For more than half a century, Warwick has forged a deep relationship with the city. The Faculty of Arts has taught generations of our students during their Venice terms. Since 2007, we have had a physical base in the Palazzo Pesaro Papafava.

From May 2023, our undergraduates, postgraduates and staff will have a new base - a wonderful late 17th century building in Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, right on the Grand Canal of Venice. As we get ready to open the building, we would love to share some alumni memories of studying in Venice over the years.

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.

Features writer and editor for The Boar, Vice President of Warwick HisSoc and Deputy Editor of Warwick Politics Society’s Perspectives, alumna Celia Bergin (BA History and Politics, 2022) certainly made the most of her time at Warwick. Graduating with a first-class degree, she jumped straight into the world of journalism. Now working as a reporter for Bloomberg News, Celia reflects on how these experiences helped her get there.

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.

Balraj Dhingra (BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics, 2019) had knew sport would play a huge part of his time at Warwick. From meeting lifelong friends to lifting the 2019 Varsity Cup and becoming SU Sports Officer, his experiences helped him score his current role leading sport at UCL.

For Vera Okojie (BA Philosophy, 2020) choosing to come to study at Warwick was a decision made all the easier by our impressive alumni community.

From never running a long-distance race in his life to becoming New York’s fastest runner in his age group, David Hill (BSc Mathematics, 1978) garnered a brand-new hobby that he didn't expect to excel at. All thanks to a catch up meeting and drink with a fellow Warwick alum and friend, Piers.

When Jo Walker (BA Theatre and Performance Studies, 2020) first met Vikram Grover (BA English and Theatre Studies, 2021) it was their mutual love of the theatre and performance that built a firm friendship. Working to establish BAME Creatives, a society dedicated to diversifying theatre at Warwick, they found themselves falling in love. Four years later they’ re still together and working in an industry that came to life through their time at Warwick.

"I look back on my time at university with fondness. As a blind person, I had extra challenges, but I found Warwick to be a friendly and supportive environment. There was a group of volunteers who read course material onto tape for me so it was accessible to me, and extra power points and bookshelves were put in my room, the former for the electronic equipment with synthetic speech I used to write essays on, and the latter for some braille books, which are a lot bigger and bulkier than print books. I'm grateful to the university for organising those things."

"I am delighted to announce that my debut book 'Drop the Fake Smile: the Recovering People Pleaser's Guide to Self-Love, Boundaries and Healthy Relationships' was published in September 2023 by Conscious Dreams Publishing."

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.

First-class Classics graduate and Senior Policy Advisor, Dillon Patel (BA Ancient History and Classical Archaeology, 2017) shares how Warwick shaped his thinking, the power of soft skills, and how the past isn’t so dissimilar from the present day.

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.

A trip to Ghana through Warwick in Africa prompted alumna, Soumya Dabriwal (BSc Economics, 2016), to make a difference and set up Project Baala to trans form menstrual health and hygiene practises for women and girls in rural areas in 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.

After being featured on Powerful Media’s Future Leaders 2022/3 list, which recognises 150 of Britain’s most outstanding Black university students, recent graduate Giulio Aguigwo (BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics, 2022) reflects on his Warwick experience.

We’re proud to count Tilly, the Springer Spaniel, as an honorary member of the Warwick alumni community, as she and her owner, Alison Pigdon offer a helping paw to students through their wellbeing visits with charity, Pets as Therapy.

You’ve worked your way up the corporate ladder since graduating, you have a secure job that takes you all over the world, then out of the blue a colleague asks you if you want to start a business together. He doesn’t have an idea, but he had a dream he wanted you as a business partner. Would you take the risk? Alumnus Jinesh Vohra did.

Ruth Ntumba (BA History, 2021) has spent her first 18 months since graduating helping drive engagement and culture at one of the world’s leading media corporations, Warner Brothers Discovery. Ruth shares why you should go at your own pace and trust your gut instinct when searching for your next role.