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Our upcoming Alumni Forum on Friday 24 April 2020 is a fun conference-style event that celebrates all things Bristol and gets alumni involved in the conversation.

This year it’s taking place in Bristol… long way, huh?! If you can’t make it, we’re asking our international alumni to join this special project to help bring the Alumni Forum to life. We’ll display photos of our alumni from around the world on the day so that a part of you can be with us in person, and so that Bristol’s global reach and impact is proudly on show.

To take part
Ask a friend to take a photo of you, or send us a selfie, with something ‘Bristol’ – a colour, a piece of clothing or something that reminds you of your university city AND a word that best describes your Bristol experience.

Send your photo, along with your name and degree information, to alumni@bristol.ac.uk or use #BristolAlumniForum to share your photo on Twitter.

Not sure what we mean? See the photo of our Engagement Officer and Bristol graduate, Ann O’Malley (BSc 2013) above. We look forward to seeing your smiling faces!

If you are able to join us, you can book your place at the Alumni Forum here.

For the latest news, stories and events, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Following the announcement of the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list, we’re delighted to congratulate Bristol alumni, staff and friends who have been recognised for their outstanding achievements and service.

Knighthood 

• Sir Peter Kenneth Estlin (BSc 1982) Lately Lord Mayor of London. For services to International Business, Inclusion and Skills.

DBE

• Dame Gillian Guy (LLB 1976, Hon LLD 2019) Chief Executive, Citizens’ Advice. For services to the Public and Voluntary Sectors.
• Professor Dame Lynn Faith Gladden CBE FRS FREng (BSc 1982, Hon DSc 2013) Executive Chair, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. For services to Academic and Industrial Research in Chemical Engineering.
• Professor Dame Sarah Jane Whatmore (DSc 2000) Professor of Environment and Public Policy, University of Oxford. For services to the Study of Environmental Policy.
• Dame Julia Unwin CBE (Hon LLD 2017) For services to Civil Society.

CBE       

• Mary Jane Fiona (Polly) Neate (BA 1988) Chief Executive, Shelter. For services to Homelessness.
• Professor Gillian Margaret Hague ( Cert Soc.Sc. 1984, PhD 2000)  Activist, Consultant and Researcher. For services to the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Children, and in support of Survivors of Abuse.
• Professor Peter David John (PhD 2000) Vice Chancellor, University of West London. For services to Higher Education.

OBE

• John Clive Cecil May DL (BA 1985) For services to Young People.
• Geoffrey Michael Boyd Pick (BA 1977) Director, London Metropolitan Archives. For services to the Management of Records and Archives in London.
• Professor Timothy Rutland Walsh (PhD 1995) For services to Microbiology and International Development.
• Paul Ramsbottom (friend of the University of Bristol) Chief Executive, Wolfson Foundation and Wolfson Family Charitable Trust.

MBE     

• Professor Kalwant Bhopal (PhD 1996) Race Equality Champion. For services to Equality in Education.
• Caroline Gillian Mawhood (BSc 1975) Non-Executive Director, Debt Management Office. For services to the Economy.
• Kenneth Walter Stradling (Hon MA 1998) For services to the Arts in Bristol.
• Jane Marian Goldingham (BA 1978) Lately Head of Operational Development, and Principal Social Worker, East Sussex County Council. For services to the Social Work Profession.
• Dominic James Boddington (CertEd 1976) Founder, Respect4us and lately Vice Principal, Open Academy. For services to Alternative Education in Norfolk.
• Cassandra Stravrou (LLB 2005) Chief Executive Officer, Propercorn. For services to the Food Industry and Exports.
• Dr Jason Weng Leong Wong (Dip 2011) General Dental Practitioner, The Maltings Dental Practice, Grantham, Lincolnshire. For services to Dentistry and Oral Health (Leicestershire).
• Dr Adeela Ahmed Shafi (BSc 1994, MEd 2013, PhD 2018) Reader of Education, University of Gloucestershire. For services to Social Justice in Bristol.

BEM

• Geoffrey William Wickham (BSc 1957, CertEd 1969) For services to Music in Bristol.
• Helen Countess of Rosslyn (BA 1981) Trustee and Chair of Management Committee, Rosslyn Chapel Trust. For services to Charity.

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If you’re a Bristol graduate and we haven’t listed you here, it may be that we don’t have your details. We’d love to hear from you, so please do get in touch with us at alumni@bristol.ac.uk to share your achievements.

A trio of rowers are attempting to break not one but two world records next year, by taking on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge – a 3,000-mile race which will see them row from the Canary Islands to Antigua.

Made up of Georgie, Flo and Hannah, team Atlantic Antics are hoping to make history by becoming the fastest and youngest female rowers to ever complete the race.

Two-thirds of the trio, Georgie and Flo, began their rowing journey at the University of Bristol. Flo attended a rowing taster session in Fresher’s week and fell in love with the sport immediately, going on to join the University of Bristol Boat Club. Hannah was also a member of UBBC and even went on to captain the women’s team. After university they joined up with Georgie, a former Lincoln University rower, and the Atlantic Antics team was born.

The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge takes place annually and is considered to be one of the toughest rowing events in the world. Individuals and teams battle 20ft waves and treacherous weather conditions, rowing for two hours and then sleeping for two hours in 24-hour cycles, to reach the ultimate goal: crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

The rowers are aiming to smash the current record of 60 days by a full 10 days and will be following a gruelling training plan throughout the year in preparation.

“6am training sessions and gruelling training camps put us through our paces and pushed us beyond our limits. Sport has given us the confidence to always try.”
– Atlantic Antics

The team hope that that by taking part in the race they will inspire other women. They will be raising funds for Women in Sport, a charity which aims to give women and girls in the UK the chance to experience the wide-ranging benefits that sport has to offer.

Throughout their epic challenge, the trio will also be supporting Rowing Together for Healthy Minds – a charity which is dedicated to changing attitudes around mental health in the rowing community.

To wish the Atlantic Antics good luck or to follow their training journey head to: www.atlanticantics2020.com

An incredible piece by acclaimed artist, Walter Sickert, is now on display at the world-famous Theatre Collection in Park Row. It will become one of the first works of art to be shown at the new University Library when it opens in 2023 -24.

The stunning oil painting is one of a series Sickert created depicting Peggy Ashcroft, who is considered to be one of the 20th century’s greatest actresses.

Sickert himself worked as an actor during the late 1870’s and early 1880’s and his love of the theatre saw him go on to paint several theatrical stars during his lifetime. Here, he captures Ashcroft playing the mischievous Kate Hardcastle in Oliver Goldsmith’s comedy, She Stoops to Conquer – a play which ran during the 1932-33 season at the London Old Vic theatre.

In order to capture the leading lady’s likeness, Sickert would attend performances of the play with a photographer in tow, documenting Ashcroft’s poses and characteristics which he later recreated through his artwork. Jo Elsworth, Director of the Theatre Collection said:

We are delighted to receive this gift of such a significant artwork; it is particularly relevant to hold it alongside the archives Old Vic, where the performance depicted took place and where Dame Peggy Ashcroft spent her formative years.

The painting is from the collection of Lord and Lady Attenborough and was acquired by the University of Bristol’s Theatre Collection via the Arts Council England Acceptance in Lieu Scheme. This scheme places pre-eminent culture in museums, archives and galleries, opening them up to the public and allowing them to be enjoyed by art enthusiasts up and down the country.

The University of Bristol’s Theatre Collection is free to visit and can be found at 21 Park Row, Bristol. In 2009 it was awarded full Accredited Museum status by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. For more information head to: www.bristol.ac.uk/theatre-collection/visit/

Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Hugh Brady and Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Stephen O’Connor, reflect on your remarkable generosity over the last year

As University of Bristol alumni, you are the power behind some of the most extraordinary people at Bristol and their achievements. Without the invaluable expertise, advice and involvement of our alumni, the incredible personal stories that you can read about in our Impact Report 2019 would not be possible. On their behalf, and from me personally, thank you.

During a time of great change, our students, academics, researchers and alumni are making the world fairer, safer and more prosperous. In this report you can read how Bristol’s people are designing new technologies to support the health of older people, overcoming challenges to build a future through education and creating stronger international communities fit for today’s connected world.

It is people like them, with you, that together make our University what it is today and will be tomorrow. Thanks to your support, people here at Bristol can reach further towards their potential, whether that is pursuing answers to some of the world’s grand challenges or taking up educational opportunities that previously seemed out of reach.

I am determined that Bristol continues to lead through ground-breaking research and a first-class education that reflects and changes the world around us. We aspire to be more connected, more relevant and more impactful than ever before. As we reimagine and redevelop the University for the 21st century, the support of the worldwide Bristol community of alumni, supporters and friends has rarely been so important.

It has been a pleasure to have met many of you over the course of the last year, whether here in Bristol or in London, Beijing, San Francisco or the many other places that Bristol’s people call home. We have a truly global perspective, an outlook that is enriched by every member of the Bristol community.

Thank you once again for all you have done, on behalf of the people featured in the report, from me personally and from everyone at the University of Bristol, your University. I hope you enjoy reading about the difference you have helped create.

Professor Hugh Brady
Vice-Chancellor and President

Your generous philanthropic support, gifts of time through volunteering and invaluable advice are helping to power our researchers, our academy, our students and the enduring impact we have in improving the lives of local communities in the city, nationally and worldwide.

I am very fortunate to meet many of those whose lives and work have been transformed by the amazing support of our alumni and friends, a selection of whom are featured in this report. What strikes me most is the talent, enthusiasm and sheer dedication of our research investigators and students alike, whether they are seeking new knowledge to ultimately tackle the crisis of antimicrobial resistance or studying at Bristol thanks to securing a scholarship. They remind me that Bristol’s people, with your help, are building for the future.

Through an innovative use of new technology, Dr Róisín McNaney has helped people with Parkinson’s Disease to combat feelings of social isolation. Simi Modupe has overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges and is now studying Economics at Bristol. And Grace Kendrick’s approach to nurturing good mental health and wellbeing saw her graduate with an MA in Law and ready to start her career.

It is vital that we continue to build a community which fosters diversity, cultivates talent and enables more people to thrive and flourish. Excellence is central to research, teaching and the student experience at Bristol.

The University is investing significantly, along with your philanthropic support, in further growing our capability and enhancing our standing in an increasingly competitive worldwide Higher Education sector. Across the University, we are investing in new buildings and facilities, including the new University Library and developing our curriculum and programmes to ensure the academy and our students can realise their shared ambitions and full potential.

I hope that you will feel inspired by the personal stories in our latest Impact Report, and renewed in your confidence to continue your support and build together for the future.

Thank you once again for your tremendous support this year; we cannot do it without you.

Stephen O’Connor
Director of Development and Alumni Relations

Sir David Attenborough, Broadcaster and Naturalist, Honorary Alumnus and winner of the 2019 Bristol Alumni Award for Lifetime Achievement discusses the scale of our climate emergency.

The fact is that the world is under greater pressure than it has ever been, and it’s not just in my lifetime but since human beings existed. This is the first time ever in the history of homo sapiens that we have the power, wittingly or unwittingly, to actually transform the world. Or to destroy it. Or to protect it. It’s very very important and our children and our grandchildren will either be thanking us or blaming us. 

The problem is huge. I mean this is a problem that has never been faced by human beings before, ever. Because the world is one. And everybody – everybody in the world – has now got to get together and sort things out. The history of humanity is of disaster, is of arguing and quarrelling, of wars, of going and conquering other people and clinging on to the land. That’s got to come to an end. And we’ve all got to do something, because we’ve got a common disaster. If I had to give one piece of advice to people today it would be to get engaged. Come together and do something about it.

Bristol should be proud of the contribution it’s making towards getting the message out there about what’s happening to our planet, about the situation our natural world is facing as a consequence of what we’re doing to it.

I think there is time to do something about what’s occurring, but that can only happen if people understand that the world is in danger. If we have an obligation to our children, our grandchildren and further generations then it is time we took that seriously. If the films that the BBC Natural History Unit have made – with the help of the University of Bristol – are getting the message out there, then we can be proud of that.

Jack Farmer, University of Bristol Alumnus (BSc 2015), Co-Founder and Operations Lead at LettUs Grow and expert in environment agriculture tells us about how his company is tackling some of the greatest global challenges.

I co-founded LettUs Grow in 2015 with fellow alumni Ben Crowther and Charlie Guy, aiming to help tackle some of the greatest challenges facing the world today: carbon emissions, environmental pollution, and food security.

With the current population growth, we will need to feed nearly 10 billion people by 2050.¹ To do so it’s estimated that we must increase food production by 70 per cent, with the added challenges of having 25 per cent less farmland, degraded soils and an ever more unstable climate. Our existing methods of agriculture are not suitable for this new paradigm. This is before we even consider the food wasted in supply chains each year – 90,000 tonnes in the UK alone. With LettUs Grow we believe that by empowering anyone to grow food within controlled environments, we can tackle some of these issues head-on. We take a collaborative approach and have built a team comprising plant scientists, engineers, developers, creatives, and business experts.

We believe we are part of the solution and are working with other local businesses to address the issues that face us all as part of this climate emergency.

We design modular, ‘aeroponic’ products that improve the efficiency, sustainability and ROI of both indoor and greenhouse agriculture. This involves generating a mist around plant roots, which grow much faster and healthier as a result. Facility costs are driven down and farmers can achieve an average of 70 per cent increase in growth across a range of crops, when compared to conventional hydroponic technology. Our systems use very little water and as we operate in controlled environments there is no need for the use of pesticides. Crucially, this soil-free growing takes the pressure of growing delicate crops off the land and improves global access to nutrition – even in areas with very high or low temperatures. At LettUs Grow we’ve used our combined plant science and engineering expertise to mature this aeroponics technology and make it much easier to use.

Over the next few years, we’re excited to explore new crop varieties and expand our global impact. We want to enable new business models for local growers and play a key part in creating a non-wasteful food supply chain by supporting alternative, resilient food production. To drive consumer behaviour change we need a multi-pronged approach and LettUs Grow is proud to be part of that change.

Reference
1. Springman et al (2018). Options for keeping the food system within environmental limits. Nature 562, 519–525.

How the University’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus will be working with local communities in the surrounding area.

The University of Bristol is one of six civic universities created in Britain at the turn of the twentieth century. As our Chancellor Sir Paul Nurse noted in his installation ceremony, ‘civic universities draw their origins and their strengths from being embedded in their local communities’. As work continues apace on our new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus near Temple Meads train station, we look at how the University is already engaging with local communities in Bristol and how plans are afoot for this integration to be a key part of the new campus. The campus is being built close to complex communities in east and south Bristol, some of which experience multiple deprivation. It will be near to Barton Hill, an area where 77 languages are spoken and home to the Barton Hill Settlement, a community centre originally established by the University back in 1911.

In late 2019, the Barton Hill Settlement will be building a micro-settlement, made out of shipping containers, which will include office space and small residential units. The University will be renting a space to create a ‘micro-campus’, a place for teaching, research and outreach and where we can build new projects in collaboration with other partners based at the Settlement and in the surrounding areas. It will be an opportunity to pilot some of our activities for the new campus.

Pilot projects in the area, funded by a newly established Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus Public Engagement Fund, kicked off in summer 2019. These include a partnership with the Nilaari Agency working on mental health services in ethnic minority communities, a digital engineering project for schoolchildren and a business planning workshop delivered by SETsquared Bristol.

‘Partnering with the University of Bristol has meant we’ve been able to use our community engagement experience and local expertise to complement the discipline of academic research. This would usually be beyond our means as a small third sector street agency.’ – Nilaari Agency

Bristol’s new campus will be an inclusive place of research, education and collaboration, bringing together expertise and experience from a wide range of sectors and parts of society. It will offer a model for similar city-university collaborations worldwide. The public realm of the new campus will have welcoming and inclusive civic spaces with programmes to serve the local community, including a programme of activities in the evenings and weekends called Twilight Temple Quarter.

Not only are we designing digital and physical infrastructure across the campus with inclusivity in mind, we are developing an innovative and flexible undergraduate programme specifically aimed at local students without conventional qualifications and new initiatives to recruit a broader range of staff to the University. The spaces on the campus will include the Bristol Rooms, a ground floor space offering hotdesking to civic partners, social enterprises and community groups to work with us on research questions, student internships and big civic challenges.

‘So much information was covered so comprehensively but clearly. I felt like this session was really helpful and a very efficient use of my time.’ – Participant in SETsquared Bristol’s Jump Start your Business Plan

We are creating a socially responsible and sustainable campus that ensures a wide range of individuals and communities have opportunities to participate in, and shape, research, education and wider university life.

The Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus Public Engagement Fund has been generously kickstarted by The Lennox Hannay Charitable Trust. Any alumni and friends who are interested in supporting Civic Engagement projects are welcome to get in touch. These are projects where even small donations can have a real and identifiable impact. To get involved and for the latest news visit: bristol.ac.uk/temple-quarter-campus.
E: alumni@bristol.ac.uk T: +44 (0) 117 394 1046