Alumni Weekend's Licence to Thrill

UEL’s alumni enjoyed a licence to thrill when they gathered at our three campuses to enjoy the first “Big Weekend”.

They came from as near as Newham and as far as Australia for the event, which was part of University of London’s 125th anniversary celebrations.

The highlight was a Casino Royal Gala Dinner, held in the Great Hall of the Stratford Campus, on Saturday night. The occasion would not have looked out of place in a James Bond movie as everybody dressed to impressed as they played casino games and danced to a brilliant 1920s-style Gatsby band.

Sinthia Arefin, who gained an MA in Fine Art at UEL in 2015, came from Newham for the event. She said:

I was interested to see how the university would celebrate 125 years, because that is an impressive number. The whole weekend has been awesome.”

Fidelia Pinto, who earned a SEND MA during lockdown, came from Harold Hill. She said: “I had to undertake my studies at home because of the Covid-19 pandemic, so I wanted to come and meet other graduates, as I missed out on the social side during my studies. The highlight for me was the gala dinner, and I really enjoyed the escape room.”

The prize for the person who travelled the furthest to attend the celebrations went to David Yew, who came from Down Under, as he lives in Melbourne.

David explained: “I studied finance back in the 1970s and I have always wondered what happened to my classmates, so I came along to see if I could meet some of them. Unfortunately, I was the only one there from my year, but I still had a wonderful time meeting all the other alumni, and this event has blown my mind.

“I have been so impressed with the facilities, because obviously it was very different in my day, and I am so thankful to the alumni team for organising this event.”

The event, held on August 5 and 6, started with a tour of all three campuses, before the alumni were formally welcomed by Matt Bellgard, Pro Vice Chancellor, Impact and Innovation. The afternoon included sessions on careers advice, a team building escape room, and a talk by Dr Anusha Shah, Snr Vice President, Institution of Civil Engineers, entitled: Transforming London for the future – building a healthy, inclusive London.

More than 100 guests then let down their hair as they put on their finery and dancing shoes and enjoyed a casino-themed dinner that was a rip-roaring success.

Many of our visitors enjoyed the convenience of spending the night in our student accommodation at our Docklands Campus, which is something many of them never had the opportunity to experience during their study days.

The second day included a session on the power of networking, and a talk by Dr Andrea Giraldez-Hayes, Clinical Director, Wellbeing and Psychological Services Clinic, entitled: Understanding your strengths.

The weekend ended with a keynote speech from Dr Alex George, discussing mental health awareness.

Dr Alex is an A&E and TV doctor who originally rose to fame on Love Island. He has two million followers on Instagram alone, and 731.4K followers on TikTok.

He is on a mission to make mental health education compulsory in schools, and has become prolific throughout the UK in his campaigning with charities such as YoungMinds, Anna Freud Centre & Mind, with a goal to ensure mental health sits alongside the likes of Maths and English on the curriculum.

Alex is Youth Mental Health Ambassador to the government. He has become a leading voice in mental and sexual health, and uses his platform to make health and medicine more accessible to millennials and beyond.

As well as forging new friendships, the event raised money for the Alumni Hardship Fund.

Charlie Werren, Deputy Head of Alumni, whose team put together the event, said: “It has been a fantastic weekend. We have had familiar faces and new join us across the weekend and it has been fabulous to see our graduates coming together both reconnecting and making new connections.

“The Big Weekend has been a great way to celebrate our 125th anniversary with our alumni community and we hope they have all had an enjoyable weekend and will continue to engage with us for years to come.”

Kamile Hudson, Alumni Engagement Manager, said: “Our goal was to give our graduates a unique experience where they could come back to the university, take part in a range of difference activities ranging from development sessions, to a Gatsby-themed gala dinner, to enjoying our keynote speaker. It was incredible seeing so many of our graduates back on campus enjoying themselves, reconnecting and making new connections.”