Hello and welcome to our September newsletter.
I’m especially delighted to welcome our new graduates, the Class of 2020, into our 200,000+ wide alumni family and I hope you will all join me in extending our well wishes for the next stage of their journey after final year. In light of graduation ceremonies having to be postponed this summer, we were delighted to gift our new graduates with a specially designed graduation pin to acknowledge the very challenging and unusual times in which they completed their studies. We also arranged special messages of support from some of our most esteemed honorary graduates including Sir Ian McKellen, Tommy Bowe and Bronagh Gallagher. We hope the Class of 2020 have all received their pin by now and will wear it with pride.
It’s hard to believe that after almost six months since our campuses closed, we’re now on the countdown to the beginning of the new academic year. Undoubtedly it will be a little different to other years, but our colleagues across the University are doing all they can to make things as seamless and as clear for our new and returning students. They will ensure that both academic and student experience, for which Ulster is so renowned, will continue to be delivered to the highest quality.
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all our alumni who have sent messages, engaged with us in any way, supported our campaigns and continued to contribute so generously to life at Ulster as we continued our work under a ‘new normal’. We have already shared some of these stories and campaigns in previous editions and on social media and will bring you more below. Your support is vital in helping us continue our work with students and the wider University community.
As our alumni family continues to grow, we are continually looking at new ways to keep you connected and create opportunities to continue your involvement in University life. Watch this space for a new online Alumni Network that will be launching soon, which will make connecting with your fellow graduates across the world and engaging with the University even easier than before. For all the latest information on this and our other projects coming up in the new 20/21 year, stay tuned to our weekly emails, social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin) and monthly newsletter. Please feel free to get in touch directly if there’s anything we can help with.
Warmest wishes,
Roisin McNamara
Alumni Relations Manager, Ulster University