Launchpad 2015 by Camilla Brugrand

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0 Years of Brunel

DISCOVER HOW BRUNEL ALUMNI EXCEL IN THEIR CHOSEN FIELDS AND HOW THE UNIVERSITY SUPPORTED THEM ALONG THE WAY

DIRECTOR’S NOTE ANDREW WARD

Welcome to LaunchPad

EDITOR’S LETTER CAMILLA BRUGRAND

One of the prominent features Brunel alumni consistently highlight as the primary reason for their success is the University’s close links with their respective industries. Gaining invaluable experience through industry internships and having some the past year, my lecturers have encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and apply for internships that I never thought I would get. They pushed us to participate in networking, media events and set the alarm to 05.00 on Sunday mornings to get the chance to meet some of the most influential personalities in the media industry. By devoting more of their time than their jobs require, the lecturers here at Brunel made us aim higher and establish vital contact in the industry we hope to one day to be a part of. Our teachers come directly from the business we wish to pursue, and they constantly enlighten us with priceless inside information about the industry and share their own experience to help us accomplish our goals. The doors that have been opened by well-connected and enthusiastic lectures this year have been incredible. I have met people I admired, discussed ideas about the future of journalism and received advice from insightful editors thanks to teachers who never give up on their students. Seeing 50 years of history at Brunel through the eyes of alumni from learning, but also a place where you truly do get a huge leap closer to reaching your

This is the third edition of Launchpad that we have commissioned from the Journalism students at Brunel University London and I am delighted that once more we have a magazine that is not only attractive and interesting but useful as well. The focus this year – on 50 achievers who attended the University – is obviously 50th anniversary in 2016; but it also demonstrates that alumni of this University are making a striking contribution endeavour. My grateful thanks and congratulations to the students and staff involved in the project which illustrates not only their talents and those an example of the imaginative and stimulating teaching that characteristically takes place at the University. Best wishes to all those who brought this

publication to life!

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C O N T E N T S CULTURE 4. Liesel

Schwarz

6. Ross Ramgobin, John Watts, Isabella Noronha 8. Carl Bar창t, Ken MacLeod, Richard Green, Valerie Jack 9. Bernardine Evaristo, Claire Phillips, Hajaz Akram

BUSINESS

10. Roisin

Isaacs

12. Peter Ward, Jordan Chitty 13. Lorraine Wright, Anthony Chew, Frederick Wabwaya 14. John McGrath, Lincoln Crawford, Simon Murdoch Stuart Etherington

ENTERTAINMENT

15. Alan

Selby

16. Raymond Snoddy 17. Tom Stoppard, Bindya Solanki 18. Lee Mack, Nick Abbot, Lucy Verasamy 19. Francis French, Dave Smith, Patricia Hodge, Sharon Horgan

SCIENCE

20. Anna

Critchlow

22. Solveiga Pakstaite 23. Martin Mobberly, Samuel Etherington 24. Samuel Weller, Ronald Frankenberg, Eric Hunter 25. Shelina Parmalloo, Lyn Dowsett, Yash Gupta

SPORT

26. Perri

Shakes-Drayton

28. Tony Adams, Audley Harrison, Eniola Aluko, 29. Kate Walsh, Mike Coughlan 30. Lizzy Janes, Hope Powell, Catherine Murphy

26 50 YEARS OF BRUNEL

CULTURE

Lawyer turned CAMILLA BRUGRAND

After working many years as a lawyer in South Africa and the UK, Liesel Schwarz, made a page turner in her life and applied her skills in new and creative ways.

er great love for medieval creatuers, pirates, zombies, space operas and all subjects in between led to her applying for an MA in creative writing at Brunel University. into her debut novel, A Conspiracy of Alchemist, which have gained international recognition as well as winning the Joan Hessayon Award. The author describes the journey from writing to publishing as a bit of a roller-coaster ride. “I had gone from utter rejection to triumph in the space of a few months. It was tough She explains that she wouldn’t have been published if she hadn’t chosen the Brunel programme and gained such an understanding of how the publishing industry “It was a blind determination. Never give up on your dream because at some point The series has now turned into a trilogy lection, and it was published in the summer of 2014. “There aren’t many universities that focus Liesel is currently teaching creative writing to third-year undergraduates about Before settling down on the British island, Liesel was practising law in her hometown Johannesburg in South Africa. “My passion has always been writing and since I can remember I’ve made up stories. made me get a real job’. In a way, being a -

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and

CULTURE tion, because you are constantly thinking about narratives and facts.” Over the years, Liesel have moved away from practising law and focused more on her creative skills. When she was doing her MA, she also had a full-time job as an inhouse lawyer for an insurance company. “I decided that I wanted a bit of an adventure. One day I packed up my bags and moved. I have never looked back.” It was a coincident that she ended up at Brunel. At that time, she was living in Ux-

“

Stories about ferries and forests, King Arthur and the medieval stuff makes England the perfect place for me.

”

bridge and was happy to discover that it was a university right next door. “I was very privileged to have studied with Kean. It was just an amazing, mind-expanding and life changing experience to be able to learn from such amazing teachers.” As most of the Brunel students, Liesel spent a fair amount of time on the Metropolitan line going in and out of London. “One Tuesday afternoon when I was travelling to Baker Street station this quite random and odd conversation popped into my head, and it was the two main characters The author thanks the creative department for having a wealth of incredibly talented writers who teaches their students how to be a writer with an industry-facing approach. “They don’t just teach you how to write, but also how to be a part of the industry, which is invaluable. If you are a horror writognise that different authors have different voices.”

Liesel and even though she lives hundreds of miles from her country of origin she still managed to keep in contact with the people she cares about. “The world is so small nowadays with Skype and email, Facebook and all the other platforms one can communicate through. I have friends who live on other continents that I speak to more than the people who love down the road.” “I wouldn’t say that I especially drew inspiration from one particular time or incident, but it is part of who I am and the uniqueness of my voice.” Liesel has always had a passion for London, and she is continually fascinated by it as a city. “I’ve always loved going to places that

are old, attractive and carries a lot of history. It’s more of the historian in me that attracts me to that. A lot of the action in my books is set to places like Paris and Istanbul, and I think the reason for that is because I have a love for ancient places. Together with her partner, Liesel decided to settle down in the British countryside of Gloucester. She appreciates having four seasons and enjoy rainy days. I love the rain. People always laugh at me for saying that, but it is a bonus when you are living in the UK. Folklore and mythological aspects of folk tales and fantasy aspects of the different cultures have always fascinated Liesel. “Stories about ferries and forests, King Arthur and the medieval stuff makes England the perfect place for me. Living in a place where all that came from is fantastic and made me chose to move here.” Leaving a decent salary as a solicitor in the hope of becoming a full-time writer has not always been easy. “It is incredibly expensive to go to university and I felt that I was very lucky and privileged to have been able to do that. Writing full time is the dream most people aspire to, and I’ve been quite fortunate.” There are few writers who only make a living by doing what they love and to pay the bills; Liesel still has some side jobs as a teacher “It’s an unfortunate thing of the publishing industry. We all keep side jobs in order to pay the bills.” Some of the recent side projects Liesel have been working on is teaching a master fantasy for The Guardian. “They approached a group of writers and asked us to write a book about it as well. It was part of a series of books in how to learn to write in 60 minutes. The book was published last May, and it was an exciting project to be part of.” One of the more interesting jobs Liesel have been asked to join in the past is attending the annual Comic-Con in San World Fantasy Con in London. “It was a privilege to be able to do panels and be part of comic con and win book prices. They have been some of the highlights of my writing career. It has just been incredible since the books came out.” which is standalone and currently under submission. “I’m going to write some short stories for Haunted Futures and a short story hard work being an author, but it’s the best job in the world. Liesel’s advice for creative minds is to problem for many writers. “Never give up, even though that means that you have to abandon one manuscript and start over. If it’s something you want to do, go for it.”

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL5

CULTURE

GOING

DEAF FOR A LIVING J o h n

John Watts is British musician and multimedia artist who formed the rock band Fischer-Z at Brunel University in 1976. HAGEN REINERS

y his 26th birthday singer of punk/wave/rock band Fischer-Z, John Watts, had sold two million records. It was at Brunel where he founded Fischer-Z together with a classmate and built up his career from ´73 to ´78. The social climate on campus influenced Watts development as a musician heavily: “Students were much more adversely politically interested. Anti-establishment student activity was expected. It was a left wing communist university.” He studied clinical psychology, a course he chose because of its real life application. Yet he always knew he wanted to become a musician since he was a boy. “I was never sure I was doing shows, I was travelling to Manchester having three hour sleep coming back and doing more exams. Eventually I got 2.2.” Two weeks after Watts graduated in

W a t t s

the only other member of Fisher-Z, and he pursued his less successful solo career. “I have been signed up by seven different

change of the music and art he created. When people began labeling John Watts as

up arguing with them.” That is, he says, because he always stayed true to his artistic ideas and to him this meant continuous

sound, then for the rest of your career you cord companies] sell something, they want you to produce the same something.” Today John Watts is sixty years old and still making music the way he wants to. Indeed for this year he is planning to reinvent Fisher-Z with his 19th album called “This is my universe“. He said: “I consider it a massive privilege to make a living from writing songs”. However, Watts is only able to do the music he wants to, because he is managing himself. He said, “If I were selling beans or cakes, I could be a really good business man. But when the business is yourself, it´s quite a conflict [because] when I am selling you a cake, I can say this is an amazing cake. It is much harder to sell and Watts thinks that today other than from when he was at university young people are too obsessed with stand why, but it is often restricting them. What people not do enough of when they are younger is fail. I failed a bit too late. Failwure as a teenager would have been good for me.

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with Fischer Z and the following years would be the peak of his career. “I was a pop star”. Yet in 1981 Watts split up with Steve Skolnik, who was

CULTURE

Curtain Call Ramgobin Ross

Ross Ramgobin is a British baritone who studied at the Royal Academy of Music and continued his training at the National Opera Studio, London. AMELIE HEULS

of Music, but was considered too young. He came back after his studies, got accepted and “never looked back since”. becoming and being an opera singer. No cigarettes, no chocolate milk and singing, rather than shouting at a football match. “It is almost like being an Athlete. You

have to keep the right diet, lifestyle and a lot of sleep,” he said. The importance is to keep muscular tal and physical balance to avoid stress

or tension, which the young opera singer found in Pilates. “Opera singers seem very neurotic, but you cannot put your voice away in a box, it is a very fragile instrument,” he said. Consequently, there are ways to sing safely, use the voice without pushing it to extremes, so that the stamina lasts for many years to come. He prepares pieces in German, French, Latin, Italian, and Russian, depending on the opera. It is crucial to understand the texts to communicate the emotions on stage, which is hours of work for the right pronunciation. The competition is very hard as a Baritone, but even harder for Sopranos, but his goal is getting himself heard and learning the craft to keep on singing until his mid 60s. Ross still comes back to Brunel to practice and teach one student and says there is still a strong bond to the university, because this is where everything started. “I still feel like a student when I am here, even if a lot changed, but it’s nice to see how the university grows.” © Robert Workman

funny coincidence put the former English and Drama student on a completely different path than expected. While singing Frank Sinatra in his student hall, he was approached by a fresher’s student representative to take part in an audition for a musical. To Ross’ surprise he won the judges hearts by singing ‘New York, New York’ and was granted three years of voice training at the Arts Centre. “It opened a whole new world for me,” Ross said, spending more time playing musicals than writing essays. In his second year, his tutor Eileen Pinkarchevski encouraged him to take his singing to a professional level. He audi-

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL

Culture Ken MacLeod Will Jamieson

MacLeod,

Carl Barât

The Sky Road The Night Sessions

award

Camilla Brugrand

Descent

arl Barât started a drama degree at Brunel but dropped out before graduating. He met musician, Pete Doherty, through Pete’s sister who was also a student at Brunel. In 1997 he formed the rock band, ‘The Libertines’ and released two albums: Up the Bracket in 2002 and The Libertines in 2004. The band ended in 2004 but Barât formed a new band in 2005 called ‘Dirty Pretty Things’. In 2010 he released a solo album, a memoir and acted in the play Fool for Love. He has since joined an indie group with other well-established artists called ‘The Bottletop Band’.

Having been awarded an

Photo source: Sal_Gigjunkie

Richard Green

Valerie Jack

Photo

so u

rc e

that she has read in the last few years, such as Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers. “In my personal life, I have embarked on a new chapter that has given me ideas for new directions I could take with my writing. My husband is Bulgarian, and since getting acquainted with his country I am considering writing some creative Becoming a mother has also made me want to try writing for children in the future.”

collection, Educational was published in 2009. She is currently in discussions with a director regarding a future production of her latest play, Pathway Plan and is also writing her second poetry collection, Liveaboard. In terms of future plans, Valerie has various ideas but has been particularly inspired

w.v a l erieja

u t. h

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alerie Jack graduated Brunel in 2007 with a Secondary English PGCE. She has written four fulllength stage plays one of which was staged at the Etcetera Theatre in Camden

NewYorkandSingapore.The Association for Computing Machinery considers him as one of the founders of Computer Graphics.

come established by the 1980s and his workforce had grown to over 120 employees.

Valerie Jack: poet, playwright and teacher

ichard Green graduated Brunel University in 1964 with a degree in Applied Physics. He then went on to do a PHD in computer graphics which was then deemed a new concept and still in its early stages. He saw an opportunity in the market and started up ‘Online Conference Ltd’ which specialized in international events in the computers and communications

Chengling Chi

Amelie Heuls

Culture Bernardine Evaristo: “I like teaching creative writing because I like sharing what I know.” Award-winning author, Bernardine Evaristo, talks to Camilla Brugrand about her writing inspirations and her teaching experience at Brunel.

ernardine Evaristo has written seven books. She is also an editor, critic, dramatist, essayist and has been a creative writing lecturer at Brunel University since 2011. “I started teaching creative writing

“As a teacher of twenty years I can say that a lot of my students have gone on to get published and that’s always very rewarding.”

poetry collection, I’ve been teaching ever since,” said Bernardine.

Sairah Masud

lic.f ot ki. co

trained as an actor, teacher and director for over twenty years,British actor Hajaz Akram has many accomplishments. The most notable of these is the launch of the Academy of Asian and Ethnic Dramatic Arts in 2011 based in Ealing, of which he is the founder and principal. Being of Pakistani origin himself, Akram’s motivation behind opening the school was to help combat what he thought was a severe shortage of Asians

in mainstream television and stage. He graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama at BrunelUniversityin 2000 and has since gone on

photo source: pub

aving

“As a teacher of twenty years I can say that a lot of my students have gone on to get published and that’s always very rewarding.” “My inspiration comes from all kind of things. Sometimes people I have known do appear in my books, maybe a bit of them.” One obstacle with being a university lecturer and juggling other projects is that there is not a lot of time outside of work to write. However, it is gratifying for Bernardine to see students succeed in the creative industry after leaving university.

Camilla Brugrand

Hajaz Akram

“ I like teaching creative writing because I like sharing what I know. I enjoy Brunel students in different ways. The undergraduate? I like them because they are usually very prepared to take risks and to experiment with their story, which is great. The post-grad students? I really enjoy them because they bring a certain life experience and maturity when they write”.

to star in numerous includingDrWho;Casualty; Lara Croft: Tomb Raider; and Batman Begins.

Contemporary Portrait Artist: Claire Phillips’ work explores the relationship between artist, subject and viewer. Norah Lindsey

laire Phillips’ previous exhibitions have included: ‘The Human Face of Death Row’ and ‘Reclaiming Childhood – Face to Face with photo source: www.clairephillips.com Child Labour in India.’ The portraits from the exhibition include a description of the troubled lives in India and quotes that help relate to the thoughts and feelings of inmates who were on death row. Claire completed a Mechanical Engineering degree in Brunel University in 1986 and worked as an engineer for some years. But her artistic prowess began when she took up life drawing when her children were at school. ing is quite a creative career. I was in research and development, so we had to think up solutions.” She graduated with a First Class BA degree in Fine Art Painting at Northbrook College Sussex, and has since become an award winning artist.

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL9

BUSINESS CULTURE

The Secret Millionaire Roisin Isaacs

Be brave, well informed and be decisive. Without forgetting fairness, kindness and praising others for their work Isaacs’ combination of entreuprenurial flair and compassion is her recipe for success. She speaks to Amita Joshi.

er advice for aspiring entrepreneurs: “Be brave, well informed and be decisive.” “When you see luxury and affluence and then you see people whose choices are limited, who are restricted and can’t break out from a cycle of poverty, it really is something.” Channel 4’s secret millionaire Roisin Isaacs is earnest in her delivery as she show. We are sat in the beautifully lit atrium of the Eastern Gateway at Brunel University where she has returned to speak to other alumni. In a few moments, she will be giving

a talk at the new Women of the Future event, a network born out of the university’s Innovation Hub to celebrate the successes of Brunel women. While she is one of the most successful attendees this evening, she is humble as she talks about her genuine passion for social mobility. After all, her background has taught her that hard work is what Born in Northern Ireland, she began in 1973 as a nursing student in England before moving to various departments and reaching occupational health, where she has made her fortune. Her willingness to try new experiences gave her the courage to explore the

business element. With an entrepreneurial flair from her father and compassionate nature from her mother who was also a nurse, she reached the position of Business Development Manager. “My dad taught us to go out there and make it for ourselves and the seed developed in my head,” she explains. “I had a strong mum, a strong grandmother and it was a tough world for women for them, but they were tough “In them I saw courage, nothing phased them and this was an inspirational influence. “But I did realize I felt completely out of

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“Be brave, well informed and be decisive.

BUSINESS

“Bring vitality to the group and have a sense of humour” Yet the programme gained a thrashing from the press, with viewers saying towns were depicted in a negative way and communities were judged even more so than they were before. Roisin pursued in what she felt was a responsibility of the wealthy, highlighting what she considered to be some of the things people are oblivious to. This includes continuing to highlight the need for equality for women in business. “It is getting better in business, there

©secretmillionairereunion

“We can’t blame men for creating a glass box around women if we keep it there.”

my depth without training,” she admits. Failing the 11+ tests as a child, she was apprehensive about grades but decided to ignore her dad’s sentiment of marriage and children and apply for an MBA at Brunel. She succeeded in securing a place and her initial results couldn’t have been better. “I really do believe hard graft is required for anything worth going for” Roisin says. From there, it was upwards for Roisin as she came up with idea after idea to

that saw itself as a service, but it made a difference for the better. “Education and appropriate training in your specialism is crucial, along with “Doing an MBA changed the trajectory understand something, insight and put me in a business mindset. “I also learned from investing which came with wins and loses” she says, her

more acceptable because it is hard for children. “Particularly women in business, they should be more flexible and set the standard. “Yet throughout time I have found more women who are uneasy about giving other women a leg up. “We can’t blame men for creating a there. “But it’s great that younger women are forging a path for all women. They’re much more thrusting and will achieve more because of it.” She has achieved plenty in her life and investments in occupational health have paid off. She is now peaceful as she sits besides me on the deep red chairs with a glass of wine on the table. “I feel content, I have a lovely guy in my life so life is good.” Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs? “Be brave, well informed and be decisive.

vitality to the group and have a sense of humour.” With those inspiring words clinging

Her generosity extended when she In healthcare, she faced the issue of money being a dirty word to the sector

their Secret Millionaire in a programme where benefactors go undercover in

and faces a really poised audience.

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL

BUSINESS

Peter Ward By Olga Chiruk

How passion for Geography and an interest in entrepreneurship merged into the world’s largest social travel network

runel University was a launch pad for Peter Ward, co-founder of the world’s largest social travel network WAYN (Where Are You Now?), which is available in 193 countries and has over 23 million members today. When he was just a school boy he dreamed to study Geography at Cambridge as his favorite teacher convinced him that was the best thing to do for his career. When he didn’t get in, as he says, he was crying from disappointment. “Yet I had enough “I would be supportive of to go to UCL, but on Brunel becoming a lead- there I my way er in entrepreneurship” friend, met a who had a place at Brunel to study Economics and Business Finance and I enjoyed that course offered the opportunity for work placement while studying. That’s how I decided to go to Brunel instead”, says Ward. After graduating from Brunel, Ward studied entrepreneurship at Cambridge; London Business School; and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I would love and I would be supportive of encouraging Brunel University becoming a leader in entrepreneurship”. Ward and his friend Jerome Touze came up with the idea of Where Are You Now? after having backpacked around the world during their gap year. Having met lots of people without being able to keep in touch with them easily, they came up with the idea of being able to visualize where your friends are and allowing you to interact with them. Thus they have created a platform for people who have an interest in travel and wanting to meet people from different places - a network operated by just 40 people from different parts of the world including Poland, Capetown, New York and the west coast of America.

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Jordan Chitty By Camilla Brugrand

Starting his own company ‘Naked Creativity’ whilst still studying at Brunel turned out to be the smartest move Chitty made

reative director Jordan Chitty started up his own

dustrial design in 2007. Already as a student, Jordan managed to get some freelance work done, which became the basis when he decided to start up Naked Creativity. His company is London-based and specialises in creating creative websites, original graphics and imaginative identities for their clients. “It was a low risk starting my own company. I didn’t have another job at the beginning and I didn’t necessarily have to make a certain amount of money each month. Starting my own company seven years ago “Failure is about turned out to be a smart trying and the best the end”. He move in is still very way to learn is from much involved with Brunel and for the last our mistakes” years he has taken three students in two do a yearlong work placement each at his company. “I chose Brunel students exclusively for the work placements because I know what skills they learn and that they are good. It’s good that the University keep close links to the industry and encourage students to go on work placement to get real life experience.” One of Jordan’s current clients is Brunel University. Naked Creativity was approached in order to make some suggestions to how the annual Made in Brunel exhibition should be displayed online. “My best advice for people graduating is to try everything - you haven’t lost anything if you fail. Failure is about trying and the best way to learn is from our mistakes.”

Business

BUSINESS

Frederick Wabwaya

Lorraine Wright

By Jasmine Rapson

By Grace Witherden

From breakthrough and award-winning inventions to being accoladed by the Kenyan president

How her time at Brunel was

rederick Wabwaya graduated from Brunel in 2003 with a masters in Data Communication Systems Engineering and following this his dissertation was published in the Brunel Engineering Journal. Wabwaya began his career in engineering in Kenya, where he became an engineering assistant at the Kenyan broadcasting corporation. It was here he made an incredible breakthrough and created equipment that can be used to detect faulty electronic circuits in communications and meThis achievement lead to him being honoured by the president at the time, Daniel Arap Moi, at Kenya’s jubilee celebrations. He then went on to become the centre manager at the Eastern African region of IT services company SITA, putting him in charge of 15 countries airline telecommunications. While at SITA, Wabwaya initiated a maintenance and repair workshop in Nairobi, where most Airline equipment were repaired instead of being shipped to Europe, which won him an award. Wabwaya is now Chief of Network at United Nations Missions in Liberia.

ment in her life

Anthony Chew By Jasmine Rapson

Businessman, author and father; Chew has come a long way, both personally and professionally.

nthony Py Chew began his career in business at the Singapore instate of management, achieving a diploma in management studies. He then moved to London to study at Brunel, graduating in 1992 with a Masters in Business (MBA). After graduating from Brunel, Chew moved to Canada where his career in business flourished. His most recent achievement to date is being appointed the vice president of wine company Joopy WWB. Chew is also the owner of his own management consultancy, PY associates, but his achievements go way beyond business management. In 2012 his book ‘A Closer Walk With My Daughters’ was published; a reflection on the past ten years living abroad with his teenage daughters. Chew has also won a string of awards, including the International Award for “Closer to my Customer Leadership” by chairman of Diageo Spore and “Outstanding Contribution in Guiding International Supply Customer Service towards Excellence” by Diageo International Supply Director. Evidently, Chew has had many accomplishments throughout his career.

orraine Wright originated and founded UGCY, after she spotted the need during her time on the Brunel University Gospel Choir. Lorraine graduated with a First Class Bachelors of Science Degree in Information Systems. Alongside UGCY, she is currently working as a Director at UBS in Swtizerland. Often dubbed a “Robot” by her peers, Lorraine’s ambition, determination, faith and experiences together with her passion for Gospel music has fueled her desire to see UGCY happen. Together with a dedicated team of 14, the organisation provides an unprecedented platform for University Gospel Choirs across the UK to develop and showcase their musical abilities. Since leaving university Lorraine has made countless trips back to Brunel in order to inspire current students; informing them on how to graduate at the top and enter into the corporate and business world. In 2010, Lorraine was named in Powerful Media’s “Future Leaders 2010” Powerlist which most promising graduates/students of African and Afro-Caribbean origin for her academic and community achievements.

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL 13

BUSINESS CULTURE

Sir Stuart Etherington

©episode1

©NICHOLAS RAZZELL

to improve the lives of others.

Simon Murdoch

ber organisations. Sir Stuart boasts an impressive list of

Lincoln Crawford

anaging partner of successful investto chair any major com-

back in the eighties. Community are also among his many othScience.

online book retailer.

vests in early-stage UK technology companies. entrepreneurial skills.

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©thirdsector

ment sector soon after as a senior invest-

BUSINESS

Young Journalist of the year 2014

Alan Selby Selby spent his two years at Brunel embraced in an impressive balancing act: he studied for his MA in journalism, worked part time at a local restaurant and found the time to intern at some of the nations’ most prestigious publications. He now writes for the Mirror. Here he talks to Amelie Heules about how a little hard work goes a long way.

Alan Selby, 26, is a reporter for the Daily Mirror. Just one year after his graduation he was appointed ‘Student Journalist of the Year’ by the National Council for the Training of Journalists’ (NCTJ). This was while he was travelling across the country with the Mirror trainee scheme. Selby then went on to win Trinity Mirror Young Journalist of the Year in 2014. How did he get there? The right combination is apparently a mix between ‘luck’ and ‘hard work’. “I was very very lucky, because if I hadn’t been offered this place at the Mirror then I don’t know where I would be”, said Alan as soon as we started talking. But there is more related to the second element, the hard work, in his story. “I was doing the course part time. I did the masters over two years. So I obviously had time to work part time in a restaurant, go two or three days a week to Brunel and do work experience”, said Alan. He was one of the journalism students that you see as a commuter, bent over their shorthand work on the tube each morning. “Four hours of exercise a day”, he confesses, “just to make sure I would pass my NCTJ”. The NCTJ is the reason he chose Brunel. “I think I’ve always wanted to do print”, said Alan and to do print having your NCTJ is a necessity. “Brunel taught me anyway that you can’t focus on just one thing.” In 2013, he was appointed NNUK TV student video-journalist of the year. The biggest mistake for Alan would have been to focus completely on classes and forget about the real world outside. “I did work placements at the Independent, Press Gazette, Politics Home and others. I think I completed 600 applications in a year… They care a lot about work experience”, he said. Previous work experience has been fundamental in getting the place on the Mirror Trainee scheme. “I knew that the trainee scheme was coming back and so when I was at Press Gazette I asked if I could do a piece about it and interview the man who is now my boss, who would interview me for my job. So in that occasion did the interview for the Mirror he introduced me to the other people as the one who wrote the piece for Press Gazette”, explained Alan, “it worked quite well”. Would you call him sneaky? Alan would say it in a different way, “you dent. Just go for it. You can’t be modest looking for job. There is too much competition. You put yourself down if you are modest.”

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ENTERTAINMENT Among other events, Snoddy covered

A trip down memory lane

Uxbridge and the mass arrival of students. “I remember my news editor thought it was very interesting that a University was coming to Uxbridge, and it deserved a lot of

Raymond Snoddy

I went down there a lot whenever stuff and which he describes as very embarrassing is when he was going to “I couldn’t understand a word of what the

CAMILLA BRUGRAND

As a trainee at the Middlesex Advertiser, one

The broadcaster and author says he has been wondering over the years how the University turned out in the end and what changes had been made.

journalistic tasks was to cover the opening of Brunel University in 1966.

have always wanted to try tennis. astonished by the high quality of the

he former media editor at The Times everything had undergone an enormous and The Financial Times recalls the total contrast from last year’s visit to

“

ago. “It was totally astonishing how the scale Ray’s career as a journalist started after he saw an ad for trainee journalists in Uxbridge. He got on the 207 bus and

“A great thing about the University is that during the recession students managed to get jobs because of the close links with the industry and the fact that lectures encourage

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Brunel students managed to get jobs because of the close links with the industry and the fact that lectures encourage students to take on work experience

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©David Woods

because I was afraid of not getting the

ENTERTAINMENT

From journalist to playwright Tom Stoppard

EFCHARIS SGOUROU

Sir Tom Stoppard (Tomas Straussler) is a writer and producer mostly known for the academy award winning Shakespeare in Love (1998), Brazil (1985) an Anna Karenina (2012).

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©yalerep.org

e was born in Czechoslovakia and moved to Britain with his family at the age of nine. He started his career in 1954 as a journalist in England, but soon he realised that writing plays would be the right thing for him, so he moved to London to chase his dream. In 1978, Stoppard was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire ) and he became an honorary graduate from Brunel University in 1979.

For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eightyear-old child. A child knows what is fair and isn’t fair, and justice derives from that knowledge

Bindya Solanki

A British Asian actress was born on 24th May, 1974. She comes from Southend on Sea, the seaside town in Essex. Bindya graduated from Brunel University in 1995 with a BA degree in Drama.

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Stoppard wrote many screenplays that aimed to create awareness of important ideas. His work on human rights and political freedom is considered inspirational. One of his most famous phrases was “For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eightyear-old child. A child knows what is fair and isn’t fair, and justice derives from that knowledge”. The writer recently announced his comeback as a playwright with his new play “The hard problem”. Being aware of the generation gap crisis, he had to dumb down his script and rewrite “The hard problem” to make it easier for the audiences. or even cutting them completely was one of his methods to be appealing to younger audience. The critics have praised his work for having plenty of body and soul and that’s the result of hard work.

CHENGLING CHI

©priyamulji.com

indya is now in BBC Asian Network’s Silver Street, playing Mindy, a sassy events manager. She played roles in ITV children’s programme My Parents Are Aliens in 1999, BBC drama Sweet Revenge and Sky One’s Dream Team in 2001. Her best-known role is Nita Mistry in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders (2001-2003). Bindya has also played many stage roles including Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at the English Shakespeare Company, Pramila in The Deranged Marriage in 2004 and Frehia in Mercy Fine in 2006. In a press report, executive-producer Louise Berridge commented “Dean and Bindya have contributed an enormous amount to the programme.” However, we feel that the characters have reached the end of their natural course in the show, and they will both be leaving in Spring 2003” It is always sad to be saying goodbye to a good double act, so we will be leaving the door open for both characters”.

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL

ENTERTAINMENT

Lucy Verasamy By Norah Lindsay

A Sky News site was named after her

ucy Verasamy currently works as a weather forecaster for the ITV News channel. She graduated with a BSc (Hons) degree in Geography from Brunel University in 2001.

Lee Mack By Will Jamieson

He made it from studying Drama to actually performing on stage.

up performances. “It was during my time as a student at Brunel that I started performing stand-up comedy,” Mack said. “I was worried that of such an academic institution, but they couldn’t have been any more supportive, regularly letting me turn part of their building into a stand-up comedy club where I performed many of my early gigs.” He joked that as an alumnus of Brunel University, “it suggests that I might be able to build an internal combustion engine. I can’t of course, I did Drama, but I can represent one through interpretative dance which is obviously better.” Mack is a regular panellist on Have I Got News For You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI, and performed at the Royal Variety Performance and at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace.

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“I just stopped playing records and started taking calls on air. The management were in another country and didn’t seem bothered. I doubt they were listening. They probably couldn’t get reception”, says Abbot. Since then, he has presented shows for most of the reputable radio companies. He is well known for his programs at Talk Radio, and more recently, at Real Radio and Planet Rock. In October 1988, Abbot launched the new BBC service for London BBC GLR. He presented the breakfast show for a year. He then returned to VMR, where he stayed until 1993. Nick’s most famously known for his light hearted phone-in based shows about anything and everything. What you did today or who you did over the weekend, see anything good on TV?.. It is believed that Abbot air. These days Nick does a slightly more serious show on LBC but with some of the old Abbot humour thrown in when the opportunity arises.

ee Mack is a stand-up comedian, best known for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out and as a team captain on the comedy panel show Would I Lie to You? Graduating from Brunel in Drama with Film and TV studies in 1996, not only did he meet his wife Tara at the university, his time at Brunel also inspired him to take the plunge into comedy. As part of his degree he set up and ran a comedy night, for which he not only booked professional comedians but also

upper second-class degree in psychology. Presenting on a number of radio stations in the UK, he has got over 30 years experience in journalism. Abbot’s passion for radio started at Radio Brunel. After graduating he continued as a Virgin Megastore DJ. In early 1987, he joined Radio Luxembourg to present an overnight talk show.

After her studies and before being the main lady for ITV News weather, Veraswas as a forecaster at Press Association for four years. Lucy also became a regular weather presenter for the Sky News channel and she answered questions put forward by the general public regarding climate change in a feature on the Sky News website, entitled Climate Clinic - Ask Lucy in 2007.

Nick Abbott By Olga Chiruk

“I just stopped playing records and started taking calls on air.”

ick Abbot, current broadcaster at LBC, famous for his late-night show on Friday and Saturday, graduated from Brunel University with an

How can I tune in? LBC 97.3, Fridays & Saturdays, 10:00pm1:00am FM: 97.3FM in the South East AM: 1152AM in the South East DAB: On the Digital 1 mux across the UK Sky: Channel 0112 Virgin Media: Channel 973 Internet: www.lbc.co.uk Podcast: lbc.audioagain.com

ENTERTAINMENT

FRANCIS FRENCH

PATRICIA HODGE

Francis TV adverts French based graduated on stolen from ideas Brunel are so in 1997 commonplace with a PGCE that and Private since has Eye has become a regular an author item devoted specialising to the in space phenomenon. flight history. This endless He believes recycling his time of ideas at Brunel reached was aa,peak “great ofspringboard blatancy when to focus artist Gillian on informal Wearing science complained education.” that His a Saatchi biggestTV achievement advert for VW to date was based is his role on one as co-author of her artworks of onethat of the sheApollo had sold astronaut’s to Charles memoirs. Saatchi.

TV adverts based on stolen ideas are so commonplace that Privateher for Eyeroles has ina shows regular such item as devoted Rumpole to the of the phenomenon. Bailey, Jemima This endlessInvestigates Shore recycling ofand, ideasmost reached recently, a peak Miranda. of blatancy “I wanted when to artist be Gillian an actress Wearing but itcomplained was so alienthat to everybody’s a Saatchi TVthinking advert she for VW toldwas the based on Times. Financial one of her artworks that she had sold to Charles Saatchi.

SHARON HORGAN

Dave Smith

Sharon Horgan is an Irish writer, actress and comedienne that graduated in English and American studies at Brunel University in 2000. Her latest project is the Channel 4 sitcom, Catastrophe. Her breakthrough was only one year after graduating when she won the BBC New Comedy Award.

Graduated from Brunel in 2002 with a BA in music, he now predominantly a freelance musician. His current work involves playing percussion for contemporary dance classes, playing drum kit for a pirate band and being half of a junk percussion duo. Two of these jobs came directly through contacts from Brunel.

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL

SCIENCE CULTURE

THE

NAKED

SCIENTIST Hannah Critchlow Dr. Hannah Critchlow was named one of the top 100 UK scientists by the Science Council in 2014 for her work in science communication. FEDERICA DE CARIA

bachelor degree in Cell and Molecular Biology in 2003 at Brunel University, then Cambridge, the BBC Naked Scientist and a nomination for Brunel Alumna of the Year 2014. Wouldn’t you call a person like this successful? Hannah is too modest to raise more than a smile, saying ‘thanks’. She is a woman in science and we asked her how she got there. “I think I got interested in Cell Biology when I was doing my A levels, because it’s so visual. The idea that you have these billions of cells, which look a particular way and that have a particular job to do. And they make you as a person. It just makes everything make sense. It’s a very visual type of biology”, she said. However, Hannah didn’t go straight for her undergraduate degree after her A level.

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“I was going to go to Glasgow and I had a place secured there, but then I decided I wanted to take a year out and work as a assistant nurse in a psychiatric hospital in Northamptonshire”, she said. It was during her time working as a nurse that she was advised to go for molecular genetics, a dynamic area for the future of biology and neuroscience, by a “The same family friend also said it would have been really useful to go on a placement during my actual undergraduate degree, to get some experience, to work in the real world, and Brunel basically offered both these things. At that time, Glasgow didn’t. So I changed and came to Brunel”, explained Hannah. Giggling she told me about staying in

SCIENCE Clifton Hall, the complex right by the river. placement at the beginning of her second year. “I did two split six month placements. Most of my other friends were doing a oneyear placement. So I basically came back after six months and lived in a random house, just up on the hill, near the petrol station above the chemist”, she said. She remembers every single detail, “The flat was absolutely dilapidated, run down. It was great because it was horrendous. I moved in with some random people, since I was coming back at this funny time of year.” ‘“We were all so skint, probably not spending our money very wisely. Once, as we wanted to have a really posh night out, but we couldn’t get to London because we didn’t have enough money, we decided to get dressed up and have an evening party at the house. We bought dresses from a charity shop and we had this really bad

fake version of champagne”, she laughed. But Hannah was as fun as she was driven and during her undergraduate degree she was worked hard. “I split my placement between my second year and my third year. I did six months in my second year and then another six months in another place in ham, in south London. I was working on a way of producing a vaccine for herpes. Sexy. Really sexy”, she said. nah met the woman who gave her the secPhD at Cambridge. “I had access to a unit that was looking at psychiatry. I harassed this poor lady and then I managed to get a work placement with them for the next six months”. Hannah and determination sound almost the same. Cambridge and Brunel were very different and there is something she learned

““

I was working on a way of producing a vaccine for herpes. Sexy. Really sexy.

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during her undergrad she still brings with her. “Brunel is the kind of environment where people work together, there is less competition. Now when I go to neuroscience conferences, it’s pretty much the same”, said Hannah. She remembers everything of her years in Uxbridge, even of her inspiring lecturers. “Instead of giving you a lot of information that then you had to regurgitate at the exam, the lecturer gave us more kind of practical experiments. Instead of following a sheet of things that we had to do, he actually made you think. It was just a very creative lecture”, she said. In 2014, Hannah was named one of the top 100 UK scientists by the Science Council for her work in science communication and for her work with the BBC broadcast Naked Scientist. “I went on a communication course while I was doing my PhD and the communication course you had to do a practical. So I approached the Naked Scientist. Then I saw this grant application and I thought, can we get a grant application in together? We managed to get it”, she told me, like it was the easiest thing in the world. “Last week, I started a really exciting project within university here. It’s a podcast that runs up to the election”, she said. Hannah’s projects never stop, and neither does she.

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SCIENCE

Solveiga Pakstate Solveiga Pakstaite - Bachelor in Industrial Design (Graduated 2014)

AMELIE HEULS

©Solveiga Pakstaite

One question led to another. It all started at her six month work placement in her third year at Brunel University out ‘what the problems are in public transport for blind people’.

he young designer, Solveiga Pakstaite, thought: “How do blind people know when their food expires? They cannot read the expiry date.” People who can see take it for granted, while those without sight can only rely on their senses. The result is too much waste, so there was Solveiga’s dissertation project. She knew that no business would support a product for a minority group, so she took the matters in to her own hands and invented ‘Bump Mark’, an organic gel that is integrated in to the food

packaging. This product is suitable for everyone but vegetarians, due to its gelatin content, which, like gummy bears, is made of animal by-products. As gelatin is organic, the gel’s consistency changes as it decays, and reveals little plastic bumps on the bottom of the label when the food reaches its sell-by date.

The reaction to “Bump Mark” has all in all been very positive, because people hate to waste. Solveiga and her team are also exploring other gels without gelatin in order to develop a product suitable for vegetarians. Solveiga is currently awaiting the patent for ‘Bump Mark’ invention against the tons of annual food waste. Thanks to Brunel University, she took her project seriously, and to another level. After winning the James Dyson Award in September last year, one thing led to another and she has now created her own business, learning as she goes: “Ask me what I do in two weeks and I can tell you, two months, no idea. Brunel didn’t teach me how to put a product on the market.” After being invited to talk at TEDex and participating at a conference in Hong Kong, her journey is still not over, but it did not come without a price. “I have never felt so lost nor so excited in my life,” Solveiga said, at last week’s TEDex talk, and next week’s conference in Hong Kong that Clive Gee, Brunel’s Director of Development and Alumni Relations, recommended her for.

©Solveiga Pakstaite

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SCIENCE

Electronic engineer by profession, astronomer by birth Martin Mobberley For Martin Mobberley, science is his religion and greatest passion. He has spent most of his life studying the sky and obtaining various images of space, from meteor showers to solar eclipses. Although Mobberley devoted 26 years to electronics, astronomy is what he became known for.

OLGA CHIRUK

Moon landing. His interest in astronomy was fuelled by the astronomer Patrick Moore’s TV appearances, who he later wrote a biography about. Despite his passion for space, the talented astronomer chose to study engineering at Brunel University. Mobberley said he was good at maths and physics at school, but in the ‘70s there were few careers in astronomy, and engineering was a subject he “could have a long term career with that would pay the bills”. “Being a student in the late 1970s was pretty good”, Mobberley said. He received a grant and sponsorship from Thorn Electrical Industries, who he had worked for during his industrial periods. Students didn’t have much money trouble on an engineering sandwich course as they often had sponsors

is love of astronomy and the mysteries of outer-space started at a young age. At the age of 11 he joined the British Astronomical Association, and has held various posts there since the early 1980s, culminating in his presidency public lecture on the imminent Apollo 11

PAN YUE

am graduated in 2013 with a BA in Industrial Design and Technology at Brunel University. He is now working in Aqua Power Technologies where he could “do anything he wants”. He is

Suffolk, right in his back garden. Every evening he observes the sky through his biggest telescope, which is controlled from a computer inside the house. “However, these days I frequently take images remotely via observatories in New Mexico and Siding Spring Australia, via the internet. It is cloudy most of the time here!” says Mobberley.

into the sea at 50 metres, whereas normal devices only work in shallow water. This enables the generator to reap more energy because larger waves normally take place at that depth. Etherington came up with the idea while

Sam Etherington Sam Etherington, the inventor of “Renewable Wave Power”, won the James Dyson Award in 2013, and he is a candidate for the British Engineering Hall of Fame.

from the industry. Many even left university with money in the bank. What holds the highest importance is his 46 year long hobby is astronomy. He has written 10 astronomy books, three children’s space books, hundreds of articles and given hundreds of talks. He has his own observatory in the English village

“The hard part is sitting down pretending in your mind that the device is there on the water floating. How different parts interact each other.” Etherington said many developments based on the same concept do not completely rewrite the whole concept. currently working on three projects, one of which is the wave power project. Etherington invented a multi-axis wave generator, which is designed to be placed

for your degree. It can be so much more. Anything you think of, anything you design has values.” Etherignton added.

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL

SCIENCE

Yash Gupta By Jasmine Rapson

ash Gupta is currently the Dean of the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in Baltimore and graduated from Brunel in 1975 with a master’s degree in Production Management. Gupta has an extensive history in academia serving as the dean of business schools at four major research universities for over 17 years. Gupta was born in India but completed his schooling in both India and England, achieving a Ph.D. in Management Sciences from the University of Bradford. After several years as a senior conSCIENCE sultant with London-based Coopers & Lybrand, Gupta accepted a position as assistant professor at the University of New-Foundland.

Eric Hunter By Sairah Masud

ric Hunter completed a PhD in Tumour Immunology at Brunel University in 1972 and decided to relocate overseas in order to continue with his studies and ultimately pursue his career in medical science. It was at the University of Southern California, where he completed his postdoctoral degree, that he pioneered molecular genetics approaches to examine retrovirus replication. Now working from an internationally-recognised laboratory, Hunter’s recent medical undertakings have involved investigating the HIV virus in various African countries with an aim to develop novel vaccines. Up until 2004, he was the founding director of the University of Alabama’s AIDS research centre; having nurtured it for sixteen years, it is now one of the leading

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AIDS research institutions in the United States. Currently living in Greater Atlanta, USA, Hunter is a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Emory University where he is also co-director for AIDS research. His prominence within the academia of medical science is apparent in his titles as: Editor-in-Chief of the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses Journal; and Chair of the AIDS Vaccine Research Subcommittee.

“Up until 2004, he was the founding director of the University of Alabama’s AIDS research centre; having nurtured it for sixteen years, it is now one of the leading AIDS research institutions in the United States.”

He was awarded the University of Louisville President’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity in 1991. From 1992 to 1999, he was the Dean and Professor of Management in the College of Business and Administration at the University of Colorado in Denver. During his time here, Gupta turned a young, relatively unknown institution into Colorado’s fastest growing research centres, a new board of advisors and a prominent reputation in the Denver business community. Gupta also renovated the Marshal School of Business at the University of Southern California, developing an innovation-focused MBA curriculum.

SCIENCE

Shelina Permalloo By Grace Witherden

helina Permalloo graduated with a degree in Psychology from Brunel University in 2004. After she graduated she got a job in project management, for this, she credits her course and the sandwich placement she did during University. She said: “It allowed me to really get a foot in the was a really senior role for a fresh out of Uni student, and my degree really directed ity, diversity and Project management which I stayed in for around 9 years before I changed my career and entered MasterChef.”

“At that time, the campus was completely design focused at Runnymede and I immediately felt at home with both the physical working environment as well as the people I met that

day.”

After she won MasterChef in 2012, Shelina’s life changed completely, and now three years on, she has made frecooking, and has written a number of successful cookery books. You might think the career a shock for Shelina, but she says the only fear was ‘fear of the unknown’. “I think the hardest thing was fear of the unknown. But Shelina is proof that if you have a dream, even if it’s miles away from your current career, anything is possible. “Put your heart & soul into it and dedicate time to learning what it is you want to do.” Shelina’s cookery books can be bought on her website at: Shelinapermalloo.com.

Sam Weller By Olga Chiruk

am Weller studied Bsc in Industrial Design with Professional Development at Brunel University and graduated in 2007. He won a D&AD award for his major project Cosy All the Time at Brunel, a prestigious Red Dot design award for the Onzo Home Energy monitoring system. After graduating from Brunel University, Weller enjoyed developing medical products, food packaging designs, electronic products, telephones, furniture, installa-

tions and more recently lighting. Lots of time every day he spends in his workshop at home designing products, great way to relax. Remembering how he got to the university, he says he was advised by his teacher “a very practically minded man” to visit the Brunel open day. “At that time, the campus was completely design focused at Runnymede and I immediately felt at home with both the physical working environment as well as the people I met that day, in particular a lecture given by a Professor Blue Ramsay. He told a great story about a brand extension project for Mercedes which I still remember. mentor was Paul Turnock, or how he is generally know by students, PT. I learnt a lot from him about design process and how it is integrated into our daily life”, says Weller.

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL 25

SPORT CULTURE

Perri Shakes Drayton “ You do have days when you doubt whether you’ll be back but some athletes have done it in the past. I will be back, and I just have tokeep saying that to myself

”

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ges

SPORT

The Olympics in 2016 will show if the young athlete managed to put all mental troubles behind after her knee injury three years ago. HAGEN REINERS

he is known as the rising star, the British hope for Olympic medals. Only now she is 26 already. In

championship in Moscow in 2013 she suffered from a serious knee injury. Since then she has not competed. Will she be back? Before her injury she rose to winning gold medals at major events on European level. setting a new record time at the English School Championships. She became the second just after famous Sally Gunnel. Her streak suddenly ended with the accident as she had to momentarily step back from the sport she loves to recover. “You do have days when you doubt whether you’ll be back but some athletes have done it in the past. I will be back, and I just have to keep saying that to myself”, she said in a BBC Interview. “Now I’m just trying to learn how to walk and get my body stronger.” When Perri was on top of her game she had Scottish Eilidh Child who took over the lead after Perri’s injury. Just recently Perri has vowed to put Child “back in the shade” and announced her comeback. Perri Shakes-Drayton left all mental troubles behind her and is eager to rise higher than before. The Olympics in 2016 will show.

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL

SPORTS

“

LEGENDS of SPORTS

I was working hard to make it as a top-level footballer when most kids are out there getting their education, so it’s satisfying to be able

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Tony Adams

sion titles, three FA Cups, two Football League Cups, a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and three FA Community Shields. About his time at Brunel University, Adams told Matthew Baker that ‘going into a class full of students was not easy for me’. “It’s been very humbling, in fact. But I’m here to learn about sport science, so ultimately you have to leave your pride and ego behind. Adams explained that the University experience was humbling because he used to be a decent footballer, but at Brunel he had to recognise that he was average in some subjects. “I had to ask young members of the class to explain A-level maths and biology concepts to me. I suppose what I bring to the group is the applied stuff in terms of experience.”

Tony Adams

Football star Tony Adams was a defender for Arsenal for 22 years before he ended his playing career and went on to graduate with a MBE Sports Science degree at Brunel University in 2006. . He was appointed manager of Wycombe Wanderers in November 2003, but resigned a year later due to personal reasons. A close friend told the BBC in 2004 that Adams was forced to defer his sports science degree at Brunel University in order to take over at Wycombe, but eager to complete his studies. “I’ve got the experience but I need the knowledge. There’s no British Premiership manager with a sport science degree. As far as I know, only Wenger has one,” Adams told Times Highest Education in 2003. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club’s own fans. He was also included in the Football League 100 Legends. hard to make it as a top-level footballer when most kids are out do this.” During his long Arsenal career, Adams won four top-flight divi-

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Audley Harrison

He stands for relieve to British boxing fans for it was 32 years since a British boxer won an Olympic gold medal until Audley did it in Sydney in 2000. Consequently he became the great hope for British boxing. It was the perfect time for the “A Force” to turn professional. The queen had just awarded him an MBE and the BBC gave him a 1 million pound contract for broadwas supposed to rise to stardom and become world champion rather sooner than later. Only people forgot that like all professional boxers, Audley had to build up his stats and learn the pro general reaction when Audley could not live up to the crowd´s unrealistic expectations. It took many years, but eventually Audley fought the best of the world, only he lost. Still he remains one of Britain´s greatest. The biggest highlight of his professional career was in 2010 European Heavyweight Title against Michael Sprott, who had alAudley was far behind on the referee´s cards and Sprott pinned him against the ropes. If Audley lost this, his career would most certainly be over. Yet, he circled around his opponent catching

SPORTS

left hook to the head perfectly and scored a knock out.

Mike Coughlan

Mike Coughlan was Chief Designer for the McLaren Formula One team from 2002 to 2007. Then he switched to Wil-

2011 to 2013. Mr Coughlan has been a racing fan since his father took him to watch a race at Brands Hatch when he was 10 years old. Then he has a strong interest in engineering, and studied Mechanical Engineering at Brunel University graduating in 1981. 1984, when he was 25 years old. He worked on the Type 95 car of 1984 in Lotus’s F1 design team. As the team reoganised in 1990, B191, then he moved to Tyrrell. ation before moving to Arrows as deputy technical director in 1997, where he developed his A23 car in 2002. Four years later, his A23 car became the Super Aguri team’s SA05 racecar. Mclaren and worked as chief designer for the team between 2002 and 2007. Between 2007 and 2011, Mr Couglan had a brief stay in Stefan Grand Prix in late 2009 when the Serbian team tried to put together an entry into F1 for the 2010 season. In the same year, he moved to America to help design the Ocelot tactical vehicle for Force Protection. Mr Coughlan was then appointed as the director of vehicle design for NASCAR team Michael Waltrip Racing. On 9 November 2013, Richard Childress Racing hired Mike Coughlan as the team’s new Technical Director.

Eniola Aluko

After graduating Brunel in 2008 with a law degree, Eniola Aluko went on to become a professional footballer for Chelsea Ladies and the women’s England team. Aluko was named ‘Young Player of the Year’ at the FA Awards in 2003. In 2012 London Olympics, she represented Team GB in football 50th Anniversary of BBC’s Match of the Day. As well as being a talented and acclaimed female footballer she is training to become a solicitor at Lee and Thompson.

Kate Walsh

Kate Walsh is the captain for Great Britain and England hockey player. She won Hockey Writers Club UK Player of the Year twice, and she was named Great Britain Hockey Athlete of the Year. She has made more than 330 appearances for her country. London 2012 was the Mancunian’s third Olympics and Glasgow also selected to be Team England’s flag bearer for the closing ceremony. She has owned 16 medals including a Gold medal in Champions Challenge. In 2003, Kate married her long-term teammate, Helen Richardson. They grew up together, became world-class hockey players together and won Olympic medals together.

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL

SPORTS

Catherine Murphy

Hope Powell is an English former international footballer, who was the coach of the England women’s national football team and the Great Britain women’s Olympic football team until August 2013. By Amelie

owell played 66 games for England and matched 35 goals in her career,

the young age of 11 Millwall Lionesses and won the FA Woman’s Cup twice, including the league and cup win in 1996 as Two years later, the Football Association led the team at the 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013 editions of the UEFA Women’s

der of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Birthday the English Football Hall of Fame in recawarded an Honorary Doctorate by the

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was graduated from Brunel University in 1997 with a degree in law. By Grace

er international athletics career spanned from 1993 till 2006 during which she won six national titles over 200 meters and 400 meters. She also completed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Catherine retired from Athletics in 2006 and now lives with partner and two children, working in London.

Lizzy Janes (Physiotherapy,2006) Club: Herts Phoenix/North Herts Gender: Female Date of Birth: 28/04/1985 Age Group: SEN County: Hertfordshire Region: East Nation: England Lizzy Janes (previously Lizzy Hall) is an international athlete competing as a 3000m cross country runner and steeplechaser. She represented Great Britain at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and competed at the European Athletic Championships twice.

CONTRIBUTORS

LanuchPad 2015 contributors from MA International Journalism and MA Journalism

Olga Chiruk

Camilla Brugrand

Ada Chi

Federica De Caria

Alasdair Lane

Priya Kingsley-Adam

Norah Lindsay

Amelie Heuls

Grace Witherden

Sairah Masud

Efcharis Sgourou

Hagen Reiners

Yue Pan

Will Jamieson

Jasmine Rapson

Sarah Barratt

Muna Abdi

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL 31

PERSPECTIVE

1962

stablished in the wake of the midcentury Robbins higher education report, construction on Brunel University started in 1962. Adopting a Brutalist

Sheppard Robson were commissioned to design the campus.

1977

opening. With an increasing amount of academic resources being stored online, today’s building is far more open-plan than it was in the 1970s. Following pressure from the students’ union, the library recently introduced a policy of 24 hour, seven days a week access.

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PERSPECTIVE

1972

ith each successive round of development new buildings have sprung up on Brunel’s once ubiquitous open spaces. In the 1970s rolling grassland extended from the campus’s eastern side; today the area houses the Brunel Business School, the Department of Clinical Sciences and the University’s prized Indoor Athletics Centre, which hosted Team Jamaica during the 2012 Olympic Games.

1967

unning East to West, Brunel’s central concourse extends the length of the campus. Today’s School of Engineering and Design, based in the Michael Sterling building, stands on the site of the 1960s students’ union.

50 YEARS OF BRUNEL

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50 YEARS OF BRUNEL