation for professional management
Your membership indicates to employers that you are serious about continuing to develop yourself as a manager and leader, and is a valuable addition to your CV. The key services are:
To join or for further information, please call the Membership Team on +44 (0)1536 207307 or apply online by 31 August 2007 at www.managers.org.uk/apply. Please quote code C2772 to benefit from this offer.
The London Engineering Project (LEP) is urging the capital's black and minority ethnic engineers and scientists to give a day of their time every year in schools.
They are being asked to be ambassadors for their professions and show what they have achieved as role models for the next generation. The aim is to inspire and motivate young people to follow in their footsteps and help address the lack of black and minority ethnic young people currently entering jobs which are vital to the future of the economy and have particular significance to the capital.
By securing a few hours of these professionals’ time, the LEP hopes that more school students will thrive in their classroom science and technology studies, apply for a degree courses and then go on into rewarding careers.
The project is supported by The Royal Academy of Engineering which is championing the aim of attracting the next generation of engineers and scientists from black and minority ethnic communities.
Any working engineer or scientist interested in getting involved from September 2007 should contact the London Engineering Project at contactus@thelep.org.uk or 020 7717 1670 or visit the website www.thelep.org.uk
One of our health and bioscience graduates has now successfully set up Pregnancy & Beyond - an innovative service aimed at helping parents bond with their babies and reduce postnatal depression.
Fiona Rose-Clarke (42) of Chadwell Heath was assisted by the HotHatch business incubator programme at our Knowledge Dock to create an accessible one stop shop for services that help parents and infants, such as baby massage & baby yoga.
Fiona, who graduated last year with her BSc (Hons) Fitness & Health degree , recently spoke at the Women’s Enterprise Action Conference 2007, attended by Minister for Women Meg Munn MP and Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, Chair of the Labour Party.
Fiona said: “My greatest inspiration and joy comes from my daughter who is the light of my life, I am very lucky, I do what I love and I love what I do – that is why I founded Pregnancy & Beyond.”
“Discussing my ideas with Knowledge Dock business advisors, I have gained a huge morale boost, an objective perspective on my plans and an enormous support in securing a Haberdashers’ Foundation grant, which helped cover the basic costs of starting my business“.
For further information on the new service, contact Fiona on 07983 504 917, visit the website: www.pregnancy-beyond.com or email: info@pregnancy-beyond.com
Kiyoaki Takeda, who graduated this summer with his Graduate Diploma in Architectural Design, has been selected as one of the ten 'Class of 2007' UK diploma students by Building Design Magazine.
Kiyoaki (25) of Ham Park Road, Stratford, was nominated after winning our Head of Schools prize in June for his final project, an exciting design for an education centre based on existing industrial buildings.
Kiyoaki, who is now joining the prestigious David Chipperfield practice in London, said: “It’s nice to receive this recognition. I came to UEL because it has a good reputation for architecture internationally. There is a great atmosphere here, and I look forward to keeping in touch with my tutors and friends.”
He previously studied at Tokai University, and worked for four years at the Tokai Yoshimatsu Laboratory and for an architecture firm in Tokyo.
Signy Svalastoga, Subject Director for Architecture, said: “This is great news for Kiyoaki, but I have to say not at all surprising. This year has produced some of our best-ever results, and a very exciting time for our School of Arts and Digital Industries.
Our School of Arts and Digital Industries is among the UK’s leading centres for Architecture and attracts students from all over the world, many of whom go on to create award-winning buildings.
Following this year’s successful introduction of MA Architecture: Alternative Urbanisms and MSc Architecture: Material Matters, September 2008 will see the launch of UEL’s new MA Landscape Architecture and a unique Professional Doctorate in Architecture.
Tutor Mark Hayduk said: “Kiyoaki’s Diploma project was exceptional in its precision of intention and resonance with its context. In a time when Architecture is preoccupied with interest in complexity and ‘new’ forms, it is refreshing and somewhat radical to see a student whose work is framed by a strategy to work carefully with a found architecture, and whose ideology is underpinned by reticence. Kiyoaki developed a composition of buildings that reveals a sensibility towards the local culture, invites occupation and offers optimism for a landscape in transition”
Kiyoaki has also been nominated for Silver Medal in the 2007 RIBA awards.
Back to top...
© 2008
Apply for Membership
E-Newsletters
Services for
Graduates
Merchandise Order Form
Graduation Ceremony
Can't find what you're looking for on this page?
Click here to start a search
For a general description of these pages and an explanation of how they should work with screenreading equipment please follow this link:Link to general description
For further information on this web site's accessibility features please follow this link:Link to accessibility information
The following message does not apply to screenreader users:
You will still be able to access all the essential content of this web site, but it will not look, or function, exactly as intended.
