Here we share a short round-up of a few highlights from the year.
January
Kicking off 2023, we had a number of alumni and other members of the University community recognised in the first of the New Year Honours from King Charles III for their achievements across areas including sports, public service, and science and research.
Meanwhile, two alumni – Aditi Chauhan and Suheil Tandon – were awarded the India UK Achievers Honours at an awards ceremony in London on 25 January by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK.
Towards the end of the month, Vice-Chancellor Professor Nick Jennings CB FREng hosted two special evening receptions for our alumni in the USA during a visit to the country. A delegation of university staff headed to America for a few days to meet with alumni, visit other universities, and build on existing partnerships.
Aditi Chauhan
February
The second month of the year began with the annual Talk Sport student conference on both the Loughborough and London campuses, with over 400 students, staff, alumni and exhibitors getting involved. Many alumni volunteered their time and expertise in what was a brilliant conference.
February is the month of love. On Valentine’s day we uncovered several Loughborough love stories. One of our couples have been together for more than 50 years!
Yen and Vincent Cheung
March
Early in the month, we celebrated International Women’s Day, alumna Lara Oyedele joined the Chartered Institute of Housing as its new President, and All Quiet on the Western Front – an adapted screenplay co-written by Drama alumna Lesley Paterson – saw further success at The 95th Academy Awards (Oscars) on 12 March. The success followed seven awards at the BAFTAs.
Towards the end of the month, the Black in Sport Summit took place for its second year. It was co-hosted by Sky Sports News presenter and Loughborough University Board Member, alumnus Mike Wedderburn. The day included panel discussions and exclusive interviews that tackled discrimination and underrepresentation of black people in sport.
Finally, four female sporting powerhouses with links to Loughborough University were named in BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour Power List 2023: Women in Sport.
The list, selected by an expert judging panel, includes Loughborough alumnae Alice Dearing, Sue Anstiss MBE, and Barbara Slater OBE, alongside Honorary Graduate and former staff member, Baroness Sue Campbell DBE.
Alice Dearing
April
Three Loughborough alumni, Adelina Zotta and Habib Hajallie and Dalraj Nijjar were named on the Forbes 30 under 30 Europe list for their achievements in their respective fields.
A group of alumnae came together for a Women’s Networking event in London to hear from a panel of alumnae and staff, and to take the opportunity to network.
May
For several months now, we have been celebrating the brilliant creativity in our alumni community.
One example was from alumna Keziah Burt who is a figurative sculptor and portrait artist. She completed a limited edition bust of King Charles III, which went on display in the Royal Tribute Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.
We received so many creative stories and we’re excited to continue to share more in the coming months!
Keziah sculpting the bust of King Charles III at her home studio
June
In June, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Jennings CB FREng FRS was joined by three university academics to discuss artificial intelligence (AI) in an exciting online event for alumni.
Alumnus Rex Hazeldine stepped down from his longstanding role as the President of Loughborough Students’ Rugby and handed over to fellow alumnus Kevin Lucyszyn.
Further King’s Honours were bestowed upon five alumni in the Birthday Honours list, with four recognised for sports-related endeavours.
Finally, alumna Sue Anstiss, working with fellow alumnus Jack Tompkins, released “Game On: The Unstoppable Rise of Women’s Sport” on Netflix.
Baroness Grey-Thompson and Sue Anstiss
July
In July it was announced that Loughborough graduate James Roberts, the inventor of a new neonatal incubator designed, developed and manufactured in Britain that has helped babies thrive in NHS hospitals and across war-torn Ukraine, would be presented with The Princess Royal Silver Medal.
This month is when we celebrate our summer graduations – an exciting time where we welcome new members to the Alumni Association!
Many scholars thanked their donors at graduation, including Tobi Omiyale.
We shared stories of former students who are now working across the world in a range of industries to inspire our newest alumni, and several inspiring figures were celebrated with honorary degrees.
Deborah Cadman OBE
August
August saw incredible success at the World Athletics Championships.
Loughborough athletes recorded a mammoth medal haul of three golds, one silver, and two bronze after nine days of thrilling competition in Hungary’s capital city.
September
In September, new members joined the Alumni Advisory Board.
Four members were elected, and a further three were co-opted to join the Board.
October
During October, Vice-Chancellor Professor Nick Jennings CB FREng FS hosted three alumni receptions in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing.
A delegation of university staff visited East Asia to meet with alumni, visit other universities, and to build partnerships.
Shanghai
November
In November, we welcomed five sensational sporting alumni to the Loughborough Sport Hall of Fame.
Ama Agbeze MBE, Maddie Hinch MBE, and Laura Unsworth MBE were inducted into the performance category, recognising their achievements as athletes in their respective sports.
Dr Sam Erith was recognised in the performance support category, whilst Amanda Bennett was inducted as a sports leader.
We also announced that, thanks to generous donations, more than 50 new students were awarded Opportunity Scholarships.
Ama Agbeze MBE, Amanda Bennett, Maddie Hinch MBE, and Laura Unsworth MBE
December
To end the year, we celebrate our winter graduations.
There were two days of ceremonies on the Loughborough campus, and honorary degrees were awarded to six amazing individuals – including two alumni.
Mary Earps and Nims Purja were both on campus to collect their honorary degrees, and hundreds of graduands crossed the stage to become graduates and members of the Alumni Association.
Nims Purja
It has been another great year and we are excited to see what 2024 will bring! If you have a story or any news to share, we would love to hear from you. Please do get in touch.