January
To start off 2022, five alumni and an honorary graduate were named in the 2022 Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for contributions to sports, mathematics, engineering, defence, and human rights.
In the realm of sports, alumnus Sam Billings made his England Men’s cricket Test debut in the fifth Ashes Test in Hobart, Australia. Billings was deployed as a specialised wicketkeeper-batsman after he impressed both domestically and in the One Day International England side.
February
Loughborough’s research and innovation activities enjoyed outstanding success at the LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards. The University received nine awards in seven of the ten categories, as well as the overall Innovator of the Year and a Special Recognition Award. Three alumni organisations, based on LUSEP, were also recognised.
Many alumni gave back to Loughborough by volunteering at the annual Talk Sport Conference. Fourteen alumni volunteered to share their expertise and career experiences to inspire the next generation of Loughborough graduates.
March
In March, a group of Falkner Eggington alumni collectively raised money to fund an Opportunity Scholarship.
The Opportunity Scholarship programme, first introduced in 2012, supports students from low-income households and areas of low higher education participation.
Alumnus and Sky News Presenter, Mike Wedderburn returned to campus and hosted panels, one-to-one interviews and opened the Black in Sport Summit.
The event celebrated Black people in the sport industry and aimed to inspire opportunities for minorities to break in the sports industry. Attendees heard from alumni speakers including Commonwealth Gold medalist Ama Agbeze MBE.
April
April saw the introduction of the George Gandy Legacy Fund, an effort to support Loughborough athletes in pursuit of their sport.
The first recipients of the Fund received grants to assist with training, travel to competitions, physio treatment and a new socket for a prosthetic blade.
2022 marked a year of continued success for our international alumni with five graduates being recognised in the prestigious British Council StudyUK Alumni Awards.
Ashley Stewart and Una Hong are two alumnae who were named finalists in the Culture and Creativity category.
To top off a brilliant month, Loughborough was named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects for the sixth year running by the global QS higher education league table!
May
For the first Alumni Reunion Weekend since 2019, more than 150 guests were welcomed to Loughborough from 20-22 May. The alumni enjoyed a jam-packed weekend of activities. On Friday 50 alumni attended FND for a dance at the Students’ Union. Saturday was an opportunity for alumni to meet, network and even play games at Edward Herbert Building where graduates were also able to enjoy street food and a special performance from the student jazz band.
Alumni attended tours led by student ambassadors and reminisced about their time at university. The weekend ended with opportunities for alumni to watch university sportsand enjoy formal dinner with the Vice-Chancellor attended by 60 graduates.
Dr Hannah Rana was named by Forbes on the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in the Science and Healthcare category.
In May, the University also launched its Creating Better Futures. Together Strategy, that is set to guide the University’s activity and its development over the next decade.
June
Four alumni, an honorary graduate, and a former member of staff were named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for 2022. The list recognised people for their contributions to sports, charity, bird conservation, and disability services.
During June, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee took place and alumna Keziah Burt created a sculpture of Her Majesty based on photographs of her wartime service when she was still Princess Elizabeth.
Finally, Graham Keene became the oldest British person to successfully summit Mt. Everest, at 68 years old.
July
July was an excellent month for sporting success. Kicking it all off was alumnus Jake Wightman who produced a stunning performance in the Men’s 1500m to win gold at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Alumna Mary Earps made history with England Women when they won a thrilling UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 in extra time at a sold-out Wembley stadium.
We also welcomed 2022 graduates into the Alumni Association with graduation ceremonies taking place over three days from 19-22 July. To celebrate the new graduates, we took a trip down memory lane and looked back at graduation through the years.
John McGrail stands with a group of five friends at graduation
August
In August, alumnus James Roberts, the CEO and Founder of mOm, announced the successful international deployment of the mOm Essential Incubator into Ukraine.
We bid farewell to outgoing Alumni Advisory Board members Alex Laybourne, Dana Nassif, Jack Needham, Alan Vaughan Thomas, and Karen Whittingham. We also welcomed new members, Consolata Amode, Emma Barrat, Christopher Edmonds, Precious Kaijuka Mwongera, David Mead, Bessy Odame-Boafo and Trevor Jones.
Dr Luke Stott, a three-time Loughborough graduate took up the role as President of the Alumni Association.
August also marked the end of the Commonwealth Games. At the end of the games, if Loughborough was a country, it would have finished sixth in the overall 2022 medal table!
September
September was the start of the new academic year. It was a very special time as our campus welcomed our biggest-ever cohort of 53 Opportunity Scholarships. This record number of Opportunity Scholars was supported by generous philanthropic donations.
The University signed an agreement with the Ukrainian Global University (UGU), building on the memoranda of agreement signed with two Ukrainian universities in July.
October
In October we welcomed nine alumni into the Loughborough Sport Hall of Fame.
The event returned on 30 September 2022 after a three-year break and also honoured three individuals with Distinguished Alumni Awards.
Phil Burgess, Lisa Dobriskey, Goldie Sayers, Jon Schofield and Nicola White MBE were inducted into the performance category, recognising their achievements as athletes in their respective sports. Emma Mitchell and Mark Simpson were inducted for performance support, and Penny Briscoe OBE and Jack Buckner for sports leadership.
October was also the start of the Women’s Rugby World Cup where 16 Loughborough Lightning players appeared on the sport’s biggest stage across the competition.
November
November was a busy month for the Alumni Association. It started off with two alumni receptions in New Delhi and Mumbai where India-based alumni had the opportunity to connect and network and meet with Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Jennings, who was part of the university delegation visiting India.
Margaret (Meg) Dawson donated $250,000 to the University to launch a first-of-its-kind fund – the Loughborough Student Managed Fund. It will give a group of students the opportunity to manage a real-world investment portfolio with a goal to create positive returns to be used solely to support financially disadvantaged students.
November also marked Thanksgiving, a special time of year to meet with family and friends, take time off, and celebrate the good things in life!
We asked several of our alumni living in America how they were celebrating, and they shared their stories.
December
Loughborough became the official higher education partner of West Ham United Women – the first partnership of its kind in the Barclays Women's Super League.
The long-term partnership will see West Ham United Women benefit from the full scope of the University’s expertise.
Wrapping up a brilliant 2022, two graduation ceremonies took place on the Loughborough campus, celebrating hundreds of students’ brilliant achievements. Alumna Sarah Hunter MBE was awarded an honorary degree, recognising her incredible services to women’s rugby.
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