Category: Careers

‘The University of Bristol is where I discovered my passion for the space industry’

Posted on by clare.young


On Tuesday 2 December, Adina Godeanu (MEng 2019) shared her career story with Engineering students. She shared her experience from studying at Bristol as an Aerospace student, to moving to Sweden to work at Saab.

Adina began her journey in 2015 when she moved from Romania to study Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bristol. Adina commented that she had a “truly amazing experience” at Bristol and felt supported by academic staff, career staff and friends. She highlighted that the “University of Bristol is where I discovered my passion for the space industry”.

(more…)

Alumni interview: Jonathan Phillips (BSc 1994), Head of Consulting at Simply Communicate

Posted on by Clare

 Jonathan graduated from Bristol with a degree in Geology and is now a digital strategy consultant, focusing on communication, collaboration and digital workplace technologies. With 25 years’ blue-chip experience, he is a regular keynote speaker, contributor to the digital community and a recognised global expert. He is also Chair of the Alumni Association Committee at the University of Bristol. (more…)

Alumni gain exclusive insight into China job market 

Posted on by clare.young

This November, we were pleased to bring a series of events online to our Chinese alumni and students, as a response to the cancelled central delegation to China.

As part of Bristol Connects Live– our online series of career and professional development events, members of our Chinese alumni community shared their experiences at two webinars focussed on Top Accounting firms, and Entrepreneurship to an audience of students and recent graduates.

(more…)

Alumni welcome new School of Accounting and Finance students

Posted on by clare.young


As our students started to arrive back to Bristol in October, or for those that embarked on their online learning from home, our School of Accounting and Finance alumni were on hand to provide a warm welcome to new students at their first online lectures. Students were no doubt facing a different term of learning ahead and having our alumni there to welcome them helped bring the student experience to life. 

Five graduates from the School of Accounting and Finance shared their experience with current students, giving advice from their studies at the University and details of their career development after graduation.  

(more…)

Alumni interview: Hillary Gyebi-Ababio (BSc 2019), Vice President (Higher Education), National Union of Students

Posted on by Grace

Recently elected as Vice President (Higher Education) for the National Union of Students (NUS), Hillary Gyebi-Ababio (BSc 2019) has taken remarkable steps since running as Undergraduate Education Officer for Bristol’s Student Union.

Empowered by her new role and inspired by an increasingly vocal national student body, Hillary shares unique insight into her experience at Bristol, the importance of her role on the Alumni Association Committee, and the integral role she believes alumni have in shaping the University and student experience.

(more…)

Alumnus Alfie awarded top prize at Crowdfunding challenge

Posted on by Sarah

The Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards is a UK-wide entrepreneurial business pitching competition for students and recent graduates. This year, the competition included a ‘Crowdfunding challenge’ where the businesses worked with the team at Crowdfunder to create a campaign for their business.  

Working with Crowdfunder, Student Travel Tips created a campaign for the business, winning a cash prize of £6,000 from Santander at the final and crowdfunding over £5,000.  

Alfie Laurence set up Student Travel Tips while studying at Bristol to provide peer to peer advice for students studying abroad. From paperwork and accommodation to culture and socialising, Alfie aims to reassure students as they embark on a daunting, yet exciting, year abroad.

(more…)

Alumni interview: Fiona Clark (BA 1989), Festival Director and CEO of Cork International Film Festival

Posted on by Clare

Fiona Clark, CEO Cork International Film Festival

Since graduating from Bristol in 1989 with a BA in English and Drama, Fiona Clark has had an incredible career. She is a highly experienced strategic leader, successful arts manager, and senior fundraiser whose career spans the arts and voluntary sectors in the UK and internationally. Currently the Festival Director and CEO of the Cork International Film Festival, just some of Fiona’s previous roles have included: Head of Development at the Irish Film Institute, CEO of Get Connected and CEO of Earthrace Ltd.

(more…)

Alumni volunteers share inspirational career journeys with students

Posted on by clare.young

This summer, ten of our alumni volunteers shared their career stories with pupils through an online event focused on employability. This session was delivered in partnership with With Insight Education, an organisation which mentors Black heritage pupils who are aiming to apply to prestigious universities throughout the UK.

As well as offering valuable insight into their own careers, our alumni volunteers were on hand to answer questions from the pupils and to offer advice. The session was a fantastic chance for the pupils to learn more about how their favourite subjects could translate into a wide variety of career opportunities in the future.

(more…)

Alumni interview: Ben Howitt (BVSc 2016), Founder of Pan Animalia

Posted on by Ellie

After working in a veterinary practice in Guernsey for a number of years, Bristol alum Ben Howitt went for the ultimate change of scenery by moving to the Galapagos. There he worked for almost a year as Chief Veterinary Officer for a charitable association, spending his free time scuba-diving and learning more about the beautiful animals which inhabit the islands.

He’s since launched his own foundation, Pan Animalia, which aims to provide accessible healthcare for domestic animals in the Galapagos and help manage their population numbers. This plays a crucial role in protecting the biodiversity of the islands. We caught up with him to hear more about his work and vision for his foundation.

(more…)

Alumni interview: Izzy Obeng (BSc 2014), Managing Director of Foundervine

Posted on by Ellie

After graduating from Bristol in 2014 with a politics degree, Izzy Obeng worked at KPMG before starting her own company – Foundervine. This award-winning social enterprise helps diverse founders build start-ups from scratch and specialises in delivering digital start-up and scale-up acceleration programs.

Since launching in 2018, Foundervine has helped over 2,000 future leaders from diverse backgrounds to create and build their own ventures. 27-year-old Izzy is now based in Accra in Ghana, and her team of twelve work remotely in locations up and down the UK. As well as sitting on the Alumni Association Committee, Izzy has been involved in alumni events – including a recent Bristol Connects Live event focused on entrepreneurship. We spoke to Izzy to hear more about Foundervine, her time at Bristol and what it was like to meet the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

(more…)