Connections from our 2005-2014 graduates
Memories of Warwick
Uwem Umana
MA Educational Leadership and Management, 2014; PG Cert Innovation in Education, 2012
Currently I work as a Senior Technical Lead for HCL attached to Deutsche Bank (DB). It’s an exciting job as my workstream deals with authentication and end user computing for DB. Since Cloud is the way of the future, I find this extremely relevant to the tech world we are living in. Everything is now being stored in the cloud or having back up in the cloud. I have also released my second volume of short stories titledSon of The Soil and Other Stories, which can be purchased fromAmazon.
Ours was a small Master’s class. I remember Derrick, Steve, Auruna and myself sitting in the lecture room totally overwhelmed by the marathon lecture sessions but Phil (Whitehead) being such a kind soul would always relax us with beautiful stories to calm us down. So many times, we would question Phil about the practices he taught us, how it differed from the reality. Things like we should be patient with students since we know they are different, yet they as lecturers would not be patient with us. They would race through at breakneck speeds and Phil would always agree with us as we all laughed our heads off. Phil Whitehead stood out as a distinguished academic and till today I still hear the phrase ‘rigour in research’ in my sleep. He was a man who had such a huge impact on me. He made me to achieve an A grade in my dissertation by pushing me to my limits. Warwick, a renowned name for academic excellence!
Warwick love stories
Jatin Goel and Harnoor Gauba Goel
Did you know that many in your alumni community found their soulmates here? Jatin Goel (BSc Accounting and Finance, 2014) and Harnoor Gauba Goel (BSc Economics, 2014) are just one of these couples. They both travelled from India to study at Warwick in 2011 and tied the knot in November 2022. Here, Jatin shares how they met and why their friends fondly call Warwick 'the Matchmaker’.
"I actually met Harnoor on the flight to London. Funnily enough, our parents met first, got chatting, and realised their kids were both heading to Warwick. So, naturally, they introduced us.
I had the luxury of attending the full orientation week at Warwick, while Harnoor, on the other hand, was far too busy enjoying London, shopping, and catching up with family. By the time she finally made it to campus, I had already settled in, so I was happy to show her around. We became good friends over time, but our love story didn’t begin until much later—back in Delhi.
All our friends call Warwick ‘the Matchmaker’—and for good reason! I can count at least 8-9 couples from our batch alone who ended up getting married. In fact, we’re attending two of their weddings this year—one in Chennai and one in London. Warwick wasn’t just about degrees and career paths; it was clearly working overtime as a matchmaking service too!"
Journeys since Warwick
Sebastian Croft
MA History and Film, 2014
In 2013, as part of the first module of my MA History and Film course, I submitted an assignment focussing on the representation of the USS Indianapolis disaster in Steven Spielberg's 1975 summer blockbuster Jaws.
Fast forward to 2025, and a few related publications later, I was given the fantastic opportunity to deliver a speech on this topic (titled 'Bomb Voyage: The USS Indianapolis Disaster in American Cinema and National Memory') to naval historians from across the world at the prestigious McMullen Naval History Symposium - held at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis.
Your books
Dr Afiniki Akanet
MBChB Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery, 2012; PGA Understanding Childhood, 2014
Dr Afiniki Akanet, practising General Practitioner (GP) and Assistant Professor, released another self-help motivational book titled When You Love and Hate Your Job on 1 May 2025 (International Workers’ Day). This is a timely book, considering the challenges workers and businesses are currently facing nationally.
In this book, Dr Akanet draws on her experience in the National Health Service (NHS) and other sectors to explore themes around job satisfaction, productivity, prioritisation, and self-improvement. Over the past twenty years, Afiniki has developed an interesting portfolio career, gaining experience in entrepreneurship and sectors beyond healthcare. She founded the Forte Charity for Inspiration in 2008 and has written several other motivational and self-help books, including Money and Mental Wellbeing, reflecting her special interest in mental health.
Afiniki lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two children. When You Love and Hate Your Job has received positive pre-publication reviews.
