Network 2021

NETWORK UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

CREATING A LIFE-SAVING VACCINE DR MUSTAPHA BITTAYE LEADS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19

OUR BLACK HISTORY YEAR

CELEBRATING BLACK LIVES AND THE RICHNESS OF OUR UNIVERSITY

THE QUEER CITY HOW TO DESIGN MORE INCLUSIVE PUBLIC SPACES

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK

1

WELCOME FROM THE HEAD OF ALUMNI RELATIONS

WELCOME

Hello and welcome to the 2021 edition of Network magazine. Alumni achievements continue to amaze and impress us through this issue of Network.

This is fantastically illustrated by our cover star Dr Mustapha Bittaye, who has touched the lives of so many on a global scale, through his work as one of the core scientists who developed the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. We are honoured and privileged to bring you his story in this magazine.

You can also read about how our university remains focused on our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion through all that we do. Over the past year, we’ve been proud to deliver Black History Year to celebrate and showcase the stories and experiences of our Black alumni, students, colleagues and friends. We are thrilled to introduce you to the team behind this important project within the next few pages. And, in the year of the belated 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, we take a trip down memory lane to remember Westminster’s Black Olympians and the phenomenal contributions they made to their respective sports.

It has been a long time since we’ve been able to operate ‘normally’ in our daily lives, having to adapt to

2

NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

new ways of working, learning and interacting. After such a long wait, we are so excited to be welcoming our students, alumni and colleagues back to campus this autumn.

For recent graduates reading this, especially those of the Class of 2020 and summer 2021, the University looks forward to hosting your postponed graduation ceremonies in the next few months. In the meantime, please do join Westminster Connect, westminsterconnect.org, to explore the various opportunities to support your professional growth and career ambitions.

Finally, a huge thank you to all of you who have so generously given your time, expertise and donations to support our students over the past year. We’ve collaborated with a record number of alumni through various career talks, mentoring and employer initiatives, and we are truly humbled by your unwavering support.

Enjoy this edition and if you have any feedback on how we can enhance the content of Network magazine for future issues, please do get in touch.

Laura Hughes Head of Alumni Relations

CONTENTS

CONTENTS 4

IN TOUCH

40

A welcome to the Class of 2021

6

BEING WESTMINSTER

An update from our Vice-Chancellor and President, Dr Peter Bonfield

8

NETWORK NEWS

This year’s news highlights from across the Westminster community, including alumni achievements and our Alumni Volunteering Award winners

16

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNT THIS YEAR

A selection of Westminster’s research highlights from the past academic year

18

18

REMEMBERING WESTMINSTER’S BLACK OLYMPIANS

We take a look back through our archives at some of Westminster’s most successful sporting champions

22

WESTMINSTER ALUMNI AWARDS 2021

Find out more about the outstanding alumni who got your vote, plus an interview with Recent Graduate Award winner, Rituja Rao

26

THE JOURNEY TO CREATING A LIFE-SAVING VACCINE We speak with Westminster alumnus, Dr Mustapha Bittaye, one of the core scientists who worked on the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine

38

THE QUEER CITY

Professor Pippa Catterall on the inclusive benefits of ‘queering’ public spaces

40

LIFE ON MARS?

Could people live on Mars one day?

We ask astrobiologist, Professor Lewis Dartnell

42

CLASSNOTES

The latest updates and achievements from our alumni around the world

NETWORK

UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 Editor: Jenny Stubberfield Contributors: Laura Hughes, Julia Ross and David Brooks

30

Thanks to all alumni, colleagues, students and supporters who have contributed to this issue.

This Westminster Menswear Archive exhibition explores how face masks evolved from being a functional object, to an everyday necessity

Cover: Original photography by Nina Hollington

UNDERCOVER

Images: Shutterstock Print: Gemini

34

Alumni Relations Office University of Westminster 32– 38 Wells Street London W1T 3UW

Westminster celebrates Black stories as we work towards becoming an actively anti-racist institution

T: +44 (0)20 3506 6245 E: alumni@westminster.ac.uk

OUR BLACK HISTORY YEAR

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK

3

IN TOUCH

IN TOUCH WELCOME CLASS OF 2021

Congratulations to our new alumni who have graduated this year, and welcome to the Westminster alumni community!

We hope you are as proud of your achievements and as excited for your future as we are. We look forward to celebrating with you at your graduation ceremony next summer.

1:1 CAREER ADVICE

INVITATIONS TO NETWORK

Book a 20-minute or 45-minute appointment with one of our extremely knowledgeable and friendly career consultants.

Join events and workshops specifically tailored to your career needs, such as the award-winning What it Takes alumni speaker series.

ASK A MENTOR

ENTERPRISE

As a member of the University of Westminster’s Class of 2021, you can access exclusive careers support to help your ongoing career journey. No matter what subject you studied, sector you wish to enter or career planning stage you are at, there is support for you. Here is a summary of the benefits you can access:

Sign up to the Ask a Mentor service and have a one-off conversation with one of the experienced professionals from our diverse and talented pool of mentors.

Continue your enterprise journey and develop your entrepreneurial skills by accessing the Westminster Enterprise Network’s wide range of opportunities, services and resources, tailored to support you grow a professional freelancing career, or start your own business.

HANDPICKED ONLINE RESOURCES

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Browse the latest graduate jobs, internships and volunteering opportunities with your continued access to the Engage platform.

Access a range of online tutorials, tools and practical employment advice to support with every stage of your career planning.

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH WESTMINSTER CONNECT 4

NETWORK |

Westminster Connect is an online networking platform, exclusive to you, our Westminster graduates. Access your alumni benefits, browse job listings, promote your business and reconnect with fellow alumni.

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

Find out more about the career support on offer you to via Engage: engage.westminster.ac.uk

REGISTER NOW Sign up at WestminsterConnect.org and register via LinkedIn, Facebook or by email.

IN TOUCH

STAY CONNECTED STAY CONNECTED University of Westminster Alumni Association @uw_alumni University of Westminster Alumni Association westminster.ac.uk

@

alumni@westminster.ac.uk Alumni Relations Office University of Westminster 32– 38 Wells Street London W1T 3UW

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK

5

BEING WESTMINSTER

BEING WESTMINSTER

Over the past year, we have reached significant milestones and enjoyed spectacular achievements. It has all been made possible thanks to our alumni, student and colleague community. Time and again, I am hugely impressed by the commitment and compassion shown by our university community.

Despite the challenges (lockdown, home schooling, online working and more) we have all been facing, it is a testament to all of us as individuals and the collective spirit of Westminster that there is much to be proud of this year.

In the past year alone, over 1,000 of our alumni have volunteered their time to support our students through mentoring, online guest lectures and through providing exceptional career support. An incredible £866,000 has been raised from our donors to support students through a variety of projects including The 125 Fund, scholarships and bursaries and our Soho Poly Theatre, and we received £1.2m in new pledges for the next one to three academic years. Our students have continued to show resilience and determination through adapting to blended and online learning superbly, while our colleagues remain committed to providing the very best experience to our 19,000-strong student community.

6

NETWORK |

There is much for you to be proud of as part of our Westminster community.

All too often, we are caught in the day to day of ‘doing’. I want to take this opportunity to pause and reflect on what makes our University the progressive, compassionate and responsible organisation that we pride ourselves on being. What better way to illustrate this than through an important initiative run by Times Higher Education that we participated in this year.

Earlier this year, the University submitted to the Times Higher Education Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Impact Rankings. These rankings capture the contribution made by universities around the world towards a collection of 17 separate but interlinked goals, designed to be a blueprint by which the world can achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. The SDGs were established by the United Nations in 2015 and adopted by all United

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

Nations Member States to support people, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

The rankings address various social, environmental and economic challenges, such as action on poverty, gender inequalities and the climate.

Each university selects a number of SDGs to apply for and be ranked against. Westminster submitted evidence for our commitment against seven goals, and we are particularly proud of our achievements for three of them: gender equality, reduced inequalities, and responsible consumption and production.

Our work towards gender equality places us as one of the top 20 universities in the world for providing equal access and supporting the academic progression of women. We are also one of the top 25 universities in the world for tackling economic, health-based and international inequalities. Lastly, we are in the top

BEING WESTMINSTER

OUR WORK TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY PLACES US AS ONE OF THE TOP 20 UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD FOR PROVIDING EQUAL ACCESS AND SUPPORTING THE ACADEMIC PROGRESSION OF WOMEN 50 universities for promoting resource and energy efficiency, having a sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services for all.

Overall, we are delighted to announce that we are placed in the top 200 out of 1,115 universities worldwide for our contributions across the Sustainable Development Goals.

The SDGs are now starting to feature in the ranking of universities, and we can expect that the more ‘traditional’

ranking methods will increasingly embrace the SDGs going forward.

Our University has worked tirelessly over the past year to embed our values of being progressive, compassionate and responsible. The incredible work of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, as well as our colleague networks – Black and Minority Ethnic (BME), Women of Westminster (WOW) and Q+ network – ensures that Westminster remains an inclusive, safe

and equal community for all students, alumni and colleagues. As you will discover in this edition of Network, Westminster is taking action to become an actively anti-racist institution through our Black History Year series. Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work is progressing at pace: it is part of a forever programme of work to enable better equality and equity across our University without racism or harassment.

We should take both the successes and areas for improvement as extra motivation to act. There is so much more we can and shall do within our community and outside to make things better – we are not there yet! But we have great opportunity with the right will and motivation to find our way.

With your ongoing support, we have many more successes to come.

Best wishes Dr Peter Bonfield OBE FREng FIET Vice-Chancellor and President

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK

7

NETWORK NEWS

NETWORK NEWS

WESTMINSTER TEAMS UP WITH WORLD-CLASS FOOTBALLERS The University’s Professor Mohammed Gulrez Zariwala, a leading researcher in nutritional supplementation and Director of the Centre for Nutraceuticals at the School of Life Sciences, has partnered with elite athletes, Mathieu Flamini and Mesut Özil, to launch a new range of health supplements for their brand UNITY. The Centre for Nutraceuticals is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the area of nutraceuticals, supplements and functional foods, and will act as a

catalyst for improving health and wellbeing guided by research and innovation.

Mathieu Flamini, co-founder of UNITY, said: “After searching high and low for the best supplements and being disappointed by what was on offer, we decided to take matters into our own hands by creating our own range. We collaborated with worldrenowned scientists at the University of Westminster to produce the most effective supplements.”

ALUMNI RECOGNISED IN NEW YEAR AND QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS LISTS The New Year Honours and the Queen’s Birthday Honours lists are the most significant announcements of civilian and military gallantry. This year, Westminster celebrates several alumni, who have been recognised for improving the lives of others or being outstanding in what they do.

Rajinder Tumber (Computer Science BSc, 2005), was awarded an MBE for his services to the cyber security industry. Rajinder has worked in the cyber security industry for over a decade, and has written many articles that have been published by magazines such as Forbes. Rajinder is also a valued mentor to students and a board member at the University.

Jenny Garrett (Business Administration BA, 2000) received an OBE for her services to entrepreneurship and to women in business. A long-term supporter of the University, Jenny is also a published author, a Freeman at the Guild of Entrepreneurs, an award-winning career coach, and a TEDx speaker.

8

NETWORK |

Dr Maria Lenn (Social Science BA, 1980), was awarded an MBE for her services to unemployed people in London. Maria is the Founder of the charity Suited & Booted, which helps unemployed, vulnerable and low-income men into employment by providing interview clothing and interview advice.

Other alumni to have been recognised in the New Year Honours 2021 include: Debbie Scully (Management Studies, 1987), who received an MBE for her services to drama training and higher education; Catherine Tuitt, who studied a Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) programme at the University and received an MBE for her services to the community in London; and Caron Bradshaw (Law LLB,1990), who is Chief Executive of the Charity Finance Group and was awarded an OBE for her services to charity.

John Sidebotham (Transport Planning and Management MSc,

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

1985), meanwhile, was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his outstanding service and contribution to health and wellbeing in his position at Network Rail during the COVID-19 pandemic.

NETWORK NEWS

WESTMINSTER PROUDLY RANKS IN TOP 20 UNIVERSITIES GLOBALLY FOR SUPPORTING GENDER EQUALITY According to the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2021, which assess universities against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the University also ranks in the top 25 globally for supporting reduced inequalities.

This year Westminster has successfully held its place in the top 200 universities in the world for delivering these goals, even as the number of universities assessed increased by 45 per cent.

These fantastic results reflect Westminster’s commitment to the values set out in the SDGs, which recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-inhand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

ALUMNA CELEBRATED FOR INTERNATIONAL WORK ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING Dr Orna Rosenfeld (Urban Regeneration and Development PhD, 2012) was named the global winner of the prestigious Social Impact Award as part of the Study UK Alumni Awards 2021, run by the British Council.

Dr Rosenfeld is a global adviser on housing, a research scientist and author. She has provided research and consultation to governments, cities and an extensive number of international organisations, thus contributing to the provision of affordable housing in 56 countries in Europe, North America and Central Asia.

She is currently supporting leaders of global organisations to undertake agenda-setting research, and advance housing policy and investment in pursuit of inclusive recovery post-COVID-19.

Speaking about the award, Dr Rosenfeld said: “Winning this award would not have been possible without the support and inspiration I have received from my PhD supervisors and my colleagues at Westminster, as well as from the British Council and Chevening Scholarship.

“This award is testimony to the magnitude of the social impact housing has on our lives and societies, as well as the importance of education to advance it. But our work has just begun. I dedicate this award to this vital work and the efforts ahead.”

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK

9

NETWORK NEWS

NETWORK NEWS

FASHION ALUMNUS HAS COLLECTION FEATURED IN HARRY STYLES’ MUSIC VIDEO Steven Stokey-Daley (Fashion Design BA, 2020), had his graduate collection featured in Harry Styles’ music video for the song ‘Golden’.

The items worn by Styles include a pair of oversized, off-white, floral trousers and a billowing, slightly transparent, white shirt. His collection, ‘The Inalienable Right’, made use of deadstock and leftover tweed, chiffon and silk from Alexander McQueen’s material archive, which was donated to the University.

The collection, with key items including a wool tattersall check trench coat and a dressing gown made from 120 panels in three different silks, debuted at London Fashion Week. Since then, Steven has continued to work in an

environmentally and sustainably conscious manner by using donated deadstock and end-of-roll fabrics.

Speaking about the collection, Professor Andrew Groves, Professor of Fashion Design, said “Steven’s collection was inspired by the public schools of England including Harrow, which he could see through the studio windows. Six months later, it’s terrific to see his work being championed by Harry Styles in his latest video.

“Steven had already started his own business, but this attention has skyrocketed his profile; he has been inundated with new orders, including from editors at Vogue. Having taught him in the final year, I know he will make the most of this opportunity and build his business.”

WESTMINSTER MAKES PROGRESS TOWARDS DECOLONISING THE CURRICULUM The University has created a Decolonising the Curriculum Toolkit, a collaborative project between students and colleagues, which aims to provide the resources to begin thinking about and engaging in decolonising learning and teaching.

Decolonising is understood as an ongoing process that involves unravelling assumptions about the syllabus, critically examining content and forms, and imagining new ways of learning together.

10 NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

“The process of decolonising our curriculum is not only essential for creating an inclusive learning and teaching environment, but it is also a fundamental pillar of building relationships with students,” says Dr Fatima Maatwk, a member of the project team. “Re-evaluating our assumptions about how we teach and what we teach, and acknowledging the collaborative spirit of decolonising, are vital to engage with our students and to create a safer, principled learning space for us all.”

NETWORK NEWS

CHERISH: NEW PLATFORM FOR SUPPORTERS OF STUDENTS SUFFERING WITH POOR MENTAL HEALTH

While conducting a study to understand selfharm among university students, Westminster researchers in psychology discovered that many students were providing support for others who had self-harmed, but with little resources available to support them.

In response to these findings, the research team created a first-of-its-kind online platform, CHERISH, which provides much-needed resources and information for anyone giving support for another individual engaging in self-harm.

The website has been developed alongside participants with lived experience, including professionals, family and friends, and those with personal experiences of self-harm.

It aims to bring together information on self-harm and mental health on one platform, something that participants felt was particularly lacking for them as supporters. CHERISH also aims to nurture community support through encouraging supporters to share their experiences in blog posts.

Laura Culshaw, Doctoral Researcher in Psychology at Westminster and Research Associate working on the CHERISH project, said: “This research highlights the importance of bringing supporters into the forefront of the mental health conversation.”

RECENT GRADUATE WINS SILVER AT RIBA PRESIDENT’S MEDALS AWARDS The award, which recognises the world’s best student architecture projects, was presented to Robert Beeny (Master of Architecture RIBA Pt II, 2020), for his work titled Devil’s Valley Geothermal Co-operative.

His project is based on an area of Tuscany, Italy, known as the Devil’s Valley, which has become well established for its production of renewable and geothermal energy. Beeny’s design project proposes a new rural self-build development that protects the livelihood of local communities that rely on the renewable energy source. The development is powered by a geothermal well, with a pipeline and manufacturing spaces cascading down the valley landscape.

In 2020, the RIBA President’s Medals received their highest ever number of entries in their 184-year-old history, with 336 entries nominated by 118 schools located in 32 countries.

Talking about his award, Robert said: “To be recognised by RIBA in this way is an incredible honour and truly humbling. This award is the benchmark for excellence within architectural education across the world, and so I am extremely proud to represent the University of Westminster in this manner.”

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 11

NETWORK NEWS

NETWORK NEWS

WESTMINSTER ACHIEVES ITS HIGHEST EVER SCORE FOR POSTGRADUATE SATISFACTION

A THOUSAND STUDENTS AND COLLEAGUES TRAINED IN ACTIVE BYSTANDER INTERVENTION

The University placed 18th out of 89 institutions in the UK for overall satisfaction in the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2021.

The overall satisfaction rate has continued to improve at Westminster with each PRES: this year with doctoral researchers rating their overall satisfaction with their studies at 82 per cent, compared to a sector average of 79 per cent.

Westminster achieved a response rate of 62.6 per cent against a sector average response rate of 36.1 per cent. This is the fifth highest nationally – a fantastic achievement that ensures the results truly reflect the views and opinions of our doctoral student community.

The success in PRES 2021 builds on the University’s Strategy, which sets out to provide an exceptional student experience and exceed sector benchmarks for student satisfaction while also developing a unified, interdisciplinary community of researchers with a vibrant body of PhD students at its heart.

Green Dot is the University’s active bystander training programme, through which students and colleagues are able to learn the basics of bystander intervention and the principles of safely intervening in situations of power-based violence.

The programme aims to provide participants with the knowledge and confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour or any situation where there is a risk of escalation or harm.

Westminster is the first university in the UK to introduce the Green Dot initiative, and began the pioneering programme against power-based violence in 2017, with funding from the Quintin Hogg Trust. Since then, the University has mentored other institutions in the UK following through with the training programme. This spring, the University reached the milestone of 1,000 students and colleagues trained on the Green Dot programme.

12 NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

NETWORK NEWS

ALUMNI DONATE MORE THAN £100,000 TO SUPPORT STUDENTS DURING THE PANDEMIC Thanks to generous support from our alumni community, students raised a staggering £109,197 for the COVID-19 Response Fund during the annual telephone campaign last November.

The three-week campaign involved 40 Westminster students contacting more than 1,000 graduates to hear about alumni experiences and raise money for the COVID-19 Response Fund, which aims to support students suffering financial hardship caused by the pandemic.

The campaign also provided students with the opportunity to speak to alumni about their time

at Westminster, and gain valuable career advice and support. The fund has been a lifeline for many vulnerable students affected by the pandemic, providing bursaries towards living expenses. Our alumni showed great consideration for the situation and generously donated to support those students who were struggling financially.

“A huge thank you to those of you who have been able to donate at this time,” said student caller Jessica Rayner. “I’ve been overwhelmed, personally, by the response, the generosity and the kindness.”

QUINTIN HOGG TRUST FUNDS 23 CORONAVIRUS-RELATED RESEARCH PROJECTS Westminster’s Research Communities have received £218,500 from the Quintin Hogg Trust, ensuring that the University’s research expertise is being harnessed to address new issues that are arising as a result of the pandemic.

Each of the 23 projects align to one of the University’s Research Communities: Health Innovation and Wellbeing, Diversity and Inclusion, Sustainable Cities and Urban Environments, and Arts, Communication and Culture.

The wide range of projects within these areas tackle a variety of important issues, from the impact of COVID-19 symptoms and ill-health on decision-making biases in key workers, to how COVID-19 will affect future planning and design of sustainable and healthy cities.

Speaking about the funding, Alan Yabsley, Westminster Research Community Facilitator, said: “We are confident that these projects constitute a distinctive Westminster response to a public health crisis, capitalising on our particular research strengths and expertise.”

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 13

NETWORK NEWS

NETWORK NEWS

WESTMINSTER LAUNCHES SOCIAL IMPACT HUB

As part of the University’s mission to expand work-related opportunities for students and to contribute to its communities in positive, impactful ways, the School of Organisations, Economy and Society has launched the Social Impact Hub. Westminster is a social enterprise, and is the first university in London to be awarded the Social Enterprise Mark, demonstrating our commitment to creating positive social change.

The new Social Impact Hub reflects

14 NETWORK |

this commitment, and operates in the not-for-profit sector to develop the employability skills of students, and help tackle social and global challenges by contributing to the community in positive ways. The Hub co-ordinates work experience for students, who will collaborate with ethical partner organisations such as charities and social enterprises to help address their projects.

“We want to use the talent and potential of our students to benefit

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

users in the non-academic sector”, said Dr Lilian Miles and Simon Richardson, who manage the Social Impact Hub. “The Hub will also develop the employability skills of students, because students will work in real-life situations, and use their knowledge to develop solutions for organisations. By working on real-life issues, students will develop a sense of social responsibility and empowerment to contribute to the community in positive ways. So, it is a win-win for everyone.”

NETWORK NEWS

WESTMINSTER CELEBRATES ALUMNI VOLUNTEERS This June, the University’s Alumni Team launched the Westminster Alumni Volunteering Awards to recognise the contribution that alumni volunteers and partners make to the Westminster community.

The University of Westminster is fortunate to have hundreds of active alumni volunteers, who selflessly give back to the University by donating their time to support and inspire students and recent graduates. Through different programmes and events, our alumni volunteer as speakers, mentors, hosts and ambassadors, giving students more opportunities, support and motivation to fulfil their potential.

The Alumni Team held the awards during national Volunteers’ Week, and celebrated the generosity and dedication of alumni volunteers across five categories:

CARON BRADSHAW MBE

THE ALUMNI SPEAKER OF THE YEAR AWARD The Alumni Speaker of the Year Award was awarded to Caron Bradshaw MBE (Law LLB, 1993).

Caron is the Chief Executive of the Charity Finance Group, and recently received an OBE for her services to charity. This April, she volunteered as a speaker on the Westminster Working Cultures (WWC) UK programme programme, and was commended for her openness and the authentic telling of her professional journey.

ROGERIO SIMOES SILVA

THE EXCEPTIONAL SUPPORT OF STUDENTS AND RECENT GRADUATES AWARD The Exceptional Support of Students and Recent Graduates Award was won by Rogerio Simoes Silva (Social Media MA, 2015). Rogerio has played an invaluable role in providing support to the Westminster community as a mentor on our Career Mentoring Scheme, receiving glowing reviews from his mentees.

JENNY GARRETT OBE

THE LONG SERVING VOLUNTEER AWARD The Long Serving Volunteer Award was awarded to Jenny Garrett OBE (Business Administration BA, 2000).

Jenny has been a committed, longserving volunteer and supporter of the Westminster community. She has been a speaker for the What It Takes series three times, and has also been a keynote speaker at Women of Westminster events.

SIGNATURE RECRUITMENT ANDRÉ MODENESI

THE GOING THE EXTRA MILE AWARD The Going the Extra Mile Award was given to André Modenesi (Media Management MA, 2016).

André is the University’s Alumni Ambassador for Brazil, a speaker for the WWC Professional programme, and contributed to the first Alumni Ambassador Bulletin.

THE VOLUNTEER PARTNER AWARD The Volunteer Partner Award honours non-alumni partners that recognise the potential of Westminster students and generously offer specialist knowledge and insights to support their development. Signature Recruitment earned this award for playing an invaluable role in providing exceptional support to students through mentoring during the pandemic.

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 15

RESEARCH NEWS

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNT THIS YEAR Over the past 12 months, Westminster academics have continued to deliver research with impact, contributing to the University’s rich profile of world-leading innovation.

Here is a glimpse of some of the key discoveries made across our four research communities this year.

16 NETWORK |

1

GENE-EDITING TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER CELLS CAN REVERSE ITS SPREAD Dr Pinar Uysal-Onganer, Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology and Lead of Cancer Research at Westminster, led the study which shows that removing small genetic parts of our genomes, called microRNAs, from triple negative breast cancer cells can reverse its spread.

Researchers identified that the amount of a major cancer-related microRNA, miR-21, is increased in triple negative breast cancer and is also linked to metastasis (the spread of cancer cells in the body). They then used a genomeediting method to remove the miR-21 from the cancer cells, and found that the metastatic features of the cells were reversed.

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

2

PINK DRINKS CAN MAKE YOU RUN FASTER AND FURTHER

A study led by the University’s Centre for Nutraceuticals shows that pink drinks can help to make you run faster and further compared to clear drinks.

For the study, participants were asked to run on a treadmill for 30 minutes, rinsing their mouths with either a pink or clear drink throughout. Both drinks were exactly the same and only differed in appearance – the researchers added food dye to the pink drink to change the colour.

The researchers chose pink as it is associated with perceived sweetness and therefore increases expectations of sugar and carbohydrate intake. The results show that the participants ran an average 212 metres further with the pink drink, while their mean speed during the exercise test increased by 4.4 per cent.

RESEARCH NEWS

5

MUSICIANS ARE THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE ANXIETY OR DEPRESSION

3

BRITISH CYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE IS FAILING TO PROTECT CYCLISTS Typical cycle infrastructure in Britain is not keeping cyclists safe, according to the results from a study by the University of Westminster, funded by the Road Safety Trust.

One of the most startling results from the study led by Professor Rachel Aldred, Professor of Transport and Director of the University’s Active Travel Academy, was that infrastructure typically designated for cycling may put cyclists at increased risk. Painted cycle lanes and shared bus lanes, for example, tended to increase the likelihood of injury, compared to there being no such infrastructure.

Like other research this study found that there was ‘safety in numbers’: where more people were cycling, each individual cyclist was safer. This highlights the additional safety benefit from creating routes and infrastructure that attract new cyclists.

4

NEGATIVE THOUGHTS ARE COMMON IN EARLY MOTHERHOOD In a study led by Westminster alumna Naomi Law and coauthored by Dr Anna Cheshire, Research Fellow in Psychology, researchers found that negative thoughts are much more common in new mothers than previous research suggested.

The study, which surveyed 395 new mothers in the UK and Ireland, all with babies under one year old, found that nearly two thirds (63 per cent) thought they were a ‘bad mother’ some of the time, while 39 per cent sometimes thought there was something wrong with them.

Many of the mothers who took part in the study struggled with the idea of sharing negative thoughts with others. This suggests that having negative thoughts about early motherhood may be seen as socially unacceptable.

Speaking about the findings, Naomi Law said: “We hope that recognising how common it is to have negative thoughts about early motherhood may help new parents feel less alone when they experience difficult thoughts and emotions.”

Sally-Anne Gross, Principal Lecturer in Music Business Management, and Dr George Musgrave, Senior Lecturer on the Music Business Management MA course, have published a book based on their research into the mental health of music professionals.

Sally-Anne Gross and Dr Musgrave were commissioned to conduct a study of more than 2,000 music makers, from MOBO winners and Mercury Prize nominees to artists performing at local venues, to discover their lived experiences and working conditions. It was revealed that more than 70 per cent of respondents reported high rates of anxiety, and 68.5 per cent reported of depression.

The researchers found that financial challenges due to being self-employed, and difficulty in being able to define success, left musicians questioning whether their profession is classed as a ‘career’, and prevented them from accessing adequate wellbeing support.

Talking about their research, Sally-Anne Gross said: “When we did our research we could not have predicted that it would be released during a global pandemic. We believe that music plays a vital role in our sense of self and community that really impacts our wellbeing and our mental health, all of which need urgent support right now.”

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 17

REMEMBERING WESTMINSTER’S BLACK OLYMPIANS

REMEMBERING WESTMINSTER’S BLACK OLYMPIANS THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER HAS A PROUD HISTORY OF SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS

18 NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

REMEMBERING WESTMINSTER’S BLACK OLYMPIANS

The Polytechnic Harriers Athletic Club, c.1920

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games now concluded, we turn our attention to Black History Month and reignite the buzz and excitement for our historic sporting heroes in this special exhibition on Westminster’s Black Olympians.

While the sweltering heat and bright lights of Japan’s capital may seem a world away from the Chiswick sports ground of West London, it was here that the Polytechnic Harriers Athletic Club was established, training an array of exceptional athletes and Olympians.

As part of Black History Month, we take a look back through our archives at some of our most successful sporting champions, and the contribution they made to the University’s,

and indeed, Britain’s history. The Polytechnic Harriers Athletic Club was established in 1882 by the University of Westminster’s predecessor, Regent Street Polytechnic. In 1893, the Harriers organised the first inter-club competition – and by 1914, had established 11 world records.

In 1908, two years after the 40-acre Quintin Hogg Memorial Ground at Chiswick opened, the Harriers were invited to organise the trial race for the

marathon, which was to be introduced into the Olympic Games in London that year. The race, which was planned by Secretary of the Harriers, Jack Andrew, and the first of its kind to be run in the UK, was run over 23 miles from Windsor Castle to Wembley Park.

At the club’s peak in 1929, the Harriers had over 800 members. Four of these athletes were Arthur Wint, John E London, Emmanuel McDonald Bailey and Harry Edward.

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 19

REMEMBERING WESTMINSTER’S BLACK OLYMPIANS

ARTHUR WINT, THE GENTLE GIANT Known as the ‘gentle giant’ because of his 198cm height, Arthur Wint was born in Jamaica in 1920 and was a successful athlete from a young age.

Before joining the Polytechnic Harriers, Wint already held a number of sporting achievements, including being named Jamaica Boy Athlete of the Year at the age of 18 and winning gold in the 800-metre sprint at the Central America Games in Panama. In 1942, he was sent to Britain for active combat as a pilot in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, which was when he joined the Polytechnic Harriers.

In 1948, Wint took part in his first Olympic Games in London and was selected for the Jamaican track team, competing in three different events. He was hugely successful, winning gold for the 400-metre dash, silver for the 800-metre run, and almost having success in the 4x400-metre relay (but getting cramp during the race).

Wint’s gold medal was Jamaica’s first Olympic gold, making his success even more poignant.

In 1952, he competed in the Olympics in Helsinki, where he achieved the silver title in the 800-metre run, and was part of the 4x400-metre relay team who broke the world record with their time of 3.03.09.

Wint was inducted into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame in the USA in 1977 and the Jamaica Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.

JOHN E LONDON Regarded as a sprinter of the highest class, John London possessed great natural sprinting abilities and had a short but successful sporting career.

London competed in the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, equalling the Olympic 100-metre sprint record of 10.6 seconds in the semi-final and securing the silver medal.

He also won the bronze medal in the 4x100-metre relay race with his teammates Cyril Gill, Edward Smouha and Walter Rangeley, behind the USA and Germany teams.

In the same year, London was also awarded the Polytechnic Harriers’s S.A. Mussabini memorial medal for his athletic achievements, and the Studd Trophy – which was awarded annually within the Regent Street Polytechnic for the best athletic performance or series of performances by a Poly athlete.

In 1929, he became the first British sprinter to win the Amateur Athletic Association’s 100-yards race title, and also won the Kinnaird 100 several times.

20 NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

REMEMBERING WESTMINSTER’S BLACK OLYMPIANS

EMMANUEL MCDONALD BAILEY, THE UNBEATEN Emmanuel McDonald Bailey was an impressive runner born in 1920 in Trinidad. He moved to Britain as a member of the Royal Air Force in 1944, joining the Polytechnic Harriers in August 1945. He was first awarded the Studd Trophy in 1946.

Bailey ran at the Royal Air Force athletic championships in 1945 and was crowned champion in both the 100-yard and 220-yard events. He dominated these championships for four consecutive years, winning both sprints on each occasion. He remained the unbeaten title holder until he left the Royal Air Force in 1948.

Bailey took part in the Olympic Games for the first time in 1948 in London, but after suffering from major athletic injuries in the previous year, he had to fight tenaciously to reach the final of the 100-metres event, in which he finished sixth and last.

Soon after the 1948 Olympics, Bailey fully recovered and saw his biggest sporting achievement in 1949 in Reykjavik, where he recorded times like 9.5 seconds for the 100-yards event and 10.2 seconds for the 100-metres event. Bailey returned to the Olympics with Team GB in 1952 in Helsinki, where he won the bronze medal in the 100-metre men’s race.

HARRY EDWARD Born in Berlin in 1895, Harry Edward immigrated to London after World War I and taught French and German at Pitman’s School of Business and Civil Service Training.

While in London, he joined the Polytechnic Harriers Athletic Club and began his career as a track and field athlete.

In the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Edward ran for Great Britain and won bronze medals in the 100- and 200-metre sprints. In 1921, he received the Harvey Memorial Gold Cup as the best champion of the year in London, and won three Amateur Athletic Association championships in 1922 in the 100-, 200- and 440-yard dashes, receiving personal congratulations from King George V. In 1923 he decided to try his fortune in the United States and participated in the Wilco Games at Yankee Stadium in New York, as well as taking part in athletic events that the New York and Boston Athletic Clubs sponsored.

Following his athletic career, Edward later committed his time to humanitarian and civil rights causes, and worked as a United Nations relief worker.

UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER ARCHIVE To find out more about Westminster’s rich history, visit the University of Westminster Archive at recordsandarchives.westminster.ac.uk

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 21

WESTMINSTER ALUMNI AWARDS 2021

WESTMINSTER ALUMNI AWARDS 2021 Westminster Alumni Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of graduates from the University of Westminster, as well as from our predecessors including the Polytechnic of Central London and Regent Street Polytechnic.

In the four years the awards have been running, they have revealed the remarkable and diverse impact Westminster graduates make across the globe.

This year, we received a record number of applications for the awards, with more than 300 alumni applying or being nominated. We also chose to recognise four alumni finalists per category rather than three for the first time, as the quality of applications was so high.

Following a public vote this spring, we are thrilled to reveal this year’s Westminster Alumni Awards winners.

22 NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

CONTRIBUTION TO THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AWARD

KADRI MAHMOUD, KIRAN MANDLA AND CHRIS TOUMAZOU CONTEMPORARY MEDIA PRACTICE BA, 2012 Having met at Harrow Campus, Kadri, Kiran and Chris set up entertainment brand COMPULSORY from a bedroom in West London.

Over six years, they have grown from working on low-budget music videos to feature film distribution, television and broadcast advertising.

They have created three videos with Stormzy, including number-one trending YouTube video ‘Superheroes’, as well as two collaborations with Madonna.

COMPULSORY is currently the only independently owned production company of its scale in London competing with zero investment.

They champion young and emerging talent, and have managed the careers of over 15 directors and photographers, with work being selected at global film festivals. They have also received nominations for Best Production Company at the UK Music Video Awards 2019 and 2020, and worked with major brands such as Gucci, Vogue and Google.

WESTMINSTER ALUMNI AWARDS 2021

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

IRUTHISHAM ADAM

NEVEEN GALAL

DIPLOMATIC STUDIES MA, 2001

LEGAL PRACTICE PGDIP, 2002 Neveen is an immigration human rights lawyer whose career has focused on representing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and victims of trafficking and slavery. Within four years of graduating, she became a director and board member at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, and was recognised in Who’s Who of Britain’s Young Business Elite for being one of the youngest directors of a multimillion-pound company, where she also helped mentor and train graduates at the start of their career.

Neveen later founded Amnesty Solicitors, a UK immigration and human rights law firm. Within two years she has had a number of judicial review cases against the UK Government and cases in the Court of Appeal, even successfully judicially reviewing the Ministry of Justice.

ENTREPRENEURIAL AWARD

SIOBHAN MILLER PSYCHOLOGY MSC, 2015 Siobhan is the founder of The Positive Birth Company; her mission is to make antenatal and postnatal education and support more accessible for everyone. The Positive Birth Company offers a range of online courses on topics including hypnobirthing and conception, and free resources shared through social media.

Growing the business alongside raising three young boys, Siobhan has also written a book and created the Freya app, which has been listed as one of the top paid apps of the year by the App Store for two years running.

Through her book, app and courses, she has helped more than 100,000 people in the last year alone.

In July this year, Siobhan appeared on Dragon’s Den and was granted funding from two of the Dragons to expand The Positive Birth Company and support even more families.

Iru has served as Minister of Health and Minister of Youth and Sports for the Republic of Maldives. After graduating, she advanced in her diplomatic career serving in key posts in London, New York and Geneva.

Under the first democratically elected Maldives government, she was appointed as the first ever female Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, and in 2013 she was elected as a Vice-President of the UN Human Rights Council.

In 2015, Iru was appointed as the Minister of Health. Under her leadership, the health system began initiatives for universal health coverage, the infrastructure of atoll hospitals and specialist medical services. Her achievements include the setting up of medical councils under new health legislation and inaugurating an MRI service and a centre for cancer screening.

SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD

SHIVANI DHILLON DIPLOMATIC STUDIES MA, 2003 Shivani is the founder of Down Syndrome Support Group India, an organisation that helps people with learning disabilities and their families. After struggling to find support for her daughter and facing stigma and discrimination in India, Shivani started the online support group in 2012. The group provides counselling, support and information to people with Down’s Syndrome and other learning disabilities and their families. The group consists of more than 2,500 parents from all across India. Shivani, an ex-BBC journalist, is also the founder of Samvid-Stories & Beyond, an initiative that holds storytelling sessions for children and young adults with learning disabilities and mental health challenges.

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 23

WESTMINSTER ALUMNI AWARDS 2021

RECENT GRADUATE AWARD

RITUJA RAO

JOURNALISM BA, 2018 Three years after graduating from Westminster’s Journalism BA, Rituja Rao is already an award-winning consultant and a tech industry thought leader. She can now add to this list, Westminster’s Recent Graduate Award. We caught up with Rituja to find out how she has achieved so much in the few short years since graduating.

24 NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

WESTMINSTER ALUMNI AWARDS 2021

Winning the award has been a personal “milestone”, says Rituja. Without the original Westminster scholarship, however, studying in London would never have been an option.

“I won’t stop talking about scholarships if we start – it’s supported me in such different aspects of my life,” she says. Receiving one “taught [her] gratitude” and made her want to engage with the University as much as she could.

While holding down part-time jobs, Rituja’s extensive extracurricular activities included Model United Nations, student TV and radio, and being the QH newspaper’s Editor-inChief and President of the Erasmus Student Network.

“Every day, I was living life 9 to 9,” she says. “University from 9 to 1, 1 to 6 at my job, and then 6 to 9 I was at events and doing student societies.”

This engagement, in turn, brought more scholarships and opportunities. She won a travel scholarship to go to Canada for the Model United Nations, and The 125 Fund award to start her YouTube channel.

As a woman in tech, Rituja is bucking the trend – recent figures suggest less than 20 per cent of the sector’s workforce is female. The first step to changing this, Rituja suggests, is explaining – to everyone – that tech is more than coding.

“I feel like coding is one thing that happens in technology,” she says.

“There are so many other things.”

From the outset, Rituja says, young girls are often made to feel like maths and science are for boys (“When

DO SOMETHING NOBODY ELSE IS DOING AND YOU’LL STAND OUT – NOT JUST IN THE JOB MARKET, BUT IN LIFE

you’re young, you just can’t be what you can’t see”). If a girl of ten is turned off STEM, she probably won’t be studying it at university. At this stage, Rituja says, it’s not enough to just encourage more girls to study maths and science.

“I really think we can’t wait for an entire generation for that to come into effect,” she says. “We need to start now – and the best way to start now is to catch women in the age group of 17 to 22.” This means showing young women who have not studied STEM, that they still have career options in tech – from project management, to sales and marketing, to HR. Rituja, herself, is walking proof of this. When she was 18 – as her degree choice suggests – she had her heart set on journalism.

“I imagined myself in broadcast journalism,” she says, “on BBC World, BBC One… going across to broadcast on international news. I imagined myself at war zones.”

When Rituja landed a BBC internship at the end of her first year, it seemed like all of her dreams were coming true. It was here, however, that she really discovered tech.

“I kind of started feeling a bit like – I want to be in journalism, I want to stick in media,” she says. “But if I want to be as successful as I want to be, I actually need to get into tech in one shape or another, so I can at least understand.”

From this point onwards, Rituja made it her mission to gain broader technology experience through part-time work and internships, and discovered her passion for management. Soon after graduating, she joined technology services provider Sparta Global as Project Manager, before moving to Capco as a Management Consultant in April this year.

Even after three years in the industry, Rituja says she is constantly learning.

“There’s that famous saying – how does it go? – ‘the more you find out, the more you find you don’t know’.”

She has made it a practice to learn by seeking out mentors – something she recommends to anyone starting out in their career. Rituja advises finding someone at just the career next stage, who you have things in common with – like, maybe, being a woman in tech!

“I call this ‘proximity of inspiration’,” she says. “So, for example, if you’re a graduate, it’s best to speak to a manager – you know, somebody who’s in the middle management level – don’t speak to a CEO, a Jeff Bezos.

They’re not going to help you – their experiences are not going to align with yours.”

Once you know what you’re talking about, the next challenge is to get people to listen to you.

“Being in boardrooms and teams that are completely full of men – you’re trying to get your voice heard, but you’re also kind of fighting through the noise,” Rituja says.

Employers can help by checking in with female employees, she suggests.

Ultimately, though, sometimes you need to be “assertive” – “persistent” even – and stop worrying about what people think of you.

“I still struggle with it,” she admits.

Of course, whatever career path you choose, this is an incredibly tough time to graduate. Sometimes just applying for jobs may not be enough, Rituja says. Instead, why not go out and create something – whether it’s a podcast or an Instagram page – before anyone asks you to.

“Do something nobody else is doing and you’ll stand out – not just in the job market, but in life.”

COULD YOU BE A WESTMINSTER ALUMNI AWARD WINNER? To find out more, visit westminster.ac.uk/ westminster-alumni-awards

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 25

THE JOURNEY TO CREATING A LIFE-SAVING VACCINE

THE JOURNEY TO CREATING A LIFE-SAVING VACCINE Long before he knew he wanted to be a scientist, Dr Mustapha Bittaye (Biomedical Sciences BSc, 2012) always knew he wanted to find a way to help his community in The Gambia, where he grew up.

This early driver, alongside a desire to excel in everything he does, has taken centre stage throughout his studies and his career. And creating vaccines seems to be a pretty good way to do both of these things. “Apart from clean drinking water, which is a human right, vaccines are the most effective public health intervention that we have ever had.

“We don’t see people dying from measles in the UK,” Dr Bittaye says.

“We don’t see people dying from all the diseases that are killing people in other parts of the world – because of vaccination. As they say, anything that’s out of sight tends to be out of mind, so we don’t seem to put into context or put into perspective the importance that vaccines have.”

As one of the key scientists involved in the development of the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine, Dr Bittaye has helped remind us all precisely how transformational vaccines can be. At the time of speaking in early July, the UK was preparing for a reopening that would not have been made possible without the AstraZeneca and other COVID-19 vaccines.

26 NETWORK |

The vision outside the developed world is less positive. Dr Bittaye’s home continent of Africa saw a 43 per cent week-on-week rise in COVID-19 deaths in the same month, due to a lack of health resources and a slower vaccine rollout. Addressing this kind of disparity between the developed and developing world has been a central concern for Dr Bittaye throughout his career. The University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute made it a condition of their partnership with AstraZeneca that the vaccine would be available at cost throughout the pandemic. Unlike Pfizer, AstraZeneca can also be stored at any temperature, making it easier to use in poorer countries with less developed infrastructure and limited storage capacity. Poorer countries including The Gambia – where Dr Bittaye’s own family received the vaccine he helped to create. The day his mother was vaccinated was “amazing”, he says.

“I’m proud of the team that has developed a vaccine that is not just for the developed world,” Dr Bittaye says. “When we were developing the technology that we’re using, we had

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

in mind people in other parts of the world – in lower and middle-income countries – because they are the people who, most of the time, suffer most from disease and also, mostly, they are the people who are left behind when it comes to benefiting from the vaccines that science and technology give us.”

Of course, not everybody sees things this way. Vaccine hesitancy, combined – on occasion – with outright disinformation, have posed a huge obstacle to getting shots in arms, in the UK and elsewhere. The anti-vaxxer movement is not new, and is here to stay, Dr Bittaye says, particularly now it has social media to spread and amplify its message. “To be honest, I am surprised, and I’m not surprised,” Dr Bittaye says of the backlash against the Oxford and other vaccines.

The risk of blood clots connected with AstraZeneca is, as he points out, incredibly rare, particularly when balanced against the risk of getting blood clots from the disease itself (“You would have to be very very unlucky to fall into that category of people”). He does, however,

THE JOURNEY TO CREATING A LIFE-SAVING VACCINE

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 27

THE JOURNEY TO CREATING A LIFE-SAVING VACCINE

understand and sympathise with some of the concerns people have.

Unethical medical research in the past – much of it directly affecting ethnic minorities – plays a part, having severely undermined some people’s trust in medical science. Even today, when strong ethics policies are firmly in place, scientists sometimes need to do more to reach out and address people’s concerns, Dr Bittaye says.

“Even if the science is real, do you trust the person telling you the information?” he says. “This is something I realise as a scientist, but also as a human. As a community, in general, it’s something we need to work on. It’s not just about what the science can offer – it’s also about engaging with communities.”

He has seen a real improvement during the pandemic in the way scientists communicate and deal with people’s concerns. He also feels the vaccines have, to some extent, done the talking for them – as people can see with their own eyes how effective they truly are.

“For me – to be honest – I’m just interested in the science and the benefit the science brings to people,” he adds.

“I’m not interested in the politics; I’m not interested in the marketing.”

When Dr Bittaye graduated from high school, his profound desire to help his community was combined with a “passion for learning” and a strong work ethic, which he inherited from his family.

“They’re really hard-working people and they instilled a lot of good values in me and my brothers and everybody else to be good people and to do things that will benefit society, not just yourself.”

It was difficult though, he says, due to the lack of career guidance available when he was growing up, and the lack of role models available. The real turning point in his life came when he joined the Medical Research Council (MRC) as a Laboratory Technician. It

28 NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

THE JOURNEY TO CREATING A LIFE-SAVING VACCINE

VACCINE HESITANCY, COMBINED – ON OCCASION – WITH OUTRIGHT DISINFORMATION, HAVE POSED A HUGE OBSTACLE TO GETTING SHOTS IN ARMS, IN THE UK AND ELSEWHERE was here, he says, that he really “fell in love with science”.

“I realised the potential that science can give you to unlock your dreams.”

He enrolled in the University of Westminster’s Diploma in Biomedical Science in 2007 – a programme Westminster offered remotely, in collaboration with the MRC. After finishing top of the course, Dr Bittaye won a scholarship for Westminster’s Biomedical Sciences BSc – and so he arrived in London in 2009.

“I thank the University of Westminster for giving me that opportunity,” Dr Bittaye says. “I always say without the opportunity that Westminster gave me, without the potential that they saw in me, giving me that scholarship to come to the UK to follow my career – you know – things would have been different.”

Relocating thousands of miles to live and study in a completely different culture is no small feat, but Dr Bittaye says Westminster’s entire personality as a university helped considerably.

“The environment there was the perfect environment for any student coming from abroad to thrive,” he says. “The diversity in the campus, the friendliness of the tutors, you know, the lecturers, the openness of the University – the support they offer to students – it was wonderful.”

His experience at Westminster helped build his confidence and selfbelief, Dr Bittaye says. He believes this is often half the battle for Black

Africans, like himself, pursuing big dreams.

“This is very part and parcel of a life of somebody from my culture, from my background – that, you know, sometimes you lack self-confidence and then you always have this fear at the back of your mind, that you are not good enough,” he says. “When you look around and you don’t see people like you being certain things that you want to be, you just start to automatically think – you know – ‘is this something I can be?’”

To this end, Dr Bittaye’s desire to help his home community extends beyond his scientific work to mentoring – something he has committed himself to, throughout his career.

“I think a lot of things could have been a lot easier if I’d had somebody to put me through the path and tell me ‘this is what you need to do’ or ‘this is what you need to avoid’,” he says.

Dr Bittaye has taken part in Westminster mentoring schemes. He also co-founded Health and Science for Gambia, a non-profit that aims to encourage young Gambians to pursue careers in biomedical science, through career coaching and mentoring.

“We’ve been trying to give back to the community there,” he says. “And – you know – just be a role model to young people there to make them believe in what they can do and also to realise that in life you can achieve anything, as long as you have the passion for it.”

After graduating top in his BSc at Westminster in 2012, Dr Bittaye returned to the MRC Gambia as a Scientific Officer, where he worked on the 2013 malaria drug trial. He completed his PhD at Aberdeen University in 2018 and joined The Jenner Institute soon afterwards. As a world-leading vaccine research institute, it was his ultimate goal to work there, Dr Bittaye says. Its humanitarian focus was also very important to him.

Upon joining, he worked on the world-leading SARS vaccine clinical trials. And then, 2019 arrived, bringing with it a brand new coronavirus.

“To be honest, I think we are lucky, as a world,” Dr Bittaye says. “The pandemic happens to have been caused by a virus that we knew something about. It’s a coronavirus – we knew something about this family of viruses. I think, for the science community, that gave us an opportunity that is very rare.”

So, given that we are apparently entering an age of global pandemics, next time we may not be so lucky?

“That would be the worse case scenario; if you have a pandemic caused by a virus you know nothing about.”

Scientists in his field need to “prepare for the unknown”, Dr Bittaye says. And while developing a vaccine of this kind within a year may have been unprecedented, it could be a considerably shorter timescale next time around.

“A year now seems to be too long – given what we have gone through,” he says. “How do we cut that number down to three months, to 90 days, or less than that – these are the types of discussions people are having now.”

“This is the advantage of scientific innovation,” he adds. “When you bring people together, when challenges push you to your limits, when challenges push the frontiers of impossibility.”

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 29

UNDERCOVER

UNDERCOVER

FROM NECESSITY TO LUXURY: THE EVOLUTION OF FACE COVERINGS DURING COVID-19

1

30 NETWORK |

On 11 May 2021, one year on from when the UK Government first advised people to wear face coverings in enclosed public spaces, the Westminster Menswear Archive opened Undercover.

This exhibition, curated by Professor Andrew Groves, Professor of Fashion Design, and Dr Danielle Sprecher, Menswear Curator, explored how masks evolved from being a functional PPE object in short supply, to becoming an everyday necessity worn by millions.

The original exhibition presented 52 unique face coverings, arranged in

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

chronological order, examining how rapidly the fashion industry adapted production, manufacturing, and online marketing to meet changing consumer demands. While these masks appear to be non-gendered, their design, marketing, and wearing reveal long-running narratives within menswear concerned with ideas of protection, risk and masculinity. Here we display a selection of items from Undercover, offering a glimpse of the wider exhibition and an insight into the Westminster Menswear Archive.

UNDERCOVER

2

3

4

5

1. SKELETON MASK BOOHOOMAN, APRIL 2020 BoohooMAN had previously sold face masks as part of their menswear range in 2019. However, when this skeleton mask was released in April 2020, they were accused of profiting at a time when the NHS was experiencing a PPE shortage and withdrew the masks from sale.

2. LIP-READING MASK BREATHE EASY, APRIL 2020 An early innovation was masks with a transparent panel, so they could be worn to facilitate lip-reading. The common assumption is that they are worn by people who are hearing impaired.

However, the opposite is true: those who who are deaf need everyone else to wear this type of mask.

3. BLUE HERRINGBONE MASK HUNTSMAN, MAY 2020 The Savile Row bespoke tailor Huntsman produced one of the earliest luxury masks in response to COVID-19. Made from fine Swiss cotton manufactured by Alumo, the

pleated mask is embroidered with the letter H in the upper left-hand corner.

The ear loops are made of standard 5mm white elastic.

4. RAINBOW OF HOPE MASK PAUL & SHARK, MAY 2020 Paul & Shark converted their factory in Varese, Italy, to produce protective medical gowns for several local hospitals. They also manufactured face masks for civilian use, and from 19 May 2020 included a free face mask with every order from their Spring Summer 2020 collection.

5. OBEY MASK RETROBOMB, MAY 2020 This mask is not from the brand Obey, but an Etsy seller inspired by John Carpenter’s 1988 film They Live, where the ruling class manipulate people through subliminal messages. The film’s message struck a chord with consumers who bought these masks to express their objection to wearing a face covering.

6. POLICE FACE COVERING METROPOLITAN POLICE, MAY 2020 Police officers were issued with navy face coverings to wear on public duty when they were dealing with public order situations and were not able to socially distance. This mask was worn on Saturday 14 June while policing far-right protests in London.

7. BLACK LIVES MATTER MASK HOEZINE, JUNE 2020 On 25 May 2020, George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in America, sparking protests across the world.

Bethan Dadson, the founder of HOEZINE magazine, designed these masks featuring a clenched fist and ‘BLACK LIVES MATTER’ to be worn at the London protests on 6 June 2020.

8. GUNNERS 1991/93 MASK THE BOTTOM HALF, JUNE 2020 The NHS tries to avoid becoming a political football, but these masks were designed to appeal equally to people’s passion for their favourite football team

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 31

UNDERCOVER

and as a way of openly expressing support for the NHS. The background is based on Arsenal FC’s ‘Bruised Banana’ away shirt worn between 1991-93.

9. SKULL AND CROSSBONES MASK NEW & LINGWOOD, JUNE 2020 This silk face mask features a grinning skull and crossbones motif. Traditionally this iconography has served as a memento mori, a symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death. Its use for a mask could be interpreted as the wearer wishing to appear unconcerned about the pandemic’s potential risks.

10. FLAME-RESISTANT MASK PROGARM, JULY 2020 ProGARM specialises in flameresistant and anti-static clothing for those employed in power generation, petrochemicals, industrial electricals, railways, and utilities. It produced this mask for electricians working on construction sites. Antiviral treatment

was added to existing flame-resistant protection in response to the pandemic.

11. TRUE PUNK MASK CLIMATE REVOLUTION, JULY 2020 Given to Vivienne Westwood’s staff and acquaintances, this mask highlights the designer’s Climate Revolution campaign. Activists wore it for Julian Assange’s extradition hearing at the Old Bailey on 7 September 2020.

This protest appeared in a short film released to promote Westwood’s Spring Summer 2021 collection.

12. LINEN COMMUTER MASK TURNBULL & ASSER, JULY 2020 Established in 1885, Turnbull & Asser is a bespoke shirtmaker on Jermyn Street, London. This summer-weight madras check mask came with its own complimentary wash bag, and was designed to coordinate with a matching short-sleeved shirt in the same linen fabric that retailed for £275.

6

7

8

9

32 NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

13. VINTAGE CHECK COTTON MASK BURBERRY, OCTOBER 2020 Announced on 20 August 2020, this limited-edition face mask was not available until ten weeks later, and sold out on the same day. The mask retailed at £90 and was accompanied by a storage pouch and a 118-page booklet explaining how to use the mask.

14. ROYAL MAIL MASK DONGGUAN CITY DANDAN GARMENTS CO LTD, JANUARY 2021 In November 2020, Royal Mail made the wearing of a face mask mandatory for indoor work situations. This mask, with ‘Royal Mail Group’ stitched into the front, was distributed to employees in January 2021 but was quickly criticised due to the product’s labelling, which read “For fashion, dress up, party (non-medical)”.

UNDERCOVER

10

11

12

13

14

15

15. LOZENGE PRINT REUSABLE MASK PARC, JULY 2020 This lozenge print mask is by Parc, constructed from waste production material and then lined with white cotton. It has neon green elastic ear loops and an integrated aluminium nose bar. After gifting samples to industry contacts in July, they were sold directly to consumers in October 2020.

WESTMINSTER MENSWEAR ARCHIVE See more collections and exhibitions from the Westminster Menswear Archive at mensweararchive.com

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 33

OUR BLACK HISTORY YEAR

OUR BLACK HISTORY YEAR Westminster’s Black History Year series is encouraging honest discussion, amplifying Black voices and accelerating the University’s progress towards becoming actively anti-racist.

When George Floyd suffocated under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, his murder sent shock waves around the globe, re-igniting Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests and forcing individuals, businesses and institutions to, once again, confront the ugly reality of systemic racism.

It could be argued that, for many of these organisations, declaring support for the BLM movement and pledging to address their lack of diversity was merely a paper exercise or PR strategy, paying lip service for fear of otherwise being ‘cancelled’.

But not Westminster. We know, as an institution based on a legacy of inclusivity and ‘education for all’, that we need to be leading in the crackdown on systemic racism in higher education; having honest and difficult conversations, and taking action towards becoming an actively antiracist institution.

“Dealing with it through one-off unconscious bias training is never going to do it,” says Dr Deborah Husbands, Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences at Westminster and co-chair of the University’s Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Network.

34 NETWORK |

“The effect of systemic racism on the higher education sector is huge. It’s not that you would experience something different at one university to another – it’s across the sector. Many of these institutions were built on the back of slavery, and so when you’ve got that kind of legacy, it’s going to take a lot of hard work to unpack it.

“And in the same way that racism is systemic, you’ve got to use systematised processes to do this unpacking,” she says. “Part of that will be through policies and looking at what our culture really is like. What are the problems? Let’s name those issues, call them out, and let’s be really honest.”

Over the past year, the University has made tangible progress towards 15 Black Lives Matter commitments outlined last June; including publishing a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy and piloting the Black History Year event series.

Each of these accomplishments has been informed and shaped by the BME Network, initially founded by Deborah, who was feeling a sense of isolation as the only Black female academic in the School of Social Sciences.

“It’s really weird when you consider

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

how diverse our University is,” she says.

“But you can have these kind of siloed experiences, and I was experiencing that quite profoundly. I felt both hypervisible and hyper-invisible because of my skin colour.”

Deborah, who among her many accolades is also a Chartered Psychologist, Fellow of the British Psychological Society and Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, has had mixed experiences at the University.

“One of the things I like to do when I meet students for the first time, is a quick straw poll to ask if they’ve ever been taught by a lecturer who looks like me. Most of the time, none of them have. On the one hand, that can be really exhilarating – I have Black female students coming up to me and saying, ‘you’ve made me feel that maybe one day I can be in academia’. Conversely, for some students, I am the opposite of what they feel a lecturer should look like, and they give you a hard time.

“So, that was the reason for the BME Network, getting people to feel that we can come together as a community and talk about our issues.”

MEMBERS AND SPEAKERS FROM OUR BLACK HISTORY YEAR COMMUNITY

For a whole year the BME Network was just Deborah alone, but it now has over 200 members from across the University. “It’s a huge community where we can integrate our experiences, regardless of our level, our discipline, or where we are situated around the University.”

Recognising that the celebration of Black lives should not be reduced to a single month, the BME Network established Black History Year – an event series to acknowledge Black stories year-round.

“The reason we shifted from a month to a year, is that Black history is an everyday experience. For me, Black history is not something that happens in October. It happens every day of our lives.”

Over the academic year, the Black History Year steering group (made up of members and allies of the BME Network and led by Deborah), created a blog of resources and stories of Black lives at Westminster, and hosted 13 online events, welcoming speakers from an array of different disciplines and backgrounds.

“We decided to take a really thematic approach and concentrate

on the contribution that Black people have made, not just at Westminster, but globally and throughout history,” Deborah explains. “For example, we looked at Black people in activism, in the creative industry, in professional services, in wellbeing and mental health.

“This isn’t about a slick production,” she adds. “We’ve just got people to come into this space and say what the reality of race and inequality is for them. So we’ve had experts, but we’ve also had lay people, and we’ve had people through Q&A articulate their own experiences.

“We have heard the lived experiences of real people. Hearing it broken down, from ‘the horse’s mouth’, so to speak, makes it so much more meaningful.”

For alumna Lubaba Khalid, the fact that the Black History Year series simply exists is a “massive achievement” in itself. “It’s so important as a platform for having those difficult conversations that we wouldn’t be having otherwise,” she says.

As former Vice-President of Welfare and former BAME Officer of the Students’ Union (SU), Lubaba has experience with

these difficult conversations.

“When I started as a Sabbatical Officer, it was very hard to have certain conversations, because some people just don’t understand,” she says. “As a Black woman, if I go into certain spaces and challenge things, it looks like I’m being ‘emotional’ or ‘aggressive’. And so many people are still in denial of the fact that our society is racist.

“But I worked hard on changing the culture at the SU. By the end of my two years, for example, the new sports strategy had in it specific interventions for Black students and for Muslim students, which was amazing.

And now people are so much more comfortable having the conversations that they were scared to before.”

In her role at the SU, Lubaba also hosted Westminster’s first ever Black History Month events.

“At the time, I had students coming up to me, saying ‘thank you so much for recognising Black History Month!’.

So it’s good that we now recognise that one month is not enough. This is not a tokenistic campaign.”

Black History Year has been very wellreceived both within the University and

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 35

OUR BLACK HISTORY YEAR

WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS AND WE ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, BUT WE HAVE TO BE REALISTIC BECAUSE THESE THINGS TAKE TIME. WE JUST NEED TO KEEP OUR FOOT ON THE GAS externally, with over 1,000 attendees across the series. In one of the most popular events, historian and author Dr Miranda Kaufmann presented a talk on Black Tudors.

“That was a real eye-opener for us,” says Deborah. “We often think about Black people in Britain being the end product of slavery, coming in around the 1800s, but they were there in the 1500s, the 1600s, and living quite peaceably, having valid occupations and being real contributors to society.

John Blanke was a famous Black Tudor, a trumpeter for Henry XIII who announced the arrival of his son. And even asked Henry for a pay rise!”

Meanwhile, for Stephen Bunbury, Senior Lecturer at Westminster Law School, the talk which resonated the most was Mental Health in Black Men, presented by Damien Ridge Professor of Health Studies at Westminster, and Associate Professor of Sociology Jason Arday.

“When you’re in a space that is not filled with people like you, you can feel alone, or like you’re being too sensitive.

But I could really relate to their stories,” Stephen recalls.

“It’s not easy to learn about the achievements of Black people unless you go to some of these events,” he adds.

“There are things that I have learnt about Black people in this series, which I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know before.

36 NETWORK |

“Hearing these stories empowers me as a Black person. It empowers me, gives me confidence, and gives me the ability to challenge certain structures.”

The series also plays a role in educating people who are not Black, he stresses. “Hearing Black stories also inspires people who are not from BME backgrounds. We have a lot of allies who are champions of trying to challenge inequalities, raising their own awareness or developing their knowledge.”

Stephen’s commitment to addressing inequality at Westminster does not stop with his contribution to the Black History Year series. Alongside his teaching, Stephen is also Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Lead for Westminster Law School and a member of Academic Council.

“We make sure that our EDI principles are addressed in teaching, learning and assessment; that these principles are embedded in the school; and that we are consistent across the University,” he explains.

The new EDI strategy is the first of its kind at Westminster. Along with an action plan, timelines and targets, the strategy lays the foundations of a long-term plan for enabling a supportive and diverse learning and working environment at the University.

“For the sector, we should aim to be leading on the EDI front,” says

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

WE ASKED MEMBERS OF OUR BLACK HISTORY YEAR STEERING GROUP: WHAT DOES BHY MEAN TO YOU? MANVIR KAUR GREWAL FHEA

Lecturer in Law, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead (Law)

“Black History Year is a call to action to continue to appreciate and uplift the contributions of Black people that are often excluded and marginalised out of ‘history’.”

EDNA JOHNSON

Sales Officer, Business Services

“It is a recognition and celebration of Black people’s contribution to the world.”

PAULA CADENHEAD, Events Manager

“It’s the long overdue celebration and recognition of the rich and educational history of Black people, that will hopefully encourage others to learn from and respect the Black community and our history.”

Stephen. “And we should be showing across the institution that whatever you do at Westminster, EDI principles are embedded into everything – the moment you step through the door, regardless of any protected characteristic.

“This work can be burdensome,” he adds. “It involves engaging groups who aren’t comfortable speaking about these things, or don’t know how to.

But I feel very optimistic. We’ve made a lot of progress towards our BLM commitments – they are happening; they’re not just on paper – we have the EDI committee, we have a lot of allies, we have networks.

“We are making progress and we are moving in the right direction, but we have to be realistic because these things take time. We just need to keep our foot on the gas.”

It’s the unique experiences of Deborah, Lubaba, Stephen and the rest of the Black History Year steering group that have really helped to shape the series, ensure its success, and influence the broader mission at the University to tackle discrimination is all its forms.

“Senior leaders have mentioned how pivotal Black History Year has been in shaping EDI at the University,” says Deborah. “I think what we’ve done is brought the experiences, the energy and the intelligence of Black people into that EDI agenda moving forward.”

Praised for the bold, sustained and refreshing approach to championing inclusivity, Black History Year will continue into the next academic year, with plans to go even bigger.

“The next run might look a bit more hybrid,” suggests Deborah. “We might have some workshops or some activities where our audiences do some work for themselves and take

things away from the sessions.

We want it to be more reflective going forward.

“We’re still taking a themed approach, so some of the things people can look out for are Black people in sports, professional development, and possibly religion.

We want to look at domestic violence too. We’re going to finish with a look at the criminal justice system, as we think there’s a whole piece in there about restorative justice that needs to be addressed.”

With all the support and positivity surrounding the Black History Year series, alongside the University’s work on diversity and inclusion, is the hope of becoming an actively anti-racist institution well within Westminster’s grasp?

According to Lubaba: “There is still a lot of room for improvement. The building blocks are there, and the series has started helping us achieve a cultural shift. But it’s very much an ongoing process.”

“I think it’s been a really interesting year,” says Deborah. “And whether people recognise it or not, we have all changed in some way. Some events have revealed that those changes aren’t as sophisticated as we would have hoped – the recent incidents of football hooliganism, for example.

“There’s a bravery about everything now. And I think the challenge for us is to change that bravery into braveness for good.”

BLACK HISTORY YEAR To find out more about Deborah, Lubaba, Stephen, the rest of the steering group and upcoming events, visit the Black History Year Blog: blog.westminster.ac.uk/blackhistoryyear

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 37

RESEARCH

The queer city: how to design more inclusive public spaces In an article for The Conversation, Professor Pippa Catterall, Professor of History and Policy at the University of Westminster, and Dr Ammar Azzouz, Short-term Research Associate at the University of Oxford, discuss the inclusive benefits of ‘queering’ public spaces.

Most people might not usually think of public space as being gendered, but this is how scholars of the built environment increasingly talk about it. In many countries, the architecture profession is largely male and white. That results in a design approach that privileges the male perspective, from licensing regimes that favour heterosexual male drinking establishments, to parks and sports facilities built for boys.

These assumptions about who the built environment should serve, as well as others such as the heterosexual, family-oriented nature of suburbia, contribute to how it is designed. They can also affect how public spaces are experienced by women or men who don’t conform to masculine stereotypes.

Design failures, such as inadequate or poorly positioned lighting, only serve to make public space even more intimidating for marginalised groups who, as a result, try to make themselves invisible – or avoid open spaces altogether.

In the context of rising patterns of hate crime, the idea of “queering” public space might offer a solution.

Through interviews with over 120 academics, designers, activists and other respondents, we have studied how considering the design and planning

38 NETWORK |

needs of LGBTQ+ people might make the public realm more inclusive.

Marginalised geographies Since the 1980s, scholars have mapped out geographies of how different social groups access, or are marginalised and threatened in public space. Much has been written, in particular, about the emergence of the ‘gayborhood’. From the 1950s, queer urban enclaves – such as Manchester’s Gay Village and London’s Soho – began to appear in rundown, marginal areas of cities across the world. Key initial factors were low rents, good transport links, and accessible bars and other amenities.

These neighbourhoods, however, are not without problems. Improvements led to increases in rent, so that these enclaves steadily became overly structured around relatively wealthy gay white males. Poorer LGBTQ+ people can often only access them via potentially dangerous transport networks. What’s more, as is borne out by police statistics, gayborhoods like Soho are marked by relatively high levels of homophobic crime.

These areas are also vulnerable to redevelopment. By contributing to the cultural value of a city, gayborhoods eventually attract investors. But regeneration and gentrification often

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

result in the communities who used to visit or live in these areas being displaced.

Almost 60 per cent of London’s LGBTQ+ venues have closed since 2010.

So, while gayborhoods have provided much appreciated space in which LGBTQ+ people can be themselves, we still need to think about inclusion in public space more generally.

Inclusive design guidelines In the UK, existing guidelines for inclusive design concentrate largely on accessibility for disabled people. In our research, we have identified three main principles to improve this.

First, planning regimes should prioritise safety. LGBTQ+ people need more privacy in public space because common activities that most people take for granted (holding hands with a partner, say) can draw negative attention.

Our respondents highlighted how greenery and lighting could be used to break up space and sight lines, and provide more privacy. It’s about getting away from both claustrophobic, enclosed designs and large, open plazas dominated by the kind of harsh security lighting and wide sight lines dictated by surveillance strategies, and the protection of property.

Instead, as in New York, planners can

RESEARCH

follow the gender-sensitive approach pioneered in Vienna, Austria, to make city parks and streets feel safer and more comfortable on an individual level.

There they have installed better, warmer lighting to encourage footfall (which can help to counter hate crime) and created semi-enclosed pockets in parks that are visible but still offer a reasonable level of privacy for those who do not feel comfortable being visible from all angles and from far off.

Second, city planners need to cater to the specific needs of all sectors of the population. For the LGBTQ+ community, this does not just mean preserving venues and historic landmarks. Historically, housing estates have often been intentionally designed for heterosexual families.

Changing design assumptions – planning for all kinds of people and families – will make cities and neighbourhoods feel more accessible and diverse.

The distinctive services required by an ageing LGBTQ+ population also need to be considered. This group is more likely to live alone than their peers. They often have distinct health needs and can lack support networks. Crucially, their experience of discrimination and exclusion often means they prefer to live in queerspecific accommodation.

Third, planners need to make spaces visibly inclusive. More representation of queer heritage – through statues, memorials, plaques, and street and building

names – would emphasise that these communities, though marginalised, have always existed. And making that history more visible, even temporarily, may help to undermine public hostility towards them.

Similarly, as on the South Bank in London, features including public artworks, artistic lighting, or decorative street furniture such as rainbow crossings, can help to signal inclusion to LGBTQ+ people. It may seem that these recommendations are simply about general good public space design. And they are.

Addressing these design issues would benefit all sections of the community, rather than just LGBTQ+ people, by making public space safer, accessible and inclusive for all.

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 39

RESEARCH

Life on Mars?

Our astrobiologist-in-residence, Professor Lewis Dartnell, discusses the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life in our solar system.

“You could possibly have jumped into a spaceship and jumped into a time machine, gone back a few billion years in Mars’s history, scooped up a glass of Martian river water and drunk it – it’s habitable water, it’s conducive for life,” says Professor Lewis Dartnell, Professor of Science Communication at the University of Westminster.

“So, if the environment on Mars was suitable, the next question that begs is: did any life evolve, emerge or originate in that environment?”

This year, the world’s imagination was once again captured by space exploration, with the Perseverance Mars Rover’s February landing; two new missions to Venus announced in June; Jeff Bezos’s and Elon Musk’s competing space aspirations (what Professor Dartnell terms the “tech bros’ space race”); even US Intelligence’s refusal to rule out the existence of aliens in its much-anticipated UFO report, released in June.

This imaginary spaceship-inside-atime-machine scenario may sound like the premise of a cult 1960s sci-fi film, but Professor Dartnell is perfectly serious.

“Large areas, we think, were once basically a seabed that was covered by a sea of water,” he explains, adding: “we see lots of areas that look like river deltas on Mars as well.”

40 NETWORK |

At the time of writing, NASA’s official hunt for life on Mars – past, present, perhaps even future – has begun. And this is science, not science fiction.

“There’s a very clear distinction between astrobiology and UFO spotting,” he says.

Professor Dartnell is perhaps best known for his popular science writing such as Origins (2019) and The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World After An Apocalypse (2014), as well as TV and Radio appearances, such as The Sky at Night. His field of astrobiology is about understanding the origins, evolution, and limits of life on Earth and elsewhere in the universe.

Much of Professor Dartnell’s research has involved searching for “hardy bacteria” on Earth’s “analogue sites” – areas closely resembling conditions on other planets (or other celestial bodies like moons). His study of Mars has taken him to the Dry Valleys of Antarctica and Chile’s Atacama Desert, using the same techniques that will now be used to hunt down bacteria on the real Mars.

“I’m confident that if there was life on Mars, we would be able to find evidence of it,” he says.

Beyond simple stargazing (or “UFO spotting”), finding bacterial life on other planets could have practical uses back on Earth.

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

“You might start being able to do some really interesting biotechnology with those cells,” explains Professor Dartnell. “Because in order to survive in a Martian environment, cells would have to be very hardy, very versatile.

They’d have to have enzymes in them that would work in very cold, very salty conditions.”

Cells of this kind could be used in washing detergents, paternity tests, or even in biofuels.

Compared to Mars, Venus – Earth’s other neighbour – has often been overlooked. With a similar size, mass and gravity to Earth, its climate is something else.

“It has this horrific greenhouse effect,” Professor Dartnell says.

“It’s hotter than an oven on the surface and has clouds of highly concentrated sulphuric acid. It’s a very extreme environment. Venus is Earth’s evil twin.”

And then, last year, potential phosphine – a gas suggesting the presence of life – was detected in Venusian clouds. With three different missions to the planet now confirmed, it is a “very exciting” time, Professor Dartnell says. But life on Venus may be hard to find.

“The surface is hot enough to melt lead,” he says. “The higher up you go, it gets cooler and cooler and

RESEARCH

cooler, and then you eventually reach an altitude where the temperature is basically Earth temperature.”

Up high in the clouds, “there’s a possibility of a habitable zone of conditions – environmental conditions – that are appropriate for life.”

When scientists refer to possible life on Mars or Venus, they are talking about microscopic bacteria, not little green men. But, returning to the hypothetical spaceship inside a time machine, could there once have been complex life on Mars, or even Venus?

Are they a window into Earth’s future?

“It’s a good point,” Professor Dartnell says. “But in the future, Earth could die like Mars, or it could die like Venus.”

In the Venus scenario, Earth will get hotter and hotter until the oceans evaporate into steam and the planet is boiled dry. Mars is the exact opposite of this. A much smaller planet, it lost its magnetic field early on, its atmosphere was “blown away into space by solar wind” and it experienced what is called a ‘runaway ice-house’. The Venus scenario is the most likely, Professor Dartnell says, at least at first.

The better we understand Venus and Mars, the better we understand both the origins of life on Earth and its future – particularly as we face the current climate crisis. But could people live on Mars one day?

“It’s a mainstay of sci-fi, it’s the rallying cry of Elon Musk,” Professor Dartnell says. “I think what’s often overlooked is just how difficult it is to live on Mars – how hard it is to make a living there. And Mars is a far less pleasant, far more inhospitable place than the South Pole.”

Having said that, he acknowledges establishing a self-sustaining colony on Mars could protect the human race from extinction, if, for instance, a huge asteroid hit the planet.

“I think we should be focusing on solving climate change and other problems, here on Earth,” he cautions though. “Because Mars is not – it is not – a get-out-of-jail-free card.”

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 41

CLASSNOTES

CLASSNOTES The University of Westminster has a global community of more than 180,000 alumni in over 180 countries worldwide.

Here is a selection of updates we have received from our alumni over the past year.

We love to hear about your accomplishments since graduation. To feature in next year’s Classnotes, please send a short update and a photo to alumni@westminster.ac.uk

WOZ AHMED

KATHIE BISHOP

I am the Chief Strategy Officer and Chief of Staff at Imagination Technologies, one of the world’s leading technology companies, developing and licensing 3D graphics, AI and vision technologies to a range of microchip companies, our customers’ chips powering autonomous cars, smartphones, tablets, and digital TVs amongst other products. I am also an industry commentator, quoted in the trade press, the broadsheet press including the FT and Telegraph, and financial news platforms such as Bloomberg and CityAM. I occasionally mentor at Westminster, with the aim of putting something back into an institution that did such a lot for me.

My intimate care brand intothewylde. com launched and won it’s first award in the middle of the pandemic in 2020 for our vegan, organic herb and water based intimate lubricant, Wylde One. Inspired by the Polyclinic patients who were getting intimate irritation after sex, I created something completely natural with top-notch ingredients that foregrounds intimacy with less irritation, allowing women to look after their bodies’ needs. It was important to me to create something that made women feel good when they bought and used it, to provide a better alternative to many of the lubricants on the high street and to help reawaken women’s natural play!

COMPUTER STUDIES BTEC HND, 1991

HERBAL MEDICINE BSC, 2009

CLIVE LEWIS

BUSINESS PSYCHOLOGY MSC, 2016

A business psychologist specialising in individual, team and organisation behaviour (with over 20 years’ experience working with executive teams and governments). I am the founder and Chief Executive of Globis Mediation Group, and one of the UK’s most sought-after mediators. I chaired the panel that produced the government-backed Reach report following the untimely death of Stephen Lawrence; was awarded an OBE in 2011; and am also the author of 17 books. My latest book, Toxic: A Guide to Rebuilding Respect and Tolerance in a Hostile Workplace, was published by Bloomsbury in the UK, US and Australia earlier this year.

42 NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

CLASSNOTES

PAUL VINCETT

ILLUSTRATION BA, 2007

Beginning my career making character mascot costumes in a workshop in Crystal Palace, I went on to become a puppet and character designer for a range of leading puppet shows and international stage shows. I’m now Creative Director of my own company, Stitches and Glue, which has grown into a platform for my own artisticled puppet and designer toy project ventures. Over the years, Stitches and Glue has supplied puppets, props and costumes for film and stage. Notable clients include Jim Henson’s Dark Crystal, Star Wars films, Assassins Creed, Kick Ass 2 and Fantastic Beasts.

KAYLEE GOLDING

ANDREA GISSDAL

I am an award-winning radio presenter and producer. I currently present on Reprezent Radio and produce the breakfast show on Magic FM. Alongside two other alumni, I launched a campaign called Radio Silence, researching the lack of diversity within radio. I shared my findings with my employer, Bauer Media, which has since signed the Equality in Audio Pact. Last year, I wrote an article for DJ Mag, exploring this issue and was able to speak with a range of BAME presenters including KISS’ Swarzy and BBC Radio 1Xtra’s DJ Ace. I continue to explore diversity in radio on my podcast, Radio Silence.

I am incredibly lucky to be in a role where I can combine my love of literature with my professional skills.

Since 2018, I have been the Head of Communications & Marketing for the Emirates Literature Foundation, a non-profit NGO in Dubai that exists to spread literacy and the love of reading across the UAE and the wider Gulf region. Our flagship event, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, is the largest celebration of books in the Arab world. We have welcomed Westminster alumni like Jon Ronson, and are always keen to welcome more author alumni in the future.

RADIO AND DIGITAL PRODUCTION BA, 2019

TREVOR GOMES

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT BA, 2018

I began working at BT after graduation and currently work within digital marketing. In 2019, I launched my youth mentoring programme, ELEVATE. The aim was to provide young people, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the skills, knowledge and experiences needed for the world of work. Starting as a face-toface programme at the Sixth Form I studied at, when the pandemic hit, I moved ELEVATE online and began to partner with new schools. Currently, the programme reaches over 10,000 young people, supported by a range of talent and business leaders.

PR AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS MA, 2005

MIRIAM BELBEHRI LAW LLB, 2018

I graduated in 2018 and had found it difficult to gather what it was I wanted to do. I am currently working within the legal field as a corporate paralegal and own an all-natural and luxury skincare small business. I paired what I am passionate about and dedicated myself to endeavours I wasn’t necessarily experienced in. I am looking to branch out even further and really push my work towards a colourful future.

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 43

CLASSNOTES

DARBY DORRAS

SIAN MEADES-WILLIAMS

RADIO PRODUCTION BA, 2012

ENGLISH LITERATURE: MODERN & CONTEMPORARY FICTION MA, 2018

I am a freelance writer who has made a business out of helping other freelance writers. Freelance Writing Jobs is an email that curates the best paying freelance gigs and calls for pitches from editors. Read by 26,000 people weekly, it’s one of the largest media industry emails in the UK, helping writers earn hundreds of thousands of pounds in commissions annually.

MARKUS GRUPP

HYPERMEDIA STUDIES MA, 2003

While volunteer-teaching students in a marginalised, inner-city neighbourhood of Toronto, I became aware of the challenges faced by adults living in poverty. In response, my partner Chenny Little and I started The Prosper Lab, a social enterprise to provide a safe, inclusive learning environment.

The concept was simple: build a business to support unemployed community members in gaining the tangible skills, experience and confidence needed to obtain and sustain employment. Since 2016, 85 per cent of participants have completed the programme, with 50 per cent finding jobs.

44 NETWORK |

My work consists of Exec’ing two weekly BBC Radio 4 strands, audio dramas, and hit podcasts. I was also founding producer of the Mental Health Minute initiative, with the aim to raise awareness of issues surrounding mental health. For this work, I received the prestigious Gold Award at the Audio Production Awards 2019. I am a Radio Academy 30 Under 30 alumnus and multiple APA and ARIA nominee. I have a physical disability and am extremely passionate about creating a more accessible and diverse industry. I am also the Founder of the Disabled People in Audio movement.

ADAM RANDALL

FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION BA, 2003

I am a film creator, writer and director, and in 2015, I directed my first feature film, Level Up. The next year, I directed iBoy, Netflix’s first UK original film, staring Maisie Williams, Rory Kinnear and Miranda Richardson. My first US film, I See You, premiered at SXSW Festival. My fourth feature, Night Teeth, released as a Netflix Original. I have various TV Series and film projects currently in development.

THIAGO JESUS

DAVID BUCHANAN

For the past six years, I have managed a cultural exchange programme between indigenous and nonindigenous artists through People’s Palace Projects. When Brazil’s first COVID-19 death was confirmed last year, I partnered with the Kuikuro to prevent the virus from entering their villages. We raised money from international audiences for essential items, helping them avoid exposure to contamination from outside the Amazonian Xingu Territories. We were able to provide the community of 650 indigenous people with food and essential medical supplies.

Starting as a programmer for a start-up, I eventually found my passion in leading technical and services teams, working for US-based firms such as Sun Microsystems and Cisco Systems for almost 30 years. I am now I am Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Salesforce, supporting their strategy and growth into China. Since starting in 2013, I have contributed to the creation of their first Success Graduate programme, bringing in over 100 graduates to support the company’s growth. Giving back has been my biggest motivation as an active mentor.

I am also a flight instructor.

VISUAL CULTURE MA, 2010

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

COMPUTING BSC, 2009

CLASSNOTES

RAVEEN WIJETILLEKE

INFORMATION SYSTEMS WITH BUSINESS MANAGEMENT BSC, 2017

While studying at IIT (Informatics Institute of Technology), I founded my business to fill a gap in the marketing communications industry in Sri Lanka.

Eyeris Private Limited is now one of Sri Lanka’s leading service design consultancies and modern media organisations. My co-founder and I started with five clients and now have over 250 accounts on board. Our clients include government institutions, multibillion-dollar corporates, and other local and international SMEs. Eyeris has been recognised for its creativity and technical prowess and is now a 30MM LKR company.

BRUNO AZIZA

DIPLOMA OF SPECIAL STUDY (EXCHANGE PROGRAMME), 1996

SAMANTHA MOY

I am the Head of Data & Analytics at Google. As a technology executive, I helped launch three start-ups, two of which have been sold, and contributed to the significant growth of major companies such as Microsoft and Oracle. I have written two books on the topic of business performance and have a monthly column in Forbes Magazine on artificial intelligence, machine learning, data and analytics.

I have also lectured at Stanford University and Harvard. When I came to London from France to study, I spoke little English. My experience studying at Westminster helped me discover myself and is also where I met my wife.

Now the Head of BBC Radio 6 Music, I began my career at London’s KISS 100 before joining production company, Somethin’ Else. In my nine years at Radio 1, I produced Steve Lamacq, Jo Whiley, Chris Moyles and Annie Mac. In 2011, I joined 6 Music and Radio 2 as Executive Producer, becoming 6 Music’s Network Editor in 2018. As 6 Music Head of Station, I have introduced Jamz Supernova and The Blessed Madonna to the network, given artists their own residencies, commissioned series from Cillian Murphy, Beastie Boys and Robyn, and overseen the virtual 6 Music Festival 2021.

ANIS RAHMAN

LAW DIPLOMA, 1985

I am a senior practising barrister, former magistrate and previous advisor to the Home Secretary on race equality and community affairs. I was also a Whitehall civil servant for 20 years. I was called to the English Bar from the Honorable Society of Inner Temple, and I am a member of 12 Old Square Chambers. As a member of the Windrush generation, I have been noted for my expertise in tackling racism and promoting community cohesion and access to justice for the most disadvantaged communities.

MEDIA STUDIES WITH RADIO BA, 1998

DR NUHA ELTINAY

INTERNATIONAL PLANNING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MA, 2012

While Senior Urban Development Specialist at World Bank, I led and contributed to policy dialogue and advisory work in the areas of urban development, to help enhance the capacity of national and subnational governments in responding to urbanisation challenges. I recently completed my PhD, working towards developing a Policy Guidance for Building Urban Resilience in the MENA Region complexity of Climate Change, Conflict and Displacement.

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 45

COULD YOU MENTOR? The University’s award-winning Mentoring Scheme supports hundreds of students and recent graduates each year.

Our students need mentors from across a huge range of industries to provide one-off and longer term mentoring.

To find out more, email career-mentoring@westminster.ac.uk westminster.ac.uk/mentor-signup

IMPACT PODCAST YOUR SUPPORT IN ACTION

Be inspired with stories and interviews from across the University community, with our new Westminster Impact podcast. anchor.fm/westminsterimpact LISTEN, SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE TODAY

TELEPHONE CAMPAIGN

This November, our team of dedicated student callers will be in touch to offer you an opportunity to support Westminster students through The 125 Fund.

Find out more at westminster.ac.uk/the-telephone-campaign

OPEN DAYS westminsterconnect.org

YOUR EXCLUSIVE NETWORKING HUB Make the most of the diverse and highly skilled global pool of Westminster graduates by signing up to Westminster Connect • Reconnect with classmates • Post and search for job opportunities • Give and receive career advice • Access your alumni benefits, and much more!

Join the thousands of alumni already signed up at westminsterconnect.org

46 NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021

If you, or someone you know, is thinking about further study, join us in person or online for an open day to find out more about the opportunities available at Westminster.

POSTGRADUATE ONLINE OPEN EVENING 10 NOVEMBER 2021 UNDERGRADUATE ONLINE OPEN DAY 27 NOVEMBER 2021

westminster.ac.uk/study/open-days

ENJOY ALUMNI DISCOUNT ON POSTGRADUATE STUDY*

WHAT IT TAKES ONLINE ALUMNI SERIES

University of Westminster alumni are entitled to discount on full- or part-time postgraduate courses at the University.

Find out more and book a place westminster.ac.uk/what-it-takes

All those who hold a Bachelors degree with Honours, a Masters degree, or have completed a minimum of one semester as a study abroad or exchange student from the University of Westminster are eligible.

Postgraduate Loans of up to £10,280 are also available from Student Finance England to help you finance your studies.

For more information please contact our Course Enquiries Team at course-enquiries@westminster.ac.uk *Terms and conditions apply

SUPPORT TODAY FOR THE STUDENTS OF TOMORROW Support future students by leaving a gift in your will – one of the easiest ways of making a lasting gift to the University.

To find out more about remembering Westminster in your will, contact Amar Kataora on +44 (0)20 3506 6602 or at a.kataora@westminster.ac.uk

CHANGING THE WORLD

WELCOME BACK TO THE REGENT STREET CINEMA

PROFESSIONAL AND SHORT COURSES The University of Westminster has an extended portfolio of programmes for continuing professional development (CPD), and offers short courses in a number of subject areas.

Your attendance may count towards CPD with professional bodies.*

SEE WHAT’S ON THIS SEASON: regentstreetcinema.com

Find out more and apply: westminster.ac.uk/courses/professional-andshort-courses *Please see individual course descriptions for details

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021 |

| NETWORK 47

Join your global Westminster community online at

westminsterconnect.org

The University of Westminster is a charity and a company limited by guarantee. Registration number: 977818.

Registered office: 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2UW 9293/08.21/SC/GP

48 NETWORK |

| ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2021