Alumni News Summer Edition 2024 by University of Suffolk

ALUMNI NEWS

Summer Edition 2024

FOREWARD

Six years ago I was relatively new as ViceChancellor and wrote my first introduction to the Alumni Newsletter, focussing on what the next stage of the University of Suffolk journey was looking like and encouraging our alumni to engage for their own development, as well as supporting current students in relation to careers and employability.

Now I am about to close my time at the University and am pleased once again to be able to write my final introduction to the Alumni Newsletter. Not only has the University changed but I am sure that you and I have changed and developed over the intervening period too and hopefully in all cases for the better.

In this edition we are focussing on the recent growth and development of the University, highlighting the Civic University Agreement, Economic Impact Report and the partnership with Ipswich Town Football Club (ITFC), as well as highlighting some new postgraduate opportunities, some recent alumni success and Connection Week.

All of these demonstrate the growth, development and, most importantly, the impact of the University to our economy, our culture, our environment and society more broadly. I am incredibly proud of how we have navigated our way to these achievements through many challenges, including Brexit, Covid, a cost-ofliving crisis, and now the significant financial instability across the higher education sector. This has culminated in our fantastic position in the Complete University Guide league table where we were 129th in 2018 as a new entrant and are now 58th — up a whopping 71 places and in particular noting our success in graduate prospects, which is highly important for the future of all our students.

We have grown in all areas of our work; our nationally leading approach to how we teach and learn, our internationally recognised research

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profile, our growing business engagement agenda and recruitment of international students, as well as the wider partnerships we have with partners in further and higher education, with private and international providers through transnational education routes too. We have also developed our apprenticeship portfolio, our postgraduate study routes and new curriculum, such as subjects relating to health and digital. We have developed our estate and in particular our successful approach to sustainability which is so vital for all of our futures. We feel like a ‘mature university’, punching above our weight in our sector and in our region and being recognised as an anchor institution in our area.

I hope, like me, you are proud of your University and as an alumni you take every opportunity to

connect with us as we support your ongoing development in your chosen career; to connect and support current students in their learning around employment; and that you are able to ‘walk tall’ as an alumni of a very successful University of Suffolk, being our ambassadors wherever you go.

I wish you happy reading of this issue and success in your future careers — and remember we are here to help whenever you need us.

Professor Helen Langton Vice-Chancellor

LATEST NEWS

Civic University Agreement

On Tuesday 23 April the University signed a Civic University Agreement which commits the institution to continuing its contribution to the wellbeing and prosperity of people in Suffolk.

"This is the start of the next stage of development of our university and our area, and we look forward to working with our students, staff, alumni and partners as we expand our community partnerships to shape a brighter future for our county and beyond."

— Professor Gurpreet Jagpal Pro

Vice-Chancellor Business and Entrepreneurship

Economic Impact Report

Launched in April 2024, the University has demonstrated its significant impact on the economy and communities in Ipswich, Suffolk and the UK in a new independent study, the Economic Impact Report.

The study was published by BiGGAR Economics, a consultancy which provides independent economic analysis, who reported that the University of Suffolk is a major driver of growth in Ipswich and Suffolk.

In 2021–2022, the University of Suffolk had an income of £135 million, 606 members of staff and 4,946 full-time students in Ipswich. In this time the total economic impact generated was:

£237 million Gross Value Added (GVA) and 1,660 jobs in Ipswich

£332 million GVA and 2,740 jobs in Suffolk

£484 million GVA and 3,760 jobs in the East of England

£862 million GVA and 13,570 jobs in the UK as a whole

"As an anchor institution in Ipswich and Suffolk, it is important that the University of Suffolk delivers real-world impacts in our communities."

— Professor Helen Langton

Vice-Chancellor

Launch of new Spark Fund

As part of the University’s Ignite Your Spark transition programme of support, we are proud to have launched the Spark Fund. The Spark Fund will provide financial assistance to students on the Ignite Your Spark programme of support, enabling them to purchase essentials such as books, stationery, contribute towards travel costs to and from university, bills or whatever the student’s needs are at the time.

The Spark Fund will be supported by generous donations from our alumni, staff, supporters and friends. If you would like to support the Spark Fund, either directly or through fundraising activities, please contact us at giving@uos.ac.uk.

Partnership announced between University and ITFC

The University of Suffolk was announced as the Official University Partner for Ipswich Town Football Club in February this year. The new partnership will see two of the county’s leading institutions work together, sharing ideas and a commitment to champion pride in the county.

Ipswich Town Football Club have since been promoted to the Premier League, and the University is excited to see how our partnership develops over the next three years.

"We are delighted to be partnering with the University of Suffolk. Both the Football Club and University share many of the same values and both take great pride in showcasing the best of our county to the wider world, which we both believe to be a vital part of our roles within our community."

— Mark Ashton Ipswich Town CEO

Suffolk Salutes: Celebrating Alumni Excellence

University of Suffolk alumni have gone on to achieve incredible things. From exciting careers to impactful research to making a difference in their local communities, our alumni continue to demonstrate the transformative power of education.

We have recently launched Suffolk Salutes: Celebrating Alumni Excellence, an opportunity for us to celebrate the achievements of our graduates whilst also fostering a sense of belonging on our Ipswich Campus.

For its pilot year, we asked all staff and students to nominate alumni for these unique awards. The deadline for nominations has now passed and our panel will be meeting shortly to consider all nominations. We will open up nominations to our wider alumni audience in the project’s second year and we hope that our alumni will nominate their fellow graduates to receive this award.

We are delighted that we have sourced sponsorship for these awards, showing how our supporters are keen to encourage our alumni and celebrate their success.

University announces three-year partnership with local festival

Brighten The Corners Festival took place on 14 and 15 June, following the announcement of a three-year partnership with University of Suffolk. Through the partnership, the University aims to give students unique opportunities to engage with the thriving music and arts scene in the region.

"Partnering with the University of Suffolk opens up new avenues for us to expand our reach and bring the joy of music to a broader audience."

— Joe Bailey Brighten The Corners

CEO

If you or your employers would like to sponsor a plaque for £250 for Suffolk Salutes 2025, please contact us on giving@uos.ac.uk.

The winners will be announced soon and will be awarded with a plaque at a special awards ceremony in September. The plaques will be displayed around the campus, highlighting specific areas of the University which inspired and supported the winners whilst they were students, helping the University to further create a sense of belonging on our Ipswich Campus.

READ THE FULL STORY

Credit Rue Hackett

University of Suffolk rises 22 places in national league table

The University of Suffolk is the joint highest climber in the Complete University Guide League table 2025 — shooting up 22 places.

The Guide now puts the University of Suffolk in 58th position out of 130 institutions and is the third time in a row that the University has climbed by 20 places or more from 106th two years ago.

"We are absolutely delighted to see the University of Suffolk move even further up the Complete University Guide league table. The people of Suffolk can be proud of the achievements of their university and students can be confident in choosing us to study at as we support their futures."

— Professor Helen Langton Vice-Chancellor

Fundraising opportunities

The Alumni Relations and Development team aim to offer a variety of ways for our alumni to help the University raise funds. This year we have provided several opportunities including our Virtual Balloon Race in April.

We have spaces available at this year’s Ipswich half-marathon where brave members of staff will be taking on an incredible challenge and raising money for our Spark Fund. The event takes place on Sunday 22 September with a 13.1 mile route starting and finishing at Portman Road Stadium.

We have also secured spaces at this year’s Whole Hog event on Sunday 6 October. Spaces have been offered to both staff and alumni for this event, raising much-needed funds for our Spark Fund.

We still have places available for both of these activities, if you would like to take part please contact giving@uos.ac.uk

Fundraise for us

Are you running a marathon, taking part in a sponsored walk or planning a skydive?

If so, please consider fundraising for the University of Suffolk. All of the donations we receive go towards our charitable work, supporting students and our wonderful university community.

CONNECTION WEEK 2024

Connection Week took place between 29 April and 3 May. A week-long event providing opportunities for alumni and supporters to connect with the University, this year’s theme was ‘Connection is Community.’

A huge thank you to everyone who got involved this year. The week consisted of both online and in-person events and was designed according to feedback received through the Alumni Survey 2023. We aimed to focus the activities to fit well with the busy working lifestyles of our alumni who are a diverse and large audience from a wide geographical area.

The year’s primary activity included the Next Steps Postgraduate Open Event, the Honorary

Graduate and Supporters Drinks Reception and an internal staff launch and awareness-raising event. Also included were daily online live sessions, Suffolk Links and a Virtual Balloon Race, as well as a Waterfront Building foyer reception presence.

"We were really thrilled to be holding our second Connection Week. It is such an exciting time for us to celebrate our alumni and supporters, showcase what we do and engage with our vast university community."

— Kate Burgess Alumni Relations and Development Manager

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This year we were able to reach over 5,000 alumni across all of our activities and raised over £12,400 in donations. We look forward to running the event again in 2025.

If you have any feedback or ideas, please contact us — you don’t have to wait until Connection Week 2025 to contact us. Get in touch today on alumni@uos.ac.uk or visit uos.ac.uk/alumni.

Our Lunchtime Live sessions are still available on the links below:

How can our Careers, Employability and Enterprise team continue to support you?

Business Engagement and Entrepreneurship at University of Suffolk

Take your ambition further with PhD study

CPD and short courses at University of Suffolk

Take your next steps with postgraduate study

CELEBRATING OUR ALUMNI

Jasmin Taylor

BSc (Hons) Sports and Exercise Science, Class of 2020

Alumna Jaz Taylor has achieved her goal of becoming world number one in Telemark Skiing. Jaz has achieved more than 50 podium finishes since 2015. Telemark skiing includes alpine skiing, cross-country and ski-jumping elements.

Jaz recently won double Crystal Globes, both in Sprint and the Overall Crystal Globe for the 2023–2024 Telemark season.

Well done Jaz — we are all so proud of you!

Alison Dudeney

MA Creative and Critical Writing

Huge congratulations to alumna Alison Dudeney for recently being shortlisted to the final six for the 2024 Women’s Prize Discoveries programme.

Find out more about the course MA Creative and Critical Writing

"Thank you so much! Doing the MA Creative and Critical Writing at University of Suffolk was transformational for my writing."

— Alison Dudeney Alumna

Rachel Churcher

Author | tallerbooks.com

Rachel’s newest book, Angels, has been awarded a finalist medal in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards for a second time. The awards, announced in April 2024, are open to independently published and small-press authors worldwide, and each category is judged by readers in the target audience.

Well done Rachel!

"My book is aimed at Young Adult readers, most book awards are judged by adults, but winning a finalist medal in the Wishing Shelf Awards shows that keen teenage readers loved the novel. That’s a great boost for an author!"

— Rachel Churcher Alumna

Sammi Wong and Maria-Teodora Dragomir

BA (Hons) Graphic Design, Class of 2023

Two Graphic Design graduates have been recognised for their exceptional work after being longlisted for distinguished international prizes at the 2024 World Illustration Awards.

Known as one of the most prestigious competitions in the industry, the World Illustration Awards are a showcase for the best work being created globally by both professionals and emerging talent.

Well done Sammi and Maria, an amazing achievement!

Find out more about the World Illustration Awards

"This would have never happened without the magnificent assistance of my lecturers and support staff at the University, who continue to provide support and encouragement even after graduation."

— Sammi Wong Alumna

"My time at the University of Suffolk was nothing short of transformative. The support and guidance from my lecturers were instrumental in shaping me into the designer and illustrator I am today."

— Maria-Teodora Dragomir Alumna

DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL?

We are looking for more good news stories from our graduates.

If you would like us to share your journey, successes and experiences, contact us on alumni@uos.ac.uk — we love to hear from you!

Sammi

Maria-Teodora

OPPORTUNITIES AND EVENTS

Autumn Careers Fair

5 November 2024, 12.00–2.00pm, Waterfront Building

No booking required, all alumni are welcome. This is an excellent opportunity to research different sectors, boost your future skills and network with local and national employers.

Postgraduate Opportunities

Studying a postgraduate course can help you to further your career. The majority of our courses offer you a choice of full or part-time study options so you can balance work, life and study.

All graduates of University of Suffolk and previous or partner institutions are eligible for a 25% discount on fees for both postgraduate and PhD study.

Find out more about p ostgraduate study.

2nd in the East of England for graduate prospects

Complete University Guide 2025

Winner of the submissionbased award (careers and placements)

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2024

NEW COURSES

Degree apprenticeships

For many alumni, further or additional study is something that they might be considering for now or maybe a little down the line. From Childhood Studies to Creative and Critical Writing; Strategic People Management to Applied Cyber Security; History to the Executive MBA programmes; the University of Suffolk offers 39 high-quality postgraduate courses. It may surprise you to know that this includes a growing range of higher-level and degree apprenticeships which may suit you better.

If you have been put off further study because of the costs involved, apprenticeships offer you a way to undertake a higher qualification at no cost to you. Apprenticeships are paid for through the apprenticeship levy, a charge placed on all employers that can be used to fund an apprenticeship programme for employees. There is no charge to you as you learn while you earn.

So what is an apprenticeship? The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education defines them as “employment with training in a recognised occupation, involving both on- and off-the-job training and an independent endpoint assessment.” They offer a great way to further your education, in a discipline that is directly relevant to your career. They provide a fantastic opportunity to consolidate and contextualise your knowledge, whilst at the same time apply what you have learned in your day-to-day professional practice.

It may be that you are looking for a first or new role after university; don’t rule out apprenticeships as some are offered as standalone job roles. Alternatively, if you are looking for a CPD opportunity, take a look at the relevant standards and who offers them, find one that works for you and then speak to your line manager about whether your company would support you in enrolling.

Don’t worry that there won’t be an apprenticeship covering your role. There are 573 apprenticeships available with a further 111 in development. And you certainly won’t be alone in studying with other people of similar ages and qualifications. Over 750,000 people were undertaking an apprenticeship in 2022–2023 with 337,100 starting their courses

that year. Of those 112,900 (44%) were higher apprenticeships and 160,600 (48%) were 25+.

At University of Suffolk, we naturally hope that you would want to return to take your apprenticeship with us. As a Good Ofsted provider, the University has a proven track record in high-quality provision across its existing apprenticeship offer. Current apprenticeships include programmes across health and nursing, civil engineering, social work, digital and technology solutions and undergraduate and postgraduate business, and the University will be expanding its programmes across all areas to include sustainability, HR, supply chain, health and health care management in the near future.

If you are interested in finding out more about whether an apprenticeship could be the right next step for you, please take a look at our apprenticeships or contact apprenticeships@uos.ac.uk

If you would like to find out what apprenticeships are available near you, visit find an apprenticeship

MA Criminology

Dan Coxon Head of Apprenticeships

Have you considered further study in Criminology with our MA?

Our established MA Criminology programme has secured graduates highly-rewarding careers in the likes of policing, probation, youth justice and community services, helping them become confident and career-ready in the crime and justice sector.

The comprehensive programme equips students with the knowledge, skills and experience to thrive in the real world, including forging professional links to help students into their careers.

Our MA explores current theories, policies and practices in contemporary crime issues to give a detailed understanding and application of policy and practice in current societal harms.

This means you will learn the skills needed by crime and community safety organisations, such as learning how to analyse crime problems with a range of criminological lenses and develop and pursue a research agenda to gain expertise in your subject matter.

The course is facilitated in small groups working with accomplished practitioners and academics in a supportive environment, with teaching informed by nationally and internationally recognised experts in criminology.

The MA is led by a British Academy Innovation Fellow and utilises partnerships in community safety and criminal justice to co-produce solutions to the current challenges of modern slavery and criminal exploitation.

Students’ studies culminate in a dissertation project which makes a substantial and unique contribution to knowledge in the field and provides pathways to further doctoral studies and academia.

Graduates from the MA leave as confident and career-ready individuals who have forged professional contacts and go on to highly successful careers in the crime and justice industry.

As a postgraduate on this innovative and forward-looking MA, you will join a modern university which has quickly gained a strong reputation for teaching, contributing to international research, promoting fresh ideas and driving employability in your chosen careers.

Find out more about the course MA Criminology

David James Associate Professor

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