For the latest updates from your alumni community
Alumna, Dr Melanie Etti (BSc 2010, MBChB 2013), has received The Fulbright Nursten Award in Medical Studies, one of the most well-regarded scholarship programmes in the world.
Melanie was selected from a strong applicant pool to complete a Master of Public Health at Harvard University with a focus on global health. Her interest in health and disease developed during her time as junior doctor and while studying Pathology and Microbiology at the University of Bristol.
Two University of Bristol alumni have launched a friend-finding app called fethr. The app, which aims to tackle loneliness, links up like-minded individuals by analysing their personality, values, interests, and friendship preferences.
Bristol Geography graduate, Julian Issa (MSci 2014), former Maths and Philosophy student, Miguel Bravo (BSc 2013) and their flatmate, Gerardo Rodriguez, came up with the idea for fethr during the first UK lockdown. The trio were discussing loneliness and realised that they had felt isolated long before the pandemic struck.
As a business analyst, Julian had lived in 10 cities in just two years, which made it difficult to form friendships. After carrying out further research, he discovered that 45% of adults in England felt lonely at least some of the time.
“Meaningful human connection shouldn’t be such a difficult thing to find in the 21st century and that is why we started fethr,” said Julian.
This year, a whole host of Bristol alumni have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for their extraordinary contributions to society. Among them are NHS heroes, leading academics and community champions. Read on to see if you can spot any former classmates in the list of Bristol alumni who have been given a honour this year.
Bristol alumnus, Lord Boateng (LLB 1973, Hon LLD 2007) has made history multiple times during his ground-breaking political career. In 1987 he became one of the first Black MPs to be elected in the UK and went on to become the UK’s first Black cabinet minister in 2002.
While at the University, Paul Boateng was a committee member of the Students’ Law Club and a member of the Council of the Students’ Union. After graduating with a degree in Law in 1973, Paul qualified and completed his articles in London. He later returned to Bristol to represent defendants in the St Paul’s uprising of 1980 and thereafter continued to practice in courts in Bristol, London, Liverpool and the Midlands right up until 1997.
In April, Lord Boateng joined us in conversation to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the University’s Be More Empowered for Success programme – which exists to ensure that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students thrive at Bristol. In this event, he shared his wisdom, looked back on his time as a student and gave us some invaluable life advice. Here are some of our favourite Lord Boateng quotes from the event – from politics to the power of love.
In 2019, co-founders Dr Imke Sittel (PhD 2017) and Dr David Benito-Alifonso set up Glaia – an environmentally conscious startup which is on a mission to reduce the carbon footprint of agricultural food production. The revolutionary technology behind Glaia, which Imke and David developed at the University of Bristol, uses nanomaterial-based solutions to allow plants to harvest light more efficiently. By increasing crop yields and lowering emissions, this forward-thinking startup could play a pivotal role in tackling climate change and ensuring food security in future years.
We spoke to Dr Imke Sittel to find out more about startup life and to hear her fond memories of her time at the University.
Almost 2,000 people volunteered for the University in this academic year. We caught up with some of our volunteers to find out more about their roles and what being a Bristol Volunteer means to them.
(Top) Fran Wormald (MEng 2012) supported our Bristol Voices programme
Since moving back to Bristol, I’ve wanted to get more involved in the local community and support students at the University. I can imagine the coronavirus crisis has left students feeling isolated and lonely, with limited opportunities to meet and socialise. I wanted to be a friendly contact for a student during this difficult period.
I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the student I’ve been paired with. She and I have lots in common and get on really well. We’ve been able to talk openly about our difficulties during lockdown and what we’re looking forward to in the future.
One hundred alumni and students joined us on 16 March for the Big Bristol Mentors Mingle, which was our first ever Bristol Mentors virtual networking event. This was a chance for alumni, students and mentors to meet each other and share invaluable career-focused insights. (more…)
We are recruiting for student callers to work on our Summer 2021 Telephone Fundraising campaign. This is a fantastic opportunity to join a friendly team in which you can build your skills, make a difference and gain fundraising experience.
Are you:
If the answer to one or more of these questions is yes, we’d love to hear from you!
As a telephone fundraiser you will call Bristol graduates to discuss what’s new at the University, answer any questions they may have, and ask for a charitable donation. It’s an important and rewarding job. In 2018/19 our team of student callers raised an incredible £151,872.32, which helped to support projects such as our Futures Scholarships and cardiovascular research. Click here to read more about the amazing things you’ll be helping to support through telephone fundraising.
We are proud to be a Living Wage accredited employer, and you will be paid £9.50 per hour plus 12.07% holiday pay. All students are paid in arrears for the previous month’s work on the 26th of each month, or on the previous working day if this falls on a weekend or bank holiday.
Eileen Atieno (MEng 2018) has achieved an incredible amount during her time at the University. But before she could embark on her Bristol journey, there were significant barriers that she had to overcome.
At the age of 11 Eileen moved from her home in Kenya and began studying at a secondary school in London. She achieved top grades but when she tried to apply for university, Eileen found that her visa status meant she didn’t qualify for student finance. Not one to be put off by a challenge, Eileen applied to almost a hundred bursary and funding opportunities, eventually securing one which meant she could join the University of Bristol as an Aerospace Engineering student.
After graduating in 2017, Eileen began a PhD in Advanced Composites and is now at the University exploring the mechanical properties of polymer composites. Alongside her academic work, Eileen has advocated for greater representation for Black students across her faculty and has set up outreach programmes to inspire young Black children in the Bristol area to study STEM subjects. We caught up with her to learn more about what motivates her to keep pushing for change.
For over 12 years Dr John Reeks has been a part of the University of Bristol: first as an MA student, then as a PhD researcher and now as a lecturer in the Department of History. Here he tells us more about what makes the University such a special place for him.