Public vote opens for the Westminster Alumni Awards 2022

 In 2022, more than 300 applications and nominations were made for the Westminster Alumni Awards. Colleagues from across the University helped with shortlisting, leading to four finalists being selected in each category. The awards highlight the variety of ways Westminster graduates make a real impact across the globe. Alumni can apply to one of six categories, or can be nominated by students, staff, other alumni, or members of the public.

The first category is ‘Contribution to the Creative Industries Award’ which celebrates graduates who have made their name in the fields of arts and culture. The finalists for this category include Larry Achiampong, a graduate of the Mixed Media Arts BA Honours course who is now an internationally celebrated artist known for major public commissions for Somerset House and Transport for London; Chris Banks and Wag Marshall-Page, Commercial Music BA Honours graduates, who are award-winning music composers for TV and radio; Noreen Naroo-Pucci, a Fashion Design BA Honours graduate, who is the Chief Design Officer at menswear brand Mizzen and Main, and the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of KIK Axion Sports; and musician and graduate of Modern Languages, Brian Willoughby, who worked with performers such as Mary Hopkin, No Sweat, Strawbs and Monty Python .

The second category is ‘Entrepreneurial Award’ for alumni with ground-breaking entrepreneurial endeavour. Sofia Fominova, who studied postgraduate courses in Marketing Management and in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Enterprise Development, is the co-founder of the Net0 carbon management platform, and the founder of Supertrace.com and GreenVendor. Graham Hobson, graduate of the Computer Science BSc Honours course, is the co-founder of the Photobox online photo printing company, which has an annual revenue of over £300m. Heidi Sophia Liu, graduate of the Global Business - International Entrepreneurship MA course, is the founder and director of Global Conscious Fashion Pty Ltd, an Australian sustainable clothing company, and also the Founder of D’coco Food and Beverage Corporation in the Philippines. Kunal Thakker, who graduated with a Business Studies BA Honours degree, founded the dental group Tooth Club, comprising of ten dental practices with an annual revenue of £7m.

The ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ is the third category that recognise graduates for their ongoing and significant contribution over the years, at any stage of their life. Professor Chris Bellamy, who graduated with a Russian BA Honours degree, became the Defence Correspondent of the Independent in 1990, Director of the Security Studies Institute at Cranfield University in 1997, and in 2007 he published ‘Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War’, which won the Duke of Westminster's Medal for Military Literature. Dr Shameem Fawdar, who completed a Biotechnology in Medicine BSc Honours degree and a PhD, is the Chief Scientific Officer of Axonova Pharma Ltd, and previously held several positions in Research and Development in Mauritius, while implementing novel research platforms, and co-authoring many publications. Ian Ross, who graduated with a Photographic Arts BA Honours degree, is an international film producer who has worked in Europe, Asia, Africa, and for Universal Pictures, and he also ran his own TV commercials production companies in London, South Africa, Greece and Dubai. Amba Shirfield, who completed a Modern Languages BA Honours degree, is the Director of External Relations for Teach First, and has led London-based youth charities, African and Australian charities and four schools across the UK and Qatar, where she is hoping to raise £20m for scholarships and a capital campaign.

The fourth category, ‘Outstanding Achievement Award’, celebrates those of notable personal or professional success. The finalists are Lucio Bagnulo, a Translation and Interpreting MA graduate, who is Head of Translation and Language Strategy at Amnesty International, board member of the Language Industry Expert Group of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation; Nikhil Inamdar, a graduate of the Journalism (International) - Broadcast MA course, is the BBC’s Business Correspondent, contributing to programmes including BBC Breakfast, Outside Source, Asia Business Report, World Business Report & Talking Business; Lubna Shuja, graduate of the Law LLB course, is a solicitor who opened her own law firm Legal Swan Solicitors in 2007, and will soon become the first Asian, the first Muslim and the seventh female to be President of the Law Society of England and Wales; and Melanie Smith, a Biomedical Sciences MSc graduate, is a biomedical scientist and scientific advisor in clinical and public health microbiology laboratory testing, who greatly contributed to COVID-19 testing policy, guidance, legislation and standards, and was awarded Healthcare Scientist of the Year 2021 by the Office of the Chief Scientific Officer.

‘The Recent Graduate Award’ is the fifth category that honours recent graduates who have achieved something extraordinary within just three years of leaving Westminster. The finalists for this award include Max Boender, a Computer Network Security BSc Honours graduate, who developed an integrated hardware and software-based solution that makes tracking the flow of goods easy for businesses; Ayanna Deane, graduate of the Global Public Health Nutrition MSc course and Project Officer at the charity School Food Matters, who implemented and managed the day-to-day logistics of the Healthy Breakfast Boxes Project during the Covid-19 pandemic, working with a budget of £1m for breakfasts to children severely impacted by the pandemic, and won an APPG Excellence in School Food Award in 2021; Jan Dybus, graduate of the Television Production BA Honours course, is the youngest director at the Polish Papaya Films company and creator of his own TV mini-series, which was sold to major streaming platform Canal+; and Monique Noel Brown, graduate of the Spanish and Global Communication BA Honours course, was an intern at BT Enterprise where she created the BT-wide slogan #WeAreDifferentTogether to promote diversity and inclusion across BT, and has since been offered a PR position with Amazon Web Services in London where she will set up a DEI Interns Committee.

Finally, the sixth category is the ‘Social Impact Award’ for alumni who have made a positive contribution to the lives of others. Suhail Algosaibi, who completed a Master of Business and Administration, launched the non-political, non-partisan Bahrain Foundation for Dialogue (BFD), which supports cooperation between the Sunnis and Shias and conducts its own civil dialogue training programmes. Edmilson Angelo, graduate of the Politics and International Relations BA Honours course, is the founder and director of Change 1’s Life CIO, an international charity supporting development projects in sub-Saharan Africa, and has been recognised by the UN under Kofi Annan and Akon Lighting Africa under the Give1Project. Olbin Antonio Mejia Cambar, graduate of the International Commercial Law LLM course, is the Deputy Director of Human Rights and International Disputes, promoting the right of trans people in Honduras region, as well as the rights of the Miskitu indigenous population. Jennifer Mohammadi, graduate of the Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience BSc Honours course, co-founded the Strengths & Resilience group with the Barnet Leaving Care team, worked as a healthcare assistant at the Children's Trust in the rehabilitation ward during lockdown, and is currently putting together a buddy scheme to support care leavers.

Vote for your winners on the Engage platform. Voting closes at 23.59 BST on Sunday 11 September 2022.

Find out more about the 2022 finalists in each category.