UCL Alumni

28/10/2026

Meet the winners of the Global Impact UCL Alumni Award 🏆

The Global Impact Award celebrates alumni who shape how people understand the world, challenge perspectives and shift culture through their voices, ideas and creativity. Through reimagining urban swimming, bringing conversations about racism in medicine to everyday readers, and representing the UK at the Holy See, our 2026 winners are making a meaningful impact around the globe 🌏

Huge congratulations to our inaugural 2026 Global Impact Award winners:
✨ Dr Annabel Sowemimo (UCL Medicine MBBS 2014)
✨ Chris Romer-Lee (Post Graduate Diploma in Architecture 1998)
✨ Tammy Sandhu MBE (UCL International Public Policy MSc 2005)

Swipe through to find out more about their inspiring stories and the impact they’re making around the world!

Read more about their stories:
👉 https://www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni/stories/dr-annabel-sowemimo-leading-voice-equality-healthcare-and-beyond
👉 https://www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni/stories/chris-romer-lee-spearheading-urban-swimming-revolution
👉 https://www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni/stories/tammy-sandhu-mbe-making-history-global-stage

27/10/2026

⚡ Powering the next era of brain research – quite literally!

Last week we hit an exciting milestone for our new centre for neuroscience at 256 Grays Inn Road – the power was officially turned on!

We can now work towards energising and commissioning the primary infrastructure systems within the building that will support our groundbreaking research.

A partnership between UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UK Dementia Research Institute and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, the facility will house over 500 researchers and an NHS outpatient unit and MRI suite.

This takes us one step further towards achieving our vision of building a world-class research and treatment hub to fight neurological diseases, which are now the world’s leading cause of disability.

Here, we translate brain science into life-changing treatments 🧠

Follow the journey: https://bit.ly/47E0KTQ

23/10/2026

The wait is finally over! 💜 🎉

We’re so pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural UCL Alumni Awards!

What better way to mark our bicentenary than by celebrating some of the exceptional people who make up our community!

Our Global Impact Award winners

🏆 Dr Annabel Sowemimo (UCL Medicine MBBS 2014)
🏆 Chris Romer-Lee (UCL Postgraduate Diploma in Architecture 1998)
🏆 Tammy Sandhu MBE (UCL International Public Policy MSc 2005)

Our Discovery Award winners

🏆 Amy McKeown (UCL Human Sciences BSc 2002; Health Informatics MSc 2008)
🏆 Dr Jessica Barton (UCL Psychology BSc 2015; UCL Low Intensity Cognitive Interventions PGCert 2017)
🏆 Michele Puga Sarubbi (UCL Social Justice and Education MA 2023)

Our Citizens Award winners

🏆 Hana Suri (UCL Environment and Sustainable Development MSc 2023)
🏆 Lewis Cheng (UCL Strategic Management of Projects MSc 2019)
🏆 Richard Racz (UCL Information Management for Business BSc 2022)

From driving progress and leading the way in their professional fields, to using their voices and ideas to shape culture, and giving back to UCL, our winners are making an extraordinary impact in the world and within our university community.

Meet our winners and read their inspiring stories: https://bit.ly/4zOoQXV

Stay tuned over the coming weeks as we shine a spotlight on our winners and their stories…

21/10/2026

In the age of AI and social media, what could we learn about handling information overload from the people of the Renaissance era?

At our autumn graduation ceremonies, we were delighted to welcome back Professor Henry Woudhuysen, former Dean of UCL Arts and Humanities, to receive an Honorary degree.

An expert in Renaissance literature, Prof Woudhuysen explained what lessons we can take from the 15th and 16th centuries to navigate the challenges of our times – and shared the Shakespeare quotation which has stuck with him throughout his life.

Watch the video to hear his reflections👇

20/10/2026

"The path to stronger student outcomes lies not in sweeping reform, but in the small, everyday interactions between teachers and students."

New research led by the UCL Institute of Education and Words Matter shows that positive communication from teachers boosts student attendance and learning motivation.

While nine in ten students said positive communication helps them learn, one in four said they experienced harsh words and more than a third said that negative experiences contributed to them avoiding school altogether. This shows that strengthening classroom relationships is key to building more inclusive environments.

Read more: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/sep/positive-teacher-communication-boosts-attendance-learning-and-motivation

19/10/2026

Before he shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, UCL alum Sir Demis Hassabis (UCL Cognitive Neuroscience PhD 2009) was a postdoctoral researcher at UCL's Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit. (He is one of three Nobel laureates associated with the Unit!)

The Unit, and the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre that shares its home, have now secured their next five years of funding, thanks to a £112.5 million gift renewal from The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Wellcome to support their research into how brains and machines compute, learn and behave.

Generations of researchers have trained at the two centres and gone on to lead their own groups around the world. This renewal means the next generation of UCL alumni and staff have the chance to follow in their footsteps.

https://bit.ly/4yrjQHu

Two research centres, which are associated with three Nobel prize winners, will continue to lead ground-breaking work addressing the most fundamental questions in neuroscience and AI.

17/10/2026

What actually shapes what’s on your plate?

Yesterday was , and we're spotlighting this Portico magazine deep-dive that challenges the way we view the global food system.

Inside, researchers unpack the truth about ultra-processed food, prove that fussy eating is largely down to our genes, and explore how we measure the true carbon footprint of what we eat.

Read more: https://magazine.ucl.ac.uk/food-for-thought/index.html

Here, we're building a healthier planet for healthier people

Discover how research from academics across UCL is shaping how and what we eat

16/10/2026

UK SIM cards, Tube maps, and the best spots to eat in Bloomsbury – words of wisdom from our global alumni community for our newest international students 🌎

This August, our alumni volunteers hosted send-off events across the world for our newest London-bound students – in cities from Boston to Baku 💜

The events gave incoming students a chance to meet their peers, connect with alumni, and gain valuable advice about UCL and living abroad.

A big thank you to our alumni volunteers for their time and effort in making new students feel supported and extending a warm UCL welcome 💫

Full story: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/alumni/stories/2026/oct/warm-ucl-welcome-alumni-volunteers-connect-new-students-18-cities

15/10/2026

Here, we’re tackling the most urgent challenges of our time – with your support.

On 11 February, UCL’s foundation day, we launched – a campaign convening our global community in pursuit of a healthier, fairer and more sustainable world.

The response from our community has been remarkable, and in the last year UCL alumni have given £13 million in support of Here, it will happen.

In our Philanthropy Snapshot, we’re celebrating our supporters and partners, and the impact they’re enabling in areas ranging from neuroscience to student support.

Read the snapshot 👇

The story of philanthropy and volunteering at UCL in 2025-26.

14/10/2026

Here, students take on UCL's founding values – and go on to change the world.

At our autumn graduations, we caught up with producer Alison Owen (UCL English BA 1982) as she received her Honorary degree.

Watch the video to find out how UCL's values have informed Alison's life and career, and her advice for new grads breaking into the film and TV industry 🎥

How have UCL's founding values shaped your life since graduating?