AlumniNews

Strathclyders Stuart Cooper and Adam McCarthy are proud graduates of the Forensic Science Masters’ course – Class of 1999-2000. They were part of The Institute of Environmental Science & Research Ltd (ESR) team that scooped the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Science Prize this year. Named on the award are Stuart Cooper, Adam McCarthy and a number of their colleagues from ESR, in Auckland.

Strathclyder Adam Gordon joined the Recruitment Industry on leaving University before moving to International Marketing Group Havas. There, he specialised in Recruitment Marketing and Communications, and studied for the Chartered Institute of Marketing's Professional Postgraduate Diploma, building on his studies at Strathclyde.

Strathclyder Andrew Wright studied Business Management and has gone on to enjoy a colourful career which has taken him around the world.

On 22 November, VisitScotland Business Events announced its five Young Legends of the Year at an awards ceremony at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow. The inaugural event welcomed 100 guests including representatives from the country’s top universities, convention bureaux and tourism agencies.

Strathclyder Finbarr Taylor graduated in 2011 with a degree in Computer Science. Seven years on, his company ‘Shogun’ a storefront builder for E-Commerce stores has recently raised $2.1m seed funding with participation from some of the best investors in Silicon Valley including Y Combinator, Initialized Capital and Funders Club.

Glasgow-based company Premiership Experience, set up by Strathclyder Kieran Coyle when he was just 18, recently signed a significant seven-figure deal in Beijing with a leading Chinese conglomerate. Premiership Experience, which offers tailored packages for football fans, has been in negotiations for the past nine months. The deal was brokered through the Bank of China’s UK office and Glasgow Law Practice. The company provides match day experience packages to some of England's top Premier League clubs plus international tours to European academies and works closely with schools and tour groups.

Alumnus, John Ian Giffen, has been named a Fellow by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, recognising his career achievements to date with the profession’s highest mark of distinction. Fellows are outstanding members of the profession who, through their careers and community work, embody the designation’s high standards of professional excellence and integrity.

In 2017, we welcomed our 25th cohort of postgraduate students to our pioneering MSc in Sustainability & Environmental studies programme. As part of the celebrations we have engaged with alumni from the programme, to find out how the programme has helped shape their careers.

Congratulations to Strathclyde alumnus William Watt who has become his family’s fifth generation to join Scotland’s oldest, independently owned chain of department stores. Engineering graduate William who is the great, great grandson of Watt Brothers Ltd’s founder Allan Watt is immersing himself in all aspects of the retail business, joining the company as a trainee manager covering a number of the stores.

We recently welcomed alumnus and CEO of SageGlass Alan McLenaghan back to Strathclyde for the first time over 25 years. Alan visited the Thomas Graham Building to experience one of the best views on campus without glare or heat from the sun, thanks to pioneering SageGlass technology which tints on demand.

Please disregard any contact made by "Worldwide Association of Notable Alumni (WANA)" and “The International Alumni Association”. These organisations are not affiliated to the University of Strathclyde.

Congratulations to Strathclyde alumnus, Graham McPhail, who has joined the leading UK commercial real estate advisory, GVA, as an Associate.

Sir Tom Hunter, former Alumnus of the Year, is well known for his success in business and for this philanthropic work. He opened the Hunter for Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde, which focuses on the study, research and encouragement of entrepreneurship within Scotland.

Congratulations to Strathclyde alumnus Manish Maheshwari who has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of a leading Nigerian oil and gas company, Seven Energy.

After appearing on Dragons' Den, getting reviewed by Jamie Foxx and showcased at the Grammys, Strathclyde entrepreneurs Michael Corrigan and David Kellock have seen sales for their Trtl travel pillow go through the roof.

Congratulations to Strathclyde alumni, Chitresh Sharma and Louis Schena, founders of the loyalty scheme Swipii, and Assean Sheikh, co-founder of the independent craft beer and gin club Flavourly, who were named in Forbes #30under30 for Retail and E-commerce.

Strathclyde alumnus Stephen Park OBE has been appointed British Cycling’s new performance director after 15 years as Olympic manager for the Royal Yachting Association. Britain amassed 23 Olympic and Paralympic sailing medals during Park’s time as manager and he will be tasked to lead the British Olympic Cycling team to even more success in the Tokyo 2020 games.

Congratulations to Strathclyde alumnus, Matthew Mawtus who was named the Academy of Food and Wine Service’s 2016 UK Restaurant Manager of the Year. Matthew, the only Scot to make the final was awarded a bursary to study at the Lausanne Business School in Switzerland.

Jack Sim founded World Toilet Organisation (WTO) in 2001 to campaign for better sanitation standards in toilets worldwide. This year the Strathclyde alumnus was among 17 social changemakers honoured at the inaugural Novus Summit, organised in partnership with the United Nations.

After being rejected by travel companies reluctant to accommodate blind travellers, alumnus Amar Latif set out to redesign the industry. Today the Strathclyde Alumnus of the Year 2006 guarantees a vacation for blind and partially sighted people that provokes all five senses, via tailored packages provided by his company Traveleyes.

Strathclyde's Law Clinic, which receives support from the Alumni Fund, enjoyed a successful night at the eighth annual Herald Society Awards with the Clinic’s Executive Committee winning the 'Team of the Year' Award.

Strathclyde alumna Elizabeth Njoroge is pioneering classical music education in Kenya through her Ghetto Classics music education programme. Since 2008 the programme has grown from just 14 children using instruments borrowed from the Kenya Conservatoire of Music to over 600 participating children, the formation of a full orchestra and performances for President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Pope Francis.

Our Autumn Telethon 2016 Campaign kicked off this week! We have forty-two Strathclyde student callers contacting our alumni in the UK, US and Canada over the next six weeks in aid of the Alumni Fund. Funds raised from the campaign will support students and student projects.

The Law Clinic, which receives funding from the Alumni Fund, has been shortlisted for two awards at the Herald Society Awards 2016. The Executive Committee has been shortlisted for the Herald Society Team of the Year Award while administrator Diane Inglis has been shortlisted for the Unsung Hero Award. The awards ceremony will take place on the 2 November.

Congratulations to alumnus Gavin Meiklejohn who took off on his travels to British Columbia and ended up on the path to becoming an award winning brewer! Gavin, together with his wife and business partner Annika, took home seven awards in the Scottish Beer Awards for their brewery, Tempest Brewing Company.

Founders of Revive Eco, Fergus Moore, Rebecca Richardson and Scott Kennedy were awarded The Environmental Award at Glasgow’s Inspiring City Awards 2016. Revive Eco collects used coffee grounds to produce all-natural plant food.

Vice-chairman of Pricol, Vanitha Mohan was elected as the president of the ICCI during the annual general body meeting. She holds a postgraduate diploma from the University of Strathclyde.

Strathclyde PhD graduate and comedian, Matt Winning, offers an insight into the Edinburgh Fringe, teaching comedy and Glasgow's hecklers.

Strathclyde graduate, Dr. Mario Stevenson, is one of the world’s leading scientific researchers into infectious diseases. Leading a team at the University of Miami, Dr. Stevenson is at the forefront of the global battle against the Zika virus.

Professor Donald Cairns, who is head of RGU’s School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, has been recognised for his contribution to science. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from the University of Strathclyde in 1980 and has spent his career in practice and research.

An interview with Strathclyde History and Marketing graduate, Melanie Blane, who founded skincare brand White Rabbit Skincare. Melanie has received help to start her cruelty-free skincare brand from the Entrepreneurial Spark and The Prince's Trust. Her top tip for budding entrepreneurs is 'get comfortable with being uncomfortable!'

Business graduate, Peter Telfer took over Urquhart Opticians in 2014 with his business partner and childhood friend. Together the pair have increased turnover to over £1 million from around £840,000 in two years.

Katie Ailes is currently working towards a PhD in English at Strathclyde.

On 3rd August 2016, the Law Clinic launched a benefits drop-in service, with sessions offering help and advice on various benefits issues to members of the community who do not normally use the Law Clinic's services. This new service is part-funded by the generosity of our alumni, through gifts to the Alumni Fund.

Amir Hussain has launched the new journal with the aim to provide a platform for the dissemination of research, current practices and future trends in the emerging discipline of big data analytics.

Alumni, Jeremie Warner and Stephen Spiers made the list for their innovative buy one, give one, business model for Power a Life. For every PAL power bank they sell, a solar light is given to a child in an African school to give children without electricity the chance to study at night.

The University of Strathclyde's physics department are working on a project to produce bubble-sized 'laboratories' using high-powered lasers to conduct experiments in plasma bubbles. The project could boost cancer treatment, medical imaging and industrial processes.

After studying at Strathclyde Wendy Findlay joined the Armed Forces and spent almost 20 years repairing armoured military vehicles with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. She joined Scotland's largest bus operator, First Glasgow, in 2012 and has become a strong role model for women in the heavily male dominated transport industry.

The Genealogical Studies Postgraduate Programme at Strathclyde’s Centre for Lifelong Learning has identified a descendant of a medieval king of Scotland. It has also led to the discovery of a distinct genetic marker for descendants of King Robert III. The findings have been made as part of the Bannockburn Family History Project, which explores genetic connections between people living today and their ancestors who fought in the Battle.

Music fans’ emotions could be used to help them find new songs online, according to research at the University of Strathclyde. The research found that the videos, and viewers’ responses to them, were highly individual but often also social, with shared emotions creating a sense of community. It also found that such emotions could help to inform searches, recommendations and playlists in online music providers.

Congratulations to M-Squared Lasers and their founder, Strathclyde alumnus Graeme Malcolm, for receiving a Queen's Award for Enterprise. Going from strength to strength, Graeme received an OBE in the Queen’s Honours list in December 2014 and was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh earlier this year.

She presents an oral history of domestic abuse in Scotland from 1979 to 1992 through very private and previously untold stories of Scottish marriages, of living with everyday domestic violence, of its impact, and of the admitted failures of police, prosecutors and social workers.

Strathclyde alumna Lynne McDonald has been named Engineer of the Year – Mechanical/Electrical in the prestigious Women in Construction Awards 2016.

The former leader of Glasgow City Council, Gordon Matheson, is to leave the authority to become a visiting professor at Strathclyde. Mr Matheson will be a visiting professor at the University's Institute for Future Cities - part of the economics department.

Professor of Politics at Strathclyde, John Curtice discusses the current polls regarding the EU referendum.

Professor Ahmad Rafi Mohamed Eshaq trained as an architect with a PhD specialising in architectural animation and virtual reality at the University of Strathclyde in 1998. He has had a distinguished academic career and has developed experience and expertise in the fields of virtual reality, virtual heritage, architectural visualisation, animation, educational technology and multimedia making him the best candidate to lead MMU onto greater heights. 

The MCR Pathways mentoring project, which helps disadvantaged young people reach their potential in life, and of which Strathclyde is a partner, is to announce a three-year plan to set up in every school in Scotland's largest city. Many of Strathclyde's alumni volunteer in support of the project.

Scotland’s leading independent economic research institute is set to mark its 40th anniversary with a major new investment in the level of independent economic and fiscal analysis undertaken in Scotland.The University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute is set to boost its economic research capabilities to provide decision-makers, the media and the public with even greater leading-edge independent economic analysis than before.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the first man to demonstrate a working television system was Strathclyde alumnus, John Logie Baird despite other countries claiming the invention of the television as their own achievement.

The New Year's Honours list includes: Nancy Loucks OBE, HaSS Visiting Professor and Chief Executive of Families Outside charity; Maurice Taylor CBE, honorary graduate, former Visiting Professor and Chief Executive of Chardon Management; CBE, Professor David Levin MBE, Business alumnus and former Visiting Professor; Dr Alan Turnbull OBE, Science alumnus and Senior Fellow at the National Physical Laboratory; and Dr John Baxter CBE, Engineering alumnus, honorary graduate and Group Engineering Director of BP.

Strathclyde Business Fellow, Iain MacRitchie has received an award from the Prime Minister for his MCR Pathways mentoring project which has helped more than 200 disadvantaged young people.

Johnson Controls, the world’s largest automotive battery manufacturer, has hired Catherine Mulvey, to lead its Original Equipment business for the Power Solutions division in EMEA. Mulvey holds a Bachelor in Marketing and European Languages from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.