Winners of the Westminster Alumni Awards 2021 announced

The Westminster Alumni Awards are an annual programme to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of graduates from the University of Westminster, as well as from the University’s predecessors and partner institutions. Winners of each category are decided by public vote, with more than 4,500 people from around the world voting in the Alumni Awards this year.

The winners of the Contribution to the Creative Industries Award are Kadri Mahmoud, Kiran Mandla and Chris Toumazou who graduated from the Contemporary Media Practice BA Honours course in 2012. The award recognises a graduate or group of graduates who have excelled in the realm of arts and culture, and was awarded to Kadri, Kiran and Chris for their entertainment brand ‘COMPULSORY’. Over six years, they have grown from working on low-budget music videos to feature film distribution, television and broadcast advertising. COMPULSORY is currently the only independently-owned production company of its scale, and has created three videos with Stormzy, and two collaborations with Madonna.

Siobhan Miller, a graduate of the Psychology MSc course, is the winner of the Entrepreneurial Award, which is given to a graduate who displays entrepreneurial spirit in their endeavours. Siobhan is the founder of The Positive Birth Company, which aims to make antenatal and postnatal education and support more accessible for everyone. Through her book, app and courses, Siobhan has helped over 100,000 people in the last year alone, and she has also recently received funding for her business on Dragon’s Den.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Iruthisham Adam, who graduated from the Diplomatic Studies course in 2001, recognising her ongoing and significant contribution over a number of years. Iru has served as a Minister of Health and Minister of Youth and Sports for the Republic of Maldives, where under her leadership the health system began initiatives for universal health coverage, the infrastructure of atoll hospitals and specialist medical services. She was also appointed as the first-ever female Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, and was elected as Vice President of the UN Human Rights Council in 2013.

Legal Practice Postgraduate Diploma graduate Neveen Galal was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award, which recognises a graduate who has had notable personal or professional successes. Neveen is an immigration human rights lawyer, and her career has focussed on fields including immigration, refugee and human rights law. She 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 has also helped mentor and train graduates at the start of their careers. Naveen has also founded Amnesty Solicitors, a UK immigration and human rights law firm.

The winner of the Recent Graduate Award, which is awarded to a recent graduate who has achieved something extraordinary within just three years of leaving Westminster, is Rituja Rao who graduated from the Journalism BA Honours course in 2018. Rituja is an award-winning IT consultant and emerging thought leader in the UK tech industry with a background in financial services and digital transformation. She regularly speaks at industry events, provides mentoring and is a tech careers panellist. She is also an ex-trustee of a UK-based women’s charity and actively advocates for younger people to start their board careers.

The final award is the Social Impact Award, which recognises a graduate who has made a positive contribution to the lives of others. The award was given to Shivani Dhillon, who graduated from the Diplomatic Studies MA course in 2003. Shivani is the founder of Down Syndrome Support Group in India, which she founded in 2012 after struggling to find support for her daughter and facing stigma and discrimination in India. The group provides counselling, support and information to people with Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities and their families, and consists of more than 2,500 parents across India. She is also an ex-BBC journalist, and worked for almost a decade until she had her daughter.

Learn more about each winner on the University’s website.

Watch the announcement video on YouTube.