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4
LONDON’S GLOBAL UNIVERSITY
issue one
cannot tell you how
honoured I was to
be asked to be guest
editor for the fi rst issue
of Connect. This edition
features a number of
innovative UCL
collaborations that
have resulted in
initiatives as diverse as
a contemporary art
exhibition at Tate Britain,
and earthquake-resistant
housing in Peru.
It was through my work
that I met some of the
brightest people from the
UK’s top universities.
It was really then that I
realised I wanted to do
my postgraduate Urban
Regeneration degree at
UCL. I could have done
it anywhere, but I chose
UCL because I thought
it would give me an edge.
Choosing a university is
not just about an
institution’s standards of
education or the depth
of its history, but is
more about its alumni
and being part of a
global community of
knowledgeable, talented
and infl uential people
who can come together
to make change happen.
Whatever your area of
interest, it is highly likely
that there is a UCL
connection. This really
proved to be the case for
me when I had a chance
meeting with another UCL
alumnus at JFK airport in
New York. We got talking
and when I told her about
my work, she said she
would introduce me to a
friend who was also a
UCL graduate. This
friend ended up helping
me write proposals that
ultimately helped
hundreds of people from
More about Tunde
Tunde Banjoko OBE is Chief Executive of the charity
Local Employment Access Projects (LEAP), which exists
to help unemployed people who have diffi culty accessing
the labour market to develop the skills, attitude and
behaviour to achieve long-term, sustainable employment.
Tunde also brought the STRIVE scheme to the UK, an
empowerment programme that tackles some of the
underlying reasons behind people being unable to fi nd
and keep work.
disadvantaged groups
out of poverty.
I’m really looking forward
to coming back this
autumn to speak at the
alumni networking event.
It’s important now more
than ever that we continue
to forge and encourage
a connection between
UCL graduates and
alumni within different
industry sectors.
As alumni we are already
members of a proud
grouping. Having been
to a truly world-class
university, I would
encourage all fellow
alumni to become even
more involved and
seize or create the
opportunities that lie
therein.
Tunde Banjoko(UCL Bartlett 2003)
COVER IMAGE: Light bulb to Simulate Moonlight 2008
Courtesy of Katie Paterson, the artist and Albion, London
(Photograph by Ed Reeve)
WORDS: Rachel Lister, UCL Communications
DESIGN: Janine Shalan, UCL Communications
MAIN PHOTOGRAPHY: John Carey and Anthony Day
CONTACT: UCL Alumni Network, Gower Street, London,
WC1E 6BT UK
TELEPHONE: +44 (0)20 7679 7677
FAX: +44 (0)20 7209 0117
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEB: www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni
I
1
4 Talent scout
Alumni professional
networking success
8 Th e art of science
Getting in touch with
the world on a galactic
scale, Katie Paterson
reveals her unique view
12 Be part of something bigger
Break new ground for
less with some of
UCL’s benefi ts and
services
14 Everything in account
Alan Brener takes us
on a tour of his career
since leaving UCL
2 UCL news
A round-up of the
latest stories from
across UCL
6 Careers news
UCL helps businesses
tackle the current
economic climate with
free training and
consultancy
7 Bridging the gap
Kathy Barrett tells
Connect how she helps
UCL students to fi nd
their career path
16 Make your mark on the future
Why there’s never been
a better time to give
to UCL
18 Event highlights
A sample of some of
the events on offer
this autumn
20 UCL in Hong Kong
Connect talks to
Andrew Ng, Chairman
of the UCL Hong Kong
Club
21 Departmental focus
UCL Laws project
connects students
with community for
the fi rst time
22 Reunion events
Helen Talkin talks about
getting back in touch
contents
Earthquake assistance in Peru
A team of undergraduates
from UCL Civil,
Environmental &
Geomatic Engineering
spent the summer
building earthquake-
resistant housing in Casa
Blanca, a small
community in Peru which
was severely affected by
an earthquake in 2007.
The team used a
technique called
‘improved quincha’: a
variation on a traditional
construction method
using wood, mud and
cane that is resistant
to seismic activity.
The students also
instructed the
communities in the
differences between the
traditional and improved
construction methods, so
that they can carry on
rebuilding safe,
earthquake-resistant
houses once the project
has fi nished. The project
was partly made possible
by the generosity of UCL
alumni and friends.
news
Earthquake assistance in Peru
Sustainable Cities launch
From Universal Vegetable Pills to Das Kapital
You can read more about the project at the students’ blog at: cegeperu09.wordpress.com
3
UCL formally launched
its Grand Challenge of
Sustainable Cities – a
programme to rally the
university’s breadth of
expertise in service
of urban sustainability
– on 8 July 2009.
UCL President and
Provost Professor Malcolm
Grant welcomed
hundreds of invited
guests, including
policymakers and
practitioners from
government bodies
and non-governmental
organisations,
architectural practices
and engineering fi rms.
Professor Grant predicted
that by the end of the 21st
century, some 80 per cent
of humanity would live in
cities. This rapid growth
would put greater stress
on the urban environment,
posing signifi cant
problems in areas such as
food security, energy,
water, waste, transport,
economy, trade,
manufacture, wealth
creation and quality of life.
The launch marks UCL’s
commitment to deploying
the breadth of its
expertise – in imaginative,
interdisciplinary
collaborations and
partnerships with
policymakers and
practitioners – to face this
challenge and make our
cities fi t for purpose.
UCL’s new research
strategy makes a
commitment to harness
the university’s collective
expertise to maximise
its impact on major world
problems. It focuses on
Grand Challenges that are
issues of global
signifi cance: initially
Global Health, Sustainable
Cities, Intercultural
Interaction and Human
Wellbeing.
From Universal Vegetable Pills to Das Kapital
The colourful characters
of 19th-century
Bloomsbury were revived
at the second conference
of the Bloomsbury Project
in June 2009.
The three-year project,
funded by a Leverhulme
Trust grant, brings
together a range of
researchers from several
disciplines and
institutions. The aim of
the project is to create
an archive, illustrating
the development of
19th-century Bloomsbury
from a swamp into a hub
of intellectual life, and to
bring it to life in a series
of talks.
UCL English lecturer
Dr Deborah Colville
explained how the epithet
of ‘inventor’ was
previously applied much
more generously than it is
today, and how Victorian
Bloomsbury was home to
more than its fair share of
the breed. One of these
was James Morison,
inventor of the Universal
Vegetable Pill, which was
marketed as a treatment
for a range of complaints,
from bashfulness to
ringworm. A rather more
legitimate inventor was
Frederick Scott Archer,
whose invention of the
wet collodion process
revolutionised
photography, enabling the
making of fi nely detailed
negatives.
Professor Rosemary
Ashton, UCL English,
explored the intriguing
fi gure of the German
émigré in Victorian
Bloomsbury. Many such
émigrés found themselves
drawn to the area’s
radical and inclusive
institutions – including
UCL. Karl Marx himself
can be dubbed an
honorary Bloomsbury-ite,
since he spent his days in
the Reading Room of the
British Museum in Great
Russell Street, writing Das
Kapital.
The Bloomsbury Project
website will go live to the
public in summer 2010,
and UCL English is
holding a Bloomsbury-
themed alumni event in
March 2010.
Watch a fi lm about Sustainable Cities at itunes.ucl.ac.uk www.ucl.ac.uk/sustainable-cities
To fi nd out more, visit www.ucl.ac.uk/bloomsbury-project
UCL’s Grand Challenge of Sustainable Cities launched
Th is year, UCL connected graduates with industry for the fi rst time through a series of alumni networking events. So when Connect heard that Cheryl Jooron (UCL Geography 2008) had landed her fi rst job in PR through the March event, we were straight on the scene. Here we talk to Cheryl, now the new girl at 3 Monkeys, and managing director, Annabel Dunstan (UCL Anthropology 1990) about the story so far…
Cheryl on 3 Monkeys
“ I went to the UCL networking event to get
an insight into PR and marketing and to
fi nd out more about how to break into the
media industry, which is so competitive.”
“ While I was at UCL I was working as a
brand ambassador for Sony PlayStation,
so I was getting experience on a range
of projects, PR campaigns and events.
I enjoyed the work, so that stirred my
interest to pursue a career in PR,
marketing or events.
“ I was so pleased when I got the job at
3 Monkeys. I can’t wait to take on new
challenges and get a chance to shine
in such a great working environment.”
talent
Next Alumni Professional Networking Event: Wednesday 11 November 2009 Architecture, Planning, Construction & Project Management
For further information: www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni/careers
3 Monkeys’ Annabel on Cheryl
“ I have great memories of my time as an
undergraduate, and so I jumped at the
chance to get involved with alumni events.
I was also keen to get advice from the
team on how to attract UCL graduates
to 3 Monkeys (since I know fi rst hand how
talented they are!). The networking event
was the perfect opportunity to do this. I
treated it as I would any other, distributing
business cards to several students and
urging them to contact me. As a result,
two students followed up and came in to
see me.
“ Cheryl stood out as particularly
impressive, so we invited her in for a
week’s work experience. She was such a
star that she ended up extending this to a
three-week placement. She was involved
in a number of projects with the accounts
teams, from researching new business,
to drafting short articles and releases for
clients such as travelsupermarket.com.
“ When her placement ended, we sent her
off with a bottle of champagne and urged
her to keep in touch. With a fast-paced,
dynamic industry such as PR we always
like to keep an eye on great people
should a suitable opportunity arise. Sure
enough, two months later, when we had
an opening for a new team member on
the Microsoft account, I emailed to see
if Cheryl would like to be considered.
“ Happily, Cheryl accepted and she started
as a fully-fl edged Monkey at the end of
June. I can wholeheartedly recommend
getting involved with alumni events, as
they can prove to be invaluable
networking (and recruitment)
environments. My personal link with
UCL has also proved a real bonus.”
scout
5
UCL to tackle credit crunch with free training and consultancy
UCL has unveiled a £3.8million package of activity to
prepare UCL students for entry into an extremely diffi cult
employment market, and to support London businesses
during the economic downturn.
The measures provide extensive support to new graduates,
including a £1,000 discount on taught masters fees for
those who want to continue their UCL studies. Further
strands of activity have been designed to facilitate access
for London’s small businesses to UCL’s problem-solving
expertise, and to professional training provided by the
university to enhance the skills and career prospects of
people already in employment.
The £2.5million of activity will provide:
• the opportunity for up to 135 students to spend eight
to 12 weeks on fully-funded internships with local
businesses in London
• 560 places for students and local people on intensive
business language training courses in Arabic,
Japanese, Mandarin and European languages
• a summer ‘boot camp’ in entrepreneurship to teach UCL
graduates the basics of starting up a business, such as
reading balance sheets and producing a business plan
• additional investment in UCL’s Careers Service to
ensure graduates have free access to professional
careers support for at least one year after graduation.
500 individual coaching and mentoring places will also
be provided for current students, supported by major
employers including Deloitte, National Rail and Siemens.
The second part of UCL’s plan comes in the form of a
£1.3million project called HELO that is being led by UCL
and supported by London Business School. The scheme
has been designed to enable London businesses to access
free consultancy and technical expertise from these leading
institutions.
UCL President and Provost Professor Malcolm Grant said:
“Universities need to play a central role in helping people to
adapt to the new economic landscape.
“We’re giving local, small enterprises access to consultancy
and expertise that could really benefi t their business. We’re
also training and retraining people so that they are best
placed to deal with the demands of a changing economy,
and all of this comes hard on the heels of our recent
announcement to cut fees for UCL undergraduates who
decide to boost their skills and maximise their employability
by pursuing a masters programme here in 2009.”
careers news
“ We’re giving local, small enterprises access to consultancy and expertise that could really benefi t their business.”
7
GradClub
UCL Alumni are eligible to join
and use GradClub up to two
years after completing a
qualifi cation at UCL. Whether
you want to get your fi rst job,
make the jump from a temporary
job to a permanent career or to
change direction, GradClub can
provide the advice and
information that you will need.
www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/gradclub
Employ a UCL student
If you would like to advertise a
job vacancy to UCL students
please visit:
www.ucl.ac.uk/careers
Become a careers mentor
If you are interested in providing
informal careers advice to
current students and
recent graduates please visit:
www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni-communiy
bridging the gap
Q
What would you say is the single most important thing you provide for UCL students?
A For a lot of students it’s someone
that can help them. What we try
and give them is a belief in
themselves and the skills for
lifelong career planning. We work
in different ways with students,
from advising those who have no
idea what they want to do, right
through to helping with job
interviews.
Q How do you keep in touch with graduates after they’ve left UCL?
A We’ve got a two-year scheme
called GradClub that is run by
our parent body, The Careers
Group. Normally we charge for
this scheme but this year
because of the recession,
we’ve got funding which means
GradClub is free for anyone
graduating this year.
Q How do you get alumni involved?
A Employers send alumni to talk
about careers at the university
they’ve graduated from if they
can, because they know it is a
big plus, especially because that
person will be able to relate to
the students much more easily
than someone from a different
university.
With the sectors that don’t have
big recruitment schemes, our
way in might be through an
alumnus, because often those
sectors are diffi cult to penetrate
as they don’t have the budgets.
It would be wonderful if we could
access more alumni, since
they’re a very valuable resource.
Kathy Barrett, Joint Acting Head of the UCL Careers Service, tells Connect how she gets graduates off to a good start and how important alumni are in that process…
9
the science of art
Katie Paterson (UCL Fine Art 2007) has ventured inside a glacial lake, to the moon and back, and to the edge of the universe – all within the last few years.
Aft er collaborating with Professor Ofer Lahav on her work All the Dead Stars, Katie returns to UCL as Artist-in-Residence for the department of Astronomy & Astrophysics. Connect found out what it means to discover dead stars and make connections on a galactic scale…
atie Paterson isn’t your average
artist. Her piece Vatnajökull (the
sound of) is, from fi rst viewing,
nothing more than a mobile number in
neon lights, but the real operation is
based in a tiny tent at Vatnajökull, the
largest glacier in Iceland. Embedded
there deep underwater is a microphone
leading into an outlet glacial lagoon,
connected to an amplifi er and a mobile
phone. Vatnajökull (the sound of) is a
live phone line straight through to a
glacier. To call the number from any
telephone in the world is to experience
a different kind of reception – the
fascinating cacophony of gurgling
and trickling that only Vatnajökull
can provide.
A swathe of publicity for her degree
show and subsequent solo show at
Modern Art Oxford propelled Katie into
the international limelight, but instead
of basking in the warm glow of
recognition, Katie was camped out in
the cold. She explains that it’s
sometimes the technical aspects of
setting up works like Vatnajökull that
proves to be the most challenging:
“I had to put a hydrophone into the lake
on a cable under the ice, and put all the
equipment and batteries in a tent on the
edge of the lake. I camped out there for
two weeks during my degree show to
make sure all the equipment was
working. It was a bizarre experience,
both stressful and exciting, especially
watching the calls coming through. I
was in the tent for the opening night, on
the phone to all my friends and family at
the show. The Oxford show was on for
two months, so I left the equipment
K
Lang jökull, Snæfellsjökull, Solheimajökull 2007 3 digital fi lms, 1h57m. Photograph by Katie Paterson
Vatnajökull (the sound of ) 2007/8. Photograph by Katie Paterson
Vatnajökull (the sound of ) 2007/8. Photograph by Katie Paterson
“ I was really happy and shocked to be selected for Altermodern at the Tate.”
there. I didn’t fancy
camping out there
that long!”
Katie also had to make
sure she secured funding
so the work would
engage a mass audience.
“I had to get sponsorship,
which came from Virgin
Mobile,” explains Katie. “It
worked both ways – I
needed publicity for
people to call the number
and as a way of
distributing the work.
Virgin had their own PR
company, so the line
started receiving calls
mainly from London, but
as the press coverage
grew, calls were coming
in from as far afi eld as
Iraq and Canada.”
But it was Katie’s work All
the Dead Stars, created
for the fourth Tate
Triennial, Altermodern,
that saw her selected for
the showcase of
contemporary British art
alongside international
artists working with similar
themes. “I was really
happy and shocked to be
selected for Altermodern
at the Tate. The curator,
Nicolas Bourriaud,
approached me about a
year before and had
expressed an interest in
my work. At the time I had
the idea in my head.
Ideas can sit there until
something like this turns
up that gives you the
opportunity to
realise it.
“The idea for All the Dead
Stars came through
different works I’d done in
the past – particularly one
of the sound of a dying
star, which was broadcast
through a loud speaker
when people opened or
shut a door – the sound is
like a middle C. At that
time I wasn’t sure if there
were fi ve, or fi ve billion
dead stars, so I contacted
lots of astronomers. I
discovered some 27,000
dead stars had been
recorded, so I needed
plenty of expert help in
mapping them. No such
map had existed
beforehand – there are
seven different types of
dying star, from
supernovae and
gamma-ray bursts to
white dwarfs, so we had
to fi rst make a list of all
these stars and then get
the coordinate points for
each one. We had to
bring together vast
amounts of data, which I
did with the help of Dr
Mark Sullivan from
Oxford. Once we had all
the coordinates, they
were laser-etched on a
piece of two by three
metre black anodised
11
Th e Art Of Science
In 2004, Professor Ofer Lahav (Perren Chair of
Astronomy and Head of UCL Astrophysics) established
UCL’s Cosmology group, which has been working on
increasingly complex and ambitious international efforts
to survey the universe. The group’s work so far has
revealed how galaxies are distributed across the
universe. “Our research confi rms that the visible parts of
the universe, such as stars and galaxies, only constitute
a small fraction of its total mass. Imagine a Christmas
tree in the dark with lights hung around it. We can see
the lights, but not the tree, although it is the tree that
constitutes the majority of total mass.”
The group is currently participating in the Dark Energy
Survey (DES) to discover the different components that
make up the universe. This new survey, with observations
due to start in 2011, will map 300million galaxies in order
to understand the relation between dark energy and the
universe and therefore get closer to nailing Einstein’s
theory on General Relativity and the connection between
time, space and gravity.
“ When stars die, it can be a spectacular explosion, scattering nebulae across a galaxy.”
Professor Lahav’s encounter with the art world has had a
strong personal resonance. “It suddenly made me realise
that this was something I would really like to pursue,
outside my research work. As a scientist, I have a
completely different perspective to Katie as an artist. We
astronomers measure stars and galaxies to understand
their physics. She sees, in a catalogue of objects, a
graveyard of stars. When stars die, it can be a
spectacular explosion, scattering nebulae across a
galaxy. These in turn result in the birth of new stars, and
I fi nd that quite spiritual – the iron we all have in our
bloodstream results from gas being scattered across the
universe by dying stars. I think Katie is a responsible
artist in that she takes real material and gives it her own
interpretation. I fi nd it very refreshing.”
Slade alumni news:www.ucl.ac.uk/slade/slade09/news
UCL’s Astronomical Observatory in Mill Hill: www.ulo.ucl.ac.uk
aluminium. Accuracy was
very important to me. I
had to make sure this was
not some piece of fi ction.
The work features every
dead star that has ever
been recorded. The
earliest one dates back to
a Chinese astronomer
who recorded a
supernova in 1,006 AD,
although he did not
realise what he had
witnessed at the time.
About three-quarters of
the stars have been
recorded in the last fi ve
years because there are
now space-borne
telescopes that are
surveying large areas of
sky. Dying stars are being
recorded all the time, so I
quite like the idea of
updating the work in fi ve
years’ time.
“I fi rst met Ofer Lahav
when we both did talks at
a Slade event called
‘Space is the Place’. He
took me to the UCL
observatory at Mill Hill,
and I asked if he would
do a talk for the
Altermodern show. It
became a work in itself –
we conducted the talk for
‘Late at Tate’ on the
gallery’s front green. I’m
really interested in his
work and the way he
conveys things – he has
the perfect balance of
making you understand
complex information
without being patronising.
Ofer came along to the
exhibition and it was
refreshing to see his
perception of what artists
get up to – I think he was
pretty surprised by some
of the work!”
As a progression of All
the Dead Stars, Katie is
returning to UCL as the
artist-in-residence for the
Astrophysics Group: “It will
give me the opportunity to
fi nd out what’s going on at
the cutting edge and work
with some of the staff and
students. I’m really looking
forward to it.” In the
meantime, she has
received a Darwin 2009
award to continue this
theme. “I’m going to visit a
telescope in Hawaii that
looks as far back as 13.2
billion years, right to the
edge of the universe. It can
see almost all the way back
to the beginning of time
– it’s surreal that you can
look back to a time when
the Earth didn’t even exist. I
think it’s fascinating the
way stars die and the
connections between us
and them – we are,
essentially, stardust.”
“ I think it’s fascinating the way stars die and the connections between us and them – we are, essentially, stardust.”
As former students of a global university we want you to experience more of what the world has to off er, which is why we provide a wide range of discounts on products and services to help you explore. Break new ground for less this autumn.
Ultimate Escapes
U ltimate Escapes
was co-founded by
Phil Callaghan
(UCL Physics & Astronomy
1974) and is one of the
industry’s largest private
destination clubs. Take
your pick from destinations
across the world: play golf
in Tuscany, take in the
beautiful beaches of the
Bahamas or glide through
the Deer Valley in Utah,
one of North America’s top
ski destinations. The club’s
private, multimillion-dollar
homes are well-appointed
luxury residences that offer
concierge services and the
amenities of a private
country club.
Benefi t: UCL alumni receive a 25% discount off the lowest current prices for a membership.
www.ultimateescapes.com
Be part of something bigger
Any questions?
Please contact us:[email protected]+44 (0)20 7679 7677
13
UCL Library
C: UCL alumni network card
required for access
D: free reference access
Payment of an annual
membership fee of £50 entitles
you to borrow up to fi ve books
at a time
+44(0) 20 7679 7700
www.ucl.ac.uk/library
London Hotel Discounts
C: quote UCL alumni
D: varies depending on the hotel
www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni/benefi ts/
accommodation
Royal Commonwealth Society
C: quote UCL alumni
D: reduced membership
www.thercs.org
Royal Institution
C: UCL1
D: 20% discount on membership
www.rigb.org
Science|Business
C: quote UCL alumni
D: reduced subscription rates
www.sciencebusiness.net
STA Travel
C: quote ‘UCL8’
D: range of discounts
including £20 off fl ights
(excl. Europe)
+44(0)8714 680 648
(ULU branch number) only
available through ULU branch
UCL Union Bloomsbury Fitness
C: quote UCL alumni (and
take your alumni network card)
D: continued access and
reduced membership fee
+44(0)20 7679 7221
www.uclunion.org/sport-fi tness/
bloomsbury
UCL Union
C: Take your alumni network
card
+44(0)20 7679 2541
www.uclu.org
UCL Alumni Web Community
[email protected] (we can
email you your personal
access code if you have not
yet received it)
+44(0)20 7679 7677
www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni-
community
Asia House
C: quote UCL alumni
D: reduced membership
+44(0)20 7307 5454
www.asiahouse.org
Avis
C: O788305 (starts with the
letter ‘O’ not the number)
D: up to 10%
+44(0)844 581 0187
www.avis.co.uk/
premierpartners
UCL Bloomsbury Th eatre
C: UCL alumni (present your
alumni network card at box
offi ce)
D: varies depending on the
show (not available on all
shows)
+44(0)20 7388 8822
www.thebloomsbury.com
Chatham House
C: quote UCL alumni
D: reduced membership
membership@chathamhouse.
org.uk
+44(0)20 7957 5700
www.chathamhouse.org.uk
Cottages 4 You
C: quote UCL alumni by
phone or click through from
UCL alumni website
D: 10%
+44(0)845 268 0760
www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni/benefi ts
Girls Travel Club
C: quote UCL alumni
D: 10%
www.girlstravelclub.co.uk
UCL Language Centre & SSEES Language Unit
You can pack a new language into your
case this autumn, as UCL’s Language
Centre offers evening courses in 18
languages. The courses focus on spoken
communication – perfect if you’re planning
your next trip away.
www.ucl.ac.uk/language-centre
The language unit at SSEES also offers
evening courses in 17 Slavonic and East
European languages. Students are also
given access to the nationally renowned
SSEES library for the course of their study.
www.ssees.ucl.ac.uk/eveningcourses
Benefi t: Discount on all courses for UCL alumni. For details, check the websites above. C = Cardholder access code
D = Discount
Th ere’s something distinctly UCL about Alan Brener (UCL Laws 1977). Opportunities seem to seek him out but he’s always on the hunt for ‘interesting things’ too; werewolves being just one…
everything in account
15
lan Brener is quite
the adventurer. He’s
moved seamlessly
between a range of high
profi le roles from an
unusual foundation of law
and accounting. Today he
heads up Regulatory
Strategy at Santander’s
UK operations, which now
includes Abbey and
Alliance & Leicester. It’s
one of the largest global
banking giants and,
compared to its rivals, has
had ‘a very good crisis’.
When we meet he tells me
he’s taking his son to the
UCL Grant Museum to
fi nd out where the
werewolves have gone
– but something tells me
he wants to know too.
Alan’s days have been
busy since leaving UCL.
He’s audited Express
Dairies, been involved in
privatising Rolls Royce,
regulated insurance
companies, briefed the
ministers of Whitehall and
is working at becoming
fl uent in Spanish.
Refl ecting on his time as
a private secretary he
chuckles and says: “Do
you know Bernard from
Yes Minister? Well I was
Bernard for two years”,
but it’s when Alan talks
about his approach to his
work that I fi nd his real
passion.
“What you’ll see from my
background is that I’m
always looking in different
areas to see whether I
can fi nd things that would
work in a different
context. I move between
departments, fi nance, tax,
marketing, legal,
compliance so I’ll talk to
each in their own
language; I suppose I’m
a bit of a chameleon.”
Alan studied law at UCL
but soon realised that
combining his degree
with accountancy would
give him a unique edge
and allow him to carve
out quite a specialist
career niche.
“ I suppose I’m a bit of a chameleon.”
“There are a very small
number of us who have
done something similar
because it’s very hard to
do both. Law was perfect
as a foundation but one
thing I noticed when I was
working for the Bar exams
was that whenever the
lawyers got a page of
numbers they’d turn the
page over – they
generally didn’t deal with
the numbers, so I thought
it would be a good idea
to combine the two.”
Alan’s working life could
be seen as something of
an inspiration for current
UCL graduates – apart
from one application to
KPMG in his early career,
he hasn’t made a single
job application. He
creates his own
opportunities and
connections. He is also a
great enabler – as well as
supporting UCL
programmes through
regular individual
donations, Alan fosters
links between UCL and
industry through the
programme at Santander
and within his own
organisation.
“We organise internships
here. I initiated that and
I’ve done that in previous
companies as well. I like
to think of new things we
can try – I went to a UCL
lecture on genetic
algorithms and neural
networks and thought,
that’s interesting, I wonder
what can we do with that?
When I see the bulletins
for internships, I get in
contact with our HR
department to see what
we can do. Santander has
supported both
universities and students
around the world for many
years and I don’t think it’s
an accident that
Santander’s Universities
Division in London signed
up UCL very early on in
its programme. It was
because of UCL’s
reputation as a fi rst class
organisation, and
obviously the central
location helps as well.”
So what advice would
Alan give UCL’s current
graduates walking out
into the world of work this
autumn?
“Go for the best you can
possibly get. Go and join
the best fi rm because
they will give you a very
good grounding and
they’ll spend time on your
training and development
and you’ll also see things
that you probably wouldn’t
normally come across.
Also, be fl exible, even if
you end up doing one of
the professional
qualifi cations, think more
broadly as to what other
things might work with it.”
And with no limitations,
what would Alan do next?
“Probably go back to
university.”
A
Halloween Event: UCL Grant Museum Witches and Lizards
Saturday 31 OctoberA special night exploring everything from werewolves to vampires. Go to page 18...
All of those who have been privileged to study or work at UCL know what a unique institution it is. Ranked in the world’s top ten, we are proud to attract the brightest minds amongst students and staff alike, and prouder still that our people are motivated by a desire to do good and to tackle the world’s most urgent problems.
But we haven’t got here
alone. You are part of a
formidable community
of alumni and friends
that help us to achieve
our very best. It is thanks
to your foresight and
commitment that we
now have £126million
committed towards our
Campaign for UCL goal
of £300million. But there
is still more to do.
Challenging times lie
ahead for us. In the UK,
government funding for
universities is decreasing.
Thirty years ago, funding
covered about 75% of
university costs, but
today, it is less than
40%. Universities are
profoundly vulnerable
to changes in funding
from successive
governments and
economic fl uctuations,
yet the work that we do
cannot afford to deviate
from excellence. Your gift
can change our future
landscape.
In order to survive and
fl ourish, universities
across the world need to
fi nd alternative sources of
funding, and increased
philanthropic support
from alumni and friends
is now critical for us to
remain a global player.
Whether it be a monthly
gift, a longer-term
endowment, or a legacy,
any contribution you make
today will have a lasting
benefi t tomorrow.
MAKE YOUR MARK
17
Compared to our US
counterparts, we are
more than lagging
behind. It’s common for
over 50% of our American
peers to make an annual
gift to their university as
opposed to the 2.9% of
UCL alumni who make an
annual donation. Our
endowment levels do not
compare well either. In the
USA, where personal
philanthropy has a long
tradition, our academic
competitors have
hundreds of times the
endowment reserves
that we have at our
disposal. For example,
UCL’s current endowment
level is £65.5million with a
student body of 22,000.
Compare this to Stanford
University and MIT, which
have endowment levels of
over £10.5billion and
£6.1billion and student
bodies half our size.
When you were a student,
your closest friend may
have been studying
with you by way of a
scholarship or bursary.
Your most inspiring
professor may well have
been funded through an
endowed chair, a
permanent post offering
the ongoing support
needed for research and
teaching excellence. With
current funding making
such opportunities
scarce, we are now
reliant on your support
to attract the leading
minds we need to work
with us, to maintain the
world-class research for
which we are renowned.
It is vitally important that
UCL is able to build up
a similiar foundation of
fi nancial support. We
have held our own,
and exceeded our
goals against the fi ercest
competition, but as
government funding falls
away, we must turn to
the generosity and
foresight of UCL people
who have invested in
us, and in whom we
have invested.
UCL deserves the security to fl ourish. As members of the UCL community, please consider a gift, of whatever you can, to help provide the long-term support that will drive tomorrow’s world. There has never been a more pressing time to make your mark on the future.
ON THE FUTURE
Visit ucl.ac.uk/makeyourmark to make yours
event highlights
Printing Japan: UCL’s collection of Japanese prints
Wednesday 14 October
6–8pm
Karly Allen explores UCL’s
collection of Japanese
prints, which date from
the early 19th century
to the early 20th century.
Artists featured include
Ogata Gekko, Katsushika
Hokusai, Utagawa
Kunisada, Utagawa
Hiroshige and Ohara
Koson.
Object Retrieval: You are the Routemaster
Thursday 15 October
– Wednesday 21 October
A one-week event created
by artist Joshua Sofaer
in association with UCL
Museums & Collections.
A rolling team of
researchers from the arts
and sciences will
investigate one object
from the university’s
collection for seven days,
in a converted
Routemaster bus in the
UCL Front Quad.
Object Retrieval will run
24 hours a day for UCL
staff and students and
until midnight for the
general public. Everybody
is invited to participate.
Lunch Hour Lecture: Th e new biology of ageing
Tuesday 20 October
1.15–1.55pm,
Darwin Lecture Theatre
www.ucl.ac.uk/lhl
Professor Dame Linda
Partridge (UCL Genetics,
Evolution & Environment)
Research into ageing has
been rejuvenated by the
discovery that genetic
alterations extend the
lifespan of laboratory
animals. These mutations
keep animals healthy for
longer and protect them
from many of the
diseases of ageing.
Professor Partridge will
look at how this and other
discoveries have led to a
new wave of research
directed at understanding
how these changes can
increase healthy lifespan
in humans.
Halloween Event: UCL Grant Museum Witches and Lizards
Saturday 31 October
5.30–8pm
£3 payable on the door –
including a glass of wine
or soft drink
Where better to spend
Halloween than in a room
full of scary skeletons and
spooky skulls? A special
night exploring everything
from werewolves to
vampires.
Medical School Reunion (University College, Th e Royal Free & Middlesex Hospitals)
Saturday 3 October
6.30pm–midnight
BAFTA, London
Black Tie, Red Carpet Attire
£95 per person (discount
for tables of 10 people)
www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni
UCL Medical School
Alumni celebrate their
graduation anniversaries.
Th e events listed here are just a sample of some of the highlights on off er this Autumn. UCL’s lunch hour lectures also return this October serving up brain food for hungry minds.
Visit www.ucl.ac.uk/events for full listings.
19
Staged reading of George Orwell’sBurmese Days
Wednesday 4 November
& Thursday 5 November
7.30–9.30pm
£10 (£8.50 concessions)
Please book online:
www.ucl.ac.uk/library/
orwell
UCL, home to one of
the world’s most
comprehensive archives
of George Orwell’s works,
hosts the fi rst staged
reading of Burmese Days
by the International
Theatre Collective, Aya,
led by UCL alumnus Ryan
Kiggell (UCL Geography
1999). The reading will be
followed by a question
and answer session.
Professional Networking Event: Architecture, Construction, Planning and Project Management
Wednesday 11 November
6.30–9.30pm
The Engineering Front
Building, Malet Place, UCL
Cost: £10
Book online: www.ucl.ac.uk/
alumni/careers
Thinking about changing
your career? Would you
like to work in Architecture,
Construction, Planning or
Project Management and
not sure where to start?
This event is designed
specifi cally for graduates
up to ten years after
graduation. Guests will
have the opportunity to
network with other alumni
and learn from senior
alumni already established
in their careers.
Lunch Hour Lecture: Th e right to obscene thoughts
Tuesday 8 December
1.15–1.55pm,
Darwin Lecture Theatre
www.ucl.ac.uk/lhl
Professor Stephen Guest
(UCL Laws)
This lecture discusses
how genuine freedom
must include all manner
of thought, including the
irrational, the bad, and
the obscene, and how the
recent new offence of
possessing extreme
pornography has
breached this principle.
Lunch Hour Lecture: Th e making of Johnson’s dictionary
Thursday 10 December
1.15–1.55pm,
Darwin Lecture Theatre
www.ucl.ac.uk/lhl
Professor John Mullan
(UCL English Language
& Literature)
Samuel Johnson’s
Dictionary of the English
Language taught the
British how to spell,
established Shakespeare
as their greatest writer
and provided the fi rst and
longest lasting map of the
English language in all its
subtlety and variety.
This lecture will tell the
extraordinary story of how
the fi rst dictionary was
made and take you inside
what has become the
least well known great
book in our literature.
UCL Chamber Music Club Christmas Concert
Tuesday 15 December
6pm, North Cloisters,
UCL Main Campus
www.ucl.ac.uk/chamber-
music
The programme for this
event will include the
Overture and Nativity
music from Handel’s
Messiah, and Vaughan
Williams’s Fantasia on
Christmas Carols. The
popular Christmas
concert is free and open
to all. Enjoy the
celebratory music and
join members of the club
for seasonal refreshments
after the concert.
UCL in Hong KongA
noth
er p
ersp
ectiv
e
“ Studying at UCL was
great fun and I made
many lifelong friends
from all over the world
– it was one of the best
times of my life. I studied
law between 1982 and
1985 and I’ve kept in
touch with classmates
from as far afi eld as
Singapore and Malaysia
– many have since
become long-standing
clients.”
But as Andrew asserts,
there’s more to keeping
in touch than just coming
along to events. He
wants to make sure the
UCL Hong Kong Club
also gives something
tangible back to the local
community.
“ Our local alumni set up
a scholarship foundation
to award annual
scholarships and
bursaries to needy and
deserving local students.
We just selected a
candidate for this year’s
scholarship yesterday.”
Nowhere is UCL’s global reach more evident than from within its own regional groups. Here Andrew Ng (UCL Laws 1985), Chairman of the UCL Hong Kong Club, tells Connect how he’s keeping UCL alive and very much in the family…
So how did Andrew get involved with the regional group in Hong Kong?“ When I applied for
membership in 1999, our
former Chairman (the
late KK Chu (UCL Laws
1960) noticed that two
of my sisters and I all
studied at UCL. Like me,
most of KK’s family also
went to UCL. So he
drafted me in to help out
and later asked me to
take over as Chairman.
I’ve never looked back.”
But there are more
advantages to alumni
groups than just getting
back in touch. Andrew
says his events are not
targeted to business
networking but in the
same breath says: “My
insurance broker and
dentist are alumni, so I
suppose it follows that
you tend to do business
with people that you get
on with.”
So how does he feel UCL affected his career?“ Graduating from a
top-notch global
university defi nitely
opened doors for
British-born Chinese
people like me, who
came from the state-run
grammar school system.
I was able to get solid
training as a trainee
solicitor and then as an
associate in City fi rms,
even through the 1980s
recession when there
were very few ethnic
minority lawyers around
in London. This also
helped me to set up my
own law fi rm working
across the world. But I’m
also a benefi ciary of the
colour-blind meritocratic
traditions (Gandhi and
the fi rst Asian students to
study in the UK …). I’m
thinking of naming my
son (due in August) after
Ng Ting Fang. He was
a UCL alumnus and the
fi rst Chinese lawyer/
barrister to graduate in
the UK; he later became
acting Prime Minister of
China – but this is all
subject to my wife’s
approval of course!”
21
departmental focus
UCL Laws students will get the opportunity to work in a real-time law environment next year. Th e Pro Bono project is being set up to enable students, under supervision from qualifi ed solicitors, to off er free legal advice to members of the community.
Rai
sing
The project, made
possible in part by
donations to UCL from
alumni and friends, sees
current and former UCL
students working together
to provide a valuable
resource with real-world
benefi ts. Students will
initially offer advice
through other legal advice
centres, but the future
vision is for the Faculty to
have its own advice clinic.
As well as the valuable
professional experience
and skills which students
will gain from the project,
they will also receive
academic credit for their
work, in the shape of a
half or full course in their
fi nal year of study.
Rodney Austin, Senior Lecturer in UCL Laws, said:
“ The project will make the
UCL Faculty of Laws’
legal education offering
more attractive to
potential candidates and
students. Most
importantly, this project
opens up access to legal
advice to those unable to
afford the services of a
practising professional.
It also gives students a
broader range of
learning experience
outside the classroom
and offers the Faculty
an additional opportunity
to make a positive and
direct contribution to
society.
“ We’ve been in discussion
with the College of Law
as well as a number of
City law fi rms, but have
also had a number of
alumni express interest
in helping as well. We
are delighted alumni are
willing to give up their
time to be involved, as
the contribution of their
experience will be
immensely valuable to
the project.”
The pilot project begins in
2010 and will put UCL
Faculty of Laws at the
cutting edge of legal
education. If you would
like to fi nd out more about
getting involved in this
project, or helping to
make projects like these
possible, please contact:
Sian Hoggett at
To fi nd out more about the
Laws alumni group visit:
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/alumni
the bar
“ I don’t think I realised
until I’d left how lucky I
was to study at UCL. I’ve
lived in California for 11
years now and I’ve kept
in touch through the
alumni magazine, which
I fi nd fascinating.
“ I’m so glad I did come
back. UCL has a very
international community,
and I met several people
from other countries,
including the USA.
Although there was
nobody else from
Scandinavian Studies,
I got to know people
who’d majored in
German who had been
at UCL at the same time
as me – one of whom
I’ve met up with and
been in regular contact
with by email ever since.”
Staying in touch with your university and your fellow students once you graduate isn’t always easy, especially when you fi nd yourself halfway across the world, but for Helen Talkin (UCL Scandinavian Studies 1984) the journey back was just as much one of discovery as it was when she fi rst arrived. We caught up with Helen to talk about making it back for her 25th reunion all the way from sunny California.
Date for the diary: The UCL Medical School Alumni
Reunion is taking place on 3 October 2009 at BAFTA in
London’s Piccadilly (go to page 18 for more information).
The red carpet event will include guest speaker Richard
Marshall, Head of External Discovery at GlaxoSmithKline.
For more information go to: www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni
As part of the reunion,
Helen was given a tour,
where she found a
marked difference from
the campus and the
cloisters of her time:
“ I remember the old walk
from the DMS Watson to
Scandinavian Studies
from when I was there,
and the strange smells
coming from the Zoology
department – UCL looks
so much smarter now.
I was particularly
impressed by the new
library and the
refurbished Cruciform
building.
“ UCL is a very important
part of my life, and the
reunion has inspired me
to reconnect in whatever
ways are possible, to get
in touch with alumni, and
to organise some alumni
events in my area
between LA and San
Francisco. I think that
having the shared
experience of university
enables you to connect
with people in a unique
way.”
reunion events
”
23
connect four
Margaret Mountford
(UCL Greek & Latin 2002,
2004) of The Apprentice
fame was born in Holywood,
Northern Ireland.
Christopher Nolan
(UCL English 1993) is a
Hollywood (albeit the US
one) fi lmmaker best known
for directing Batman Begins
and The Dark Knight. He
recently fi lmed part of his
new movie, Inception
at UCL’s Flaxman Gallery.
UCL’s Flaxman Gallery
houses work by the sculptor
and artist, John Flaxman, as
does the British Museum
where Anthony Gormley
(UCL Slade 1979) is a
trustee. Most famous for The
Angel of the North and also
the ongoing One & Other
project on the fourth plinth
in Trafalgar Square,
Gormley’s work takes the
human body as its focus.
Christen Jessen
(UCL Medical School 2001)
also focuses on the human
body as part of the
Channel 4 shows
Supersize vs Superskinny
and Embarrassing Bodies
both of which he presents.
Welcome to connect four. Here we try our hand at linking four famous UCL alumni – can you top our choices?
Contact [email protected] with your best connections …
alumni giving
Gillian Steggles
Gillian Steggles graduated
from the UCL Medical
School in 1978 but later
returned to become
involved with academic life
again. Despite no longer
being a student, Gill
wanted to continue to learn
from UCL’s inspiring
community. Over the past
31 years she has made
the most of UCL’s libraries,
the music club, and
lunchtime lectures through
which she believes
Clare Cunliff e
Clare Cunliffe (UCL
Medical Microbiology
1996) began her degree
at UCL with an ambition to
work in the pharmaceutical
industry. Clare’s fi rst job in
clinical trials was a direct
result of work experience
arranged by her third-year
project supervisor,
Professor John Stanford.
She also met her current
boss at a ULU careers fair
and so feels her time at
Every year, a growing number of alumni make personal gift s to UCL. Every donation is unique and means something diff erent for each individual. Connect spoke to three former students to fi nd out what they get from giving back…
Giving back to the future
Richard Kilsby
As a member of UCL’s
Campaign Executive
Committee, Richard
Kilsby (UCL Laws 1973)
plays a major part in
driving UCL’s pursuit for
excellence. Since
graduating, Richard has
stayed in touch with the
Faculty through one of
his old Professors,
Rodney Austin. Together
they have arranged
several career mentoring
presentations for
students interested in
pursuing non-law
careers. Richard has
also attended reunions
and events and was keen
to stay in touch as he
thinks it’s all too easy to
lose contact with your
university and to miss out
on the benefi ts that such
a connection brings.
Richard’s own continuing
engagement with UCL
was partly inspired by
his wife Susan who is
an alumna of both
Wellesley College and
Yale University. He
explains how she enjoys
an excellent relationship
with both of her former
universities and that this
has served partly as
inspiration for his
continued UCL
engagement.
Richard has recently
made a substantial gift
to the Campaign for
UCL. He explained his
motivation for making this
gift was based on a need
for philanthropy within
higher education: “Many
alumni amongst my
generation are oblivious
to the changes which
have been made to
university funding in
recent decades and
the pressure on UK
institutions to fi nd
alternative, private
sources of funding. I’m
proud to be associated
with one of the best
universities in the world
and it is important to me,
as I hope it will be to all
current and future
alumni, to do what I can
to contribute to UCL’s
continued success.”
“ It is important to me to do what I can to contribute to UCL’s continued success.”
UCL was hugely benefi cial
for her career.
Clare makes a monthly gift
to UCL’s Provost’s Priority
Fund, allowing UCL to direct
her gift to the university’s
highest priorities: “My
education was free, yet
invaluable. I want to
contribute to UCL attracting
and retaining the high
calibre of academic staff
that makes this possible,
and I trust the university to
direct my donation where it
is needed most.”
“UCL brings the world to
your doorstep”.
Gillian is one of UCL’s
generous legacy donors
and wanted to leave a gift in
her will to preserve UCL’s
status and to contribute to
its future: “I want to enable
future students to fulfi l their
own potential and for the
spirit, strength and
enterprise of UCL’s student
body to continue to fl ourish
and grow. I know a part of
me will be left in the living
fabric of UCL for years
to come.”
which means more scholarships…
more facilities…
more textbooks…
and an even better UCL.
For every £3 you give, the UK government will give us an extra £1...
Thanks to the UK
government’s Matched
Funding scheme, UCL will
receive an extra £1 for every
£3 you donate until August
2011, regardless of whether
or not you are a UK tax payer.
If you’ve ever considered
making a donation, this is
the perfect time. Visit
www.ucl.ac.uk/online-giving
to make your gift or contact
us on +44(0)20 7679 9741
or at [email protected] to
see your money go further.
www.ucl.ac.uk
