A number of Warwick alumni have been recognised for their outstanding contributions in the recent King’s Birthday Honours. Twelve individuals have each been celebrated and honoured for their tireless work and commitment, as well as the incredible impact they have on the world around them.

Christine works as a gallery tour guide, librarian, and researcher at Compton Verney Art Gallery, where their research on a 16th-century altarpiece is currently exhibited. Motivated by the discovery and sharing of new knowledge, Christine also gives talks on various historical subjects and volunteers at local museums and archives, drawing inspiration from their enriching experience as a mature student at Warwick.

With its vibrant academic atmosphere and campus-based lifestyle, Warwick fostered a strong faculty connection and immersive student experience. Now pursuing a DPhil in Area Studies at Oxford, Kefan’s journey, influenced by Warwick's supportive community, extends from undergraduate studies to impactful research on social topics across the world, reflecting a commitment to social change and gratitude for formative experiences.

Rumbie's decision to choose Warwick stemmed from her desire to advance her career and academic pursuits after six years in education. As a senior law lecturer now, she finds fulfilment in contributing to the progress of those she encounters. Rumbie attributes much of her growth and teaching approach to the mentorship she received at Warwick, cherishing the vibrant community and lasting friendships formed during her time there.

Growing up in Coventry it was always a dream of Azzedine Dabo (MSc Analytical Science, 2013; PhD Chemistry, 2019) to study at Warwick. Now working as the scientific lead of GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) Method Innovation Team, Azzedine shares the importance of giving young people exposure to university life through outreach programmes like the one he has created at GSK.

From medicine to mentorship, Dr Gabriela Barzyk (MBChB, 2022), discusses her career as a junior doctor and her passion for creating equal educational opportunities for all.

Two Warwick alumni have scooped the win at the StudyUK Awards that celebrates UK higher education and achievements of alumni across the world.

Anittah Owomugisha (MSc Engineering Business Management, 2023) a Chevening scholar now working as an Electrical Design Engineer at SSE plc, shares her journey, shaped by the supportive Warwick community. It was the Warwick connections, from faculty to peers, that played a pivotal role in propelling the start of her career.

Meet alumna, Lu Sun (MSc Statistics, 2008), who's successfully juggling a career in AI with her newfound passion for gin. We caught up with Lu to learn more about her unique career journey from an early start in cognitive AI to launching her own gin brand inspired by her family’s roots.

Huge congratulations to a host of Warwick alumni who have received awards as part of the 2024 Kings New Year’s Honours. The list marks the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the UK.

Disha Naik (MEng Mechanical Engineering (with Intercalated Year), 2020), is revving up the world of motorsports. Her head start came from Warwick Racing, a student-run motorsport project team, delivered by WMG as a group project in collaboration with the School of Engineering. Here she pursued her passion for motorsports and helped break down diversity barriers.

After a long career in public relations, Dianne Page (Dipl History of Art, 2007; MA History of Art, 2009) took the plunge to pursue her passion for the arts via Warwick. Now with three novels under her belt and a fourth in the works, Dianne reflects on the milestones that got her here.

What happens when you have no choice but to flee your home and leave all you know behind? Can you ever utilise your experiences and turn them into opportunities for others? When Attal Shams’ journey of conflict, displacement, and resilience became the focus of his dissertation, he didn’t think anyone would be interested. But now, those experiences have become the driving force to him making a real difference to others.

What makes a good communicator? We may think we know, but how many of us really excel when communicating? A successful career in sales and marketing led Tim Pollard (MBA, 2003) to a career-defining curiosity where he sought to understand and capture the underlying “science” behind communication.

We caught up with Dr Kimberley Thomas (BA History 2010, MA History 2011, PhD Caribbean Studies, 2020) to talk about her time at Warwick, ahead of her return to deliver a Caribbean seminar series.

Journalist, author, higher education professional, proof-reader, and editor Annette Rubery (PhD English and Comparative Literary Studies, 1999) has spent the 30-plus years since graduating honing her editorial and marketing skillset.

Postgraduate, multilingual translator and communications specialist - languages alumnus Dom Johnson has been busy since leaving Warwick in 2019. After almost three years working in Geneva as a translator for Swiss Federal Railways and Swiss Post, Dom (BA Modern Languages, 2018; MA Translation and Cultures, 2019) swapped proofreading for politics, moving back to the UK after securing a role as a Communications Officer for the Green Party of England and Wales.

Strategic innovation and sustainability specialist, Ganesh Malani (MSc Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2019) epitomises the wave of young, dynamic Warwick alumni focusing on strategic and sustainable innovation in Mumbai, India. Discover how his entrepreneurial journey started at a young age and how his passion for innovation is having a positive impact on a diverse range of communities across India.

Philanthropist, published author, and engineer, Dr Nick Donofrio (Hon Doctor of Science, 2002), spent 44 years at IBM including as Executive Vice President of Innovation and Technology, leading numerous transformational strategies and initiatives across the company.

First class graduate Fay Inverarity (BA German Studies, 2021; MA Translation and Cultures, 2022) is translating her academic passions into a budding career after securing a place on Barclays’ Retail Banking Graduate Scheme.

A veteran of the City of London, Chris Wheeler (MA Modern History, 2021) spent more than 40 years in banking, working, and travelling across the globe. But he swapped investment banking for US antebellum history and Irish diaspora and fulfilled his childhood dream when he began furthering his education journey, first studying History at the University of Oxford before completing an MA in Modern History at Warwick. Chris embarked on his PhD at the University of Edinburgh in September 2022.

Thinking studying languages would progress his scientific career, Tim Heenan (BA European Studies, 2015; MA French Studies, 2020) undertook two degrees at Warwick. He didn’t know those lessons would pay dividends for years to come. At 71, Tim’s putting his research skills to good use and supporting his local community – and he’s not planning on slowing down.

Named as one of Powerful Media's 2022/23 Future Leaders and a semi-finalist in targetjobs Black Heritage Undergraduate of the Year Awards, Nosa Charles-Novia (BA Film and Literature, 2022) is currently an MA in Writing student and film-critic intern. Here she tells us about her degree and why that little voice in your head is your most powerful weapon.

Richard Swann (MBA, 2004) explains how there are many attributes and ways of working that contribute to a successful and fulfilling career and how your career path needn’t be determined by your degree or first job.

Anish Agarwal (MEng Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering, 2011) is an entrepreneur in the automotive and manufacturing space with a passion for technology and engineering innovation. Anish discusses how his experiences of studying and working around the world have shaped his own career, including his time with the family business Sterling Tools and involvement in several exciting automotive startups including Sheeva.AI.

For Classics alumna Katharine Broderick (BA Classical Civilisation, 2021, MA by Research Classics and Ancient History, 2022), 2022 started and ended on a high. From having successfully produced Bacchae for the Warwick Ancient Drama Festival earlier in January to submitting the final assignment for her Master's degree, Katharine reflects on her time at Warwick and the relevance of Ancient Greek plays in modern society.

Warwick alumna Monita (MA Writing, 2011) is a content magician and pop culture enthusiast who has taken her skills across the world.

Dr Mark Wallace (BEng Engineering (Electrical), 1996; PhD Engineering, 2001) is Lead Innovations Engineer at Quanta Dialysis Technologies. He is one of the team which was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering’s MacRobert Award for UK engineering innovation. The creation of the Quanta Dialysis System (SC+), a compact and portable dialysis machine that is transforming the lives of patients with renal failure, is already being used across 12 NHS Trusts. The innovation is both CE-marked and FDA-cleared and stands to be a global leader in the multibillion-dollar industry.

Ensuring pharmaceutical products are safe is vital for patient health and wellbeing. That’s the focus of Yvonne Udenwa (MSc Analytical Science: Methods and Instrumental Techniques, 2011), who’s Senior Associate in EU Regulatory Affairs Strategy at Pfizer. Discover how her time at Warwick helped her to succeed in the pharmaceutical industry and what motivated her to pursue a career in regulatory affairs.

Theatre Director Ali Pidsley (BA English and Theatre Studies, 2014; MA English Literature, 2016) shares how Warwick inspired him to set up a different kind of theatre company.

Driven to help people thrive and find their sense of meaning and purpose, Warwick’s Head of Careers, Anne Wilson, is also an alumna, having completed a Postgraduate Diploma Career Education, Information and Guidance in Higher Education in 2013. Anne shares more about her 16-year journey at Warwick, and how she’s not finished yet.

Having just graduated in her MA in the History of Medicine, Kirstie reflects on the course and why she chose Warwick for postgraduate study.

Having joined as a trainee for just three months, Dr Andrew Whitehead (MA Social History, 1989; PhD History, 2013) went on to spend 35 years with BBC News. In his last role as Editor of BBC World Service News, Andrew was responsible for programming on the BBC's most widely listened to radio network with a global weekly reach of about 100 million listeners.

Despite originating from opposite sides of the world, Frank and Kate Dempsey (both MBA Business Administration, 2008) met through friends while studying at WBS. Fast forward 14 years and they live in Toronto, Canada with their young family. Discover their favourite memories of Warwick, why they chose to study at WBS and what the future holds.

Kanishka Arumugam (MSc Engineering Business Management, 2015) is Co-CEO of EKKI Water Technologies, a leading family business based in Coimbatore, India who pump and transport water in an efficient and sustainable way for agriculture, building services, industrial and public utilities. Kanishka set up India’s first Wastewater Pump joint venture alliance with HOMA of Germany, a world leader in wastewater technology. Discover how the people he met at WMG influenced his career, his views on sustainable business challenges in India, and how sustainability is embedded in his company’s core values.

Having worked on the world’s first driverless taxi system, John Hammersley (MPhys Mathematics and Physics, 2004) has always steered towards innovation. He’s now CEO and Co-Founder of Overleaf, a cloud-based LaTeX editor for collaborative working on scientific documents, with over nine million users and 150 university customers. Discover John’s journey from Physics at Warwick to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Through her degree, Rebecca Preedy (BA Ancient History and Classical Archaeology with Study in Europe, (2021), MA Ancient Visual and Material Culture of Rome, present) has been able to combine her interests in ancient history, archaeology and languages. She talks about her Warwick experience, and the parallels between the ancient and modern worlds.

After a career in journalism where she launched The Sunday Times Short Story Award, Cathy Galvin (MA Writing, 2015) came to Warwick to explore her interest in short stories and discovered a love of poetry. She now helps other authors through her company, Word Factory.

Former trade union activist and political advisor Nita Clarke OBE (BA History and Politics, 1974, MA Comparative Labour History, 1977) had her first experience of public speaking and activism at Warwick. Nita was awarded an OBE for her services to employee engagement and remains a prominent speaker on the subject.

Dr Afiniki Akanet (MBChB Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery, 2012; PGA Understanding Childhood, 2014) is a General Practitioner (GP) specialising in mental health based in Coventry. Uncover Afiniki’s journey as an international student, her devotion to improving mental health in the community and the motivations behind her love of writing.

Anyarat Nattheeraphong (PhD English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 2013) shortlisted for the UK Alumni Awards 2022 (Social Action) in Thailand.

Inspired to create change in the refugee community, Last Mafuba (BSc Psychology, 2015; LLM International Development Law and Human Rights, 2016) created the Inini Initiative. Inini provides a safe space for refugees to build relationships and find out about mental health and other support services available.

Hear from recent PGT alumnus William Harrop (MA Global and Comparative History, 2022)

Congratulations to alumna, Noor Abu-Jbara (MSc Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2019) who was a winner of the Study UK Alumni Awards Jordan 2021.

Laura Walker McDonald (LLM International Development Law and Human Rights, 2006) has dedicated her career to helping others through her work in humanitarian and international aid. Now working for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Laura looks at how technology can have both a positive and negative impact on wellbeing across the globe.

Former Royal Marine Commando and brain tumour survivor, Ben Brabyn (MBA, 2002) congratulates our Winter 2022 graduates, and shares three simple pieces of advice for staying resilient in the face of adversity

'"I often regard resilience as a superpower." Congratulations to all our Winter 2022 graduates from business founder David Suarez Cuellar (MSc Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2020).

The new doctoral students will research the best ways for global leaders to respond to pandemics at The Institute for Global Pandemic PlanningLink opens in a new window (IGPP). The Institute combines world-class expertise in Mathematical Epidemiology, Public Health, and Behavioural Science. We are now recruiting our second cohort of students to start on an exciting four-year funded PhD programme in October 2022.

This year, we are celebrating 10-years of the Monash Warwick Alliance. As part of our Voices of the Alliance series, joint PhD graduate, Dr Emily Pilkington, shares her experience and highlights of the Alliance.

From science to finance, Dave Griffin (MChem Chemistry, 1999) explains how his time at Warwick opened his eyes to where a Chemistry degree could take him, and how today, he’s still using what he learned as a partner at Deloitte.

At the age of 74, Warwick MBA graduate Phillip Howells has entered the history books by completing an incredible 300 marathons and achieving the UK’s 100 Marathon Club ‘Triple Crown’ award.

Co-Founder and CEO of Sphera, Natasha Boulding (MChem Chemistry with Professional Experience, 2015) gives her advice on working in sustainability and her hopes for attending COP26 earlier this month.

With the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic far from over for the hospitality sector worldwide, find out how two alumni, Ravi Nahappan (MSc Manufacturing Systems Engineering, 2005) and Edward Rudd (BSc Microbiology and Virology, 1994), have coped with the challenges, adapted their businesses, and made plans for the future.

Brinda Gulati is a writer and founder of Instagram shop @ThriftyBrinda. Her extensive scope of writing includes opinion pieces for the Kashmir Times, Jammu, freelance projects and now her first novel.

After spending much of his career in supply chain management, Richard Small (MBA, 2002) decided to go-it-alone and start his own business in 2017.

We want to highlight some of the fantastic work Warwick Humanitarian Engineering graduates are doing to provide support and assistance to those in need.

Professor Robert McGee completed his PhD in Industrial and Business Studies at the University of Warwick in 1986. Since leaving Warwick, Professor McGee has led a successful career in accountancy and academia. Most recently, at the age of 74, Robert won six gold and two silver medals at the Taekwondo World Championship in Phoenix, Arizona. Discover his inspiring story

Jordan (MB ChB) shares his experience as a Medical Student Clinical Support at University Hospital Coventry.

"As a former historian, I feel as though we are watching history unfurl before us – a turning point as real as the world wars, the nuclear age, the bubonic plague. As before, the solution is courage in the face of adversity."

Abbie (MB ChB) reflects on her experience as a medical student during the pandemic.

"Covid-19 has truly changed our lives, and we as medical students are no different."

Anj Kang (MB ChB Phase I Secretary) signed up to the NHS Volunteer Responder initiative and tells us what her role involves.

"Both the patients and the pharmacies have been extremely grateful for the help I and lots of others are providing for those who are unable to get out at the moment."

Roopak Khara (MB ChB, 2013) tells us about her role working as medical lead on a psychiatric inpatient Covid-19 ward.

"Overnight I went from working as a general adult psychiatry registrar on a PICU (psychiatric intensive care unit) to medical lead for the UK’s first psychiatric inpatient COVID-19 ward in West London."

Shirley Rigby (PG Award, 2004) tells us about her role working as a consultant on a Covid-19 ward.

"It was a rapid learning curve, learning how to diagnose and treat a new disease that none of us had seen before."

Jessica Nolan (MB ChB, 2019) reflects upon her experience as an F1 working on a Covid-19 ward.

"When starting work as an F1 this year, I never thought that I would be facing anything as challenging as the Covid-19 pandemic."

Muhammad Ali Randhawa (MA Public Policy, 2017) is currently working as the Home Secretary in Gilgit-Baltistan, a beautiful region of Pakistan. After the arrival of COVID-19, Ali has been the head of all the relief operations in his jurisdictional province.

"With dedicated team effort and continuous hard work, we have been able to achieve a 75% recovery rate of COVID-19 patients, the highest in Pakistan. I believe the quality of education that I got from the University of Warwick has helped me to frame the policies and implement them by using networking management style."

Further updates can be found on Twitter @RandhawaAli.

Councillor Phillip Howells (MBA, 1993) shares his account of recent events.

Over the last two months, brothers Faisal Ahmed (MSc Marketing and Strategy, 2016) and Suhail Ahmed have been supplying polycotton fabric to the NHS for making scrubs.