Previous winners
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2014 winner
The nominee chosen by the judging panel to receive the title University of Hertfordshire Alumnus of the Year 2014 was Dr Diana Hodgins MBE.
Women in Engineering
In the late-1980s/early-1990s, the Engineering Council made very strenuous efforts through its WISE ("Women into Science and Engineering") initiative to encourage women to become scientists and engineers - and the country still needs many more women to enter these professions. Dr Diana Hodgins MBE is a wonderful example and a great role-model of a woman who is a brilliant engineer and a very successful entrepreneur.Sponsored by British Aerospace (BAe) (where she spent her industrial placements), Diana Hodgins undertook a four-year sandwich course in Mechanical Engineering at the Hatfield Polytechnic graduating with a BSc in 1982. During this period she also designed a novel cooling system for electronic equipment and filed a patent, later presented in Florida for BAe Dynamics. Since then Diana has spent her career in industry in a variety of companies although this has not all been plain sailing – she has experienced failure.
Going it alone
Whilst Technical Director at Neotronics Scientific Ltd and developing an "electronic nose" project (which consisted of sensors able to detect decay in food and wine), the project faltered and she lost her job. This experience, however, taught her much and provided the impetus to set up her own company European Technology for Business (ETB) where she is the Managing Director with twenty-seven patents to her name. Diana was one of the first people designing using microsystem technology. She states, "I've always had a passion for engineering; my interest has always swayed in developing smaller systems like Microsystems, rather than large devices like aircraft design".
In the late-1980s, Diana embarked on a Hatfield Polytechnic scheme that allowed her, as a full-time employee in industry, to undertake a doctorate. She wrote her doctoral thesis on sonar and gyroscopes and graduated with a PhD in Solid State Physics in 1990.
MBE
Diana's outstanding work was recognized nationally in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2000 when she was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) "for services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the East of England". In 2002 she won the prestigious "Woman Inventor of the Year Award for Industry" and was chosen as one of the Ambassadors for the Department of Trade and Industry's Small Business Service.
Honorary Doctorate
The University of Hertfordshire awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Science degree in 2005 for her contribution to innovation in the region.
Diana remains closely associated with the University of Hertfordshire. She was the very inspirational keynote speaker at the University's School of Engineering and Technology "Careers in Engineering" event in January 2014 (attended by over two hundred students). She has also acted as an advisor for the Mechatronics degree (starting later this year), been the inspiration behind the School of Engineering and Technology's vision for a new degree in Biomedical Engineering and is a Visiting Professor in the School of Engineering and Technology.
Diana Hodgins' career is not only an inspiration and a role-model for our current students. For any woman thinking of entering the either science or engineering professions, it is a great example of what can be achieved.
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2015 winner
This year the judging panel chose a recent graduate to be our "Alumnus of the Year". Jamie Stone graduated in 2013 from the School of Health and Social Work with a BSc in Social Work.Since leaving Hatfield, Jamie has worked for Hertfordshire County Council (a key stakeholder in the University's Social Work degree course) supporting adults with a learning disability in the Dacorum area.
Newly Qualified Social Worker of the Year (Adults)
On 28 November 2014 Jamie, who had been recommended and short-listed for the very prestigious national award of "2014 Newly Qualified Social Worker of the Year (Adults)" category, was presented with the award at a ceremony at the Lancaster Hotel, London. The awarding body stated that his nomination was described by their judges as "beautiful, inspiring, loaded with values and integrity".
The Social Worker of the Year Awards website stated, "In particular, the panel were impressed with his imaginative thinking while working with a service user with severe agoraphobia. By using a Wii consul and sports games, Jamie encouraged him to leave the house to increase his score on a walking game and making huge steps that more experienced social workers had failed to achieve".
Commenting on his award, Jamie said, "It's very humbling for my work to be appreciated in this way. It's great to see social work, a profession which usually gets a lot of bad publicity, receive some positive press".
Parliamentary reception
In February 2015, Jamie Stone (with other national award winners) was invited to a Parliamentary Reception at the House of Commons and was congratulated by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, Edward Timpson MP, and by Lyn Romeo, Chief Social Worker for Adults.
Describing Jamie, the Community Care website states, "In addition to his day-to-day caseload, Jamie has also taken a lead role in promoting voting rights for people with disabilities, an issue close to his heart. He co-led a workshop with a national charity at Hertfordshire's community conference in March. It was one of the best attended sessions of the day and he is now working to develop a countrywide programme. Jamie has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of service users".
Inspiring students
In selecting Jamie Stone to be the 2015 "Alumnus of the Year", the judging panel believed that Jamie is a real inspiration to the University's students and demonstrated that you do not necessarily have to be in a profession for many years to make a real impact on people's lives.
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2016 winner
The nominee chosen by the judging panel to receive the title University of Hertfordshire Alumnus of the Year 2016 was Dr Timothy Bliss.During the late 1970s as a day-release student, Dr Bliss studied for and was awarded a BSc degree in Mathematics from The Hatfield Polytechnic in 1975.
Honorary Doctor of Science
He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Hertfordshire in 2014 in recognition of his success as an alumnus and his immense contribution to advancing the understanding of the complexities of the human brain.
When he received his honorary doctorate and describing his 1970s Hatfield studies, he commented, "Although I believed that mathematics would help me in my research, it was the pleasure of immersing myself in the subject with a group of enthusiastic mature students, and the excellence of the teaching, that has stayed with me down the years".
Grete Lundbeck European Brain Prize
Dr Bliss, alongside two other renowned scientists, won the 2016 Grete Lundbeck European Brain Prize. The highly-prestigious prize, was awarded to the trio for their ground-breaking research on the cellular and molecular basis of Long Term Potentiation and the demonstration that this form of synaptic plasticity underpins spatial memory and learning.
Tim has also been awarded many other important prizes such as the Bristol Myers Squibb Award for Neuroscience (together with E Kandel) in 1991, the Feldberg Prize in 1994, and the Ipsen Prize for Neural Plasticity (together with Richard Morris and Yadin Dudai) in 2013. In May 2012 Dr Bliss gave the annual Croonian lecture at the Royal Society on the "Mechanics of Memory".
Inspirational
University of Hertfordshire Vice-Chancellor, Professor Quintin McKellar, commented: “Throughout his long and most distinguished career spanning four decades, Dr Bliss has mentored, inspired and nurtured a whole generation of neuroscientists who are flourishing and working in laboratories all over the world.
"He is an inspirational figure and is a very worthy winner of the University of Hertfordshire 2016 Alumnus of the Year”.
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2018 winners
UK Alumnus of the Year
Ahmed Aydeed
LLB, 2009
From his citation,'Ahmed only qualified as a solicitor in 2015 but has already built an impressive track record of defending the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers.
A former child refugee himself, Ahmed fled the devastating civil war in what is now Somaliland in 1990, first settling in the Netherlands and then coming to the UK in 2001.
Joining the University as a law student, he developed his interest in human rights and free movement of people, attracting the attention of law firm Duncan Lewis. There, he quickly rose through the ranks, successfully representing individuals in judicial reviews against the Lord Chancellor, the Secretary of State for the Home Department and local authorities.
The last year in particular has proved remarkable for Ahmed. In July he was appointed Director of Public Law at his company, and in October he won a prestigious Law Society Excellence Award.
The judges said they “were amazed at his inspirational dedication and the impact his work has had on bringing the Home Office to account”. Just a few months later he was announced as a finalist in the Birmingham Law Society Awards for his work in safeguarding vulnerable people.
Ahmed's passion, commitment and perseverance are exemplified by his ongoing dedication towards defending those members of society who can’t readily access help and support. He continues to be at the forefront of advocating against the unlawful detention of migrants, supporting and representing trafficking and torture victims, as well as unaccompanied child refugees.'
International Alumnus of the year
Martin Pistorius
Computer Science, 2013
From his citation,'Martin is an inspiration to all. He's the author of the 2011 international bestseller, Ghost Boy, in which he recounts his remarkable life story. At the age of 12 Martin fell ill and within 18 months was mute and unable to move.
His parents were told that Martin was suffering from an unknown degenerative disease and only had two years to live. But after more than a decade of complete immobility, Martin began to regain some movement and eventually learnt to communicate through the use of computers.
The same year his book was published, Martin graduated from Hertfordshire with a first-class honours degree in computer science. For his final-year project he used technology to create a 'voice' for himself, and now communicates via a specialist keyboard and screen interface.
Although he still needs a wheelchair, Martin has shown incredible courage and determination to live a fulfilling life. In recent years he’s learnt to drive and taken up wheelchair racing. In 2017 he completed his first two 10km races – despite having a broken hand at the time. He’s also launched his own web-design business specialising in accessibility issues for people requiring assistive communication technology.
Furthermore, Martin has travelled the world to promote his work and share his inspirational story. In January he came back to the University to give an emotional talk, speaking warmly of his experience here and paying tribute to his former tutors and fellow students.'
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2019 winners
UK Alumnus of the Year
Alexandria Lowry
LLB (Hons) Law
Alex, a graduate of the LLB and LPC programme at the University of Hertfordshire has recently been appointed a Justice First Fellow at the Royal Courts of Justice Advice in London and qualified as a Solicitor in 2018.She is one of 15 Justice First Fellows whose training contracts were funded by TLEF last year. As part of her Justice First Fellowship, Alex had to set up a Justice Project of her own. Working in conjunction with the charity Refuge, Alex set up a consultancy service offering legal advice and representation to women to who may not usually be able to access it.
Since starting the project, Alex has supported around 50 victims of violence and has seen her project grow in size. Recently, RCJ Advice was awarded a £1.1 million grant from the Tampon Tax Fund to allow them to set up a domestic violence legal advice scheme, Finding Legal Options for Women Survivors - or FLOWS, for short.
The project involves partnering with a host of key nationwide networks, and it is expected to be a game-changer in increasing the number of domestic violence victims who have access to legal advice.
She is an excellent example of a University of Hertfordshire graduate making an impact in her field and contributing to the lives of others through her professional and academic training.
International Alumnus of the year
Serter Varol
BA (Hons) Business Administration
Serter Varol started his first company during his studies at Hertfordshire in 2008. He used to run business ideas through with this lecturers and tutors, and their input was invaluable at shaping his entrepreneurial plans. When his first business failed, they encouraged him to move on and start another.His company, Mobven, is a fast growing, top tier mobile technology company, specialising in fintech products and services, with a team of 40.
Mobven’s success over the last three years, as recognised within the financial and business service industry and beyond, has been quite phenomenal. Serter himself has been a candidate for ‘Global Shapers Under 30’ by the World Economic Forum.
In 2017 Serter was chosen from thousands of UK HEI alumni applicants to represent the University of Hertfordshire as a Finalist in the world-wide British Council Alumni Awards.
In January 2019, and for the second year in a row, his company has won the highly prestigious international award by Deloitte as one of Turkey's Fastest Growing Top 50 Tech Companies.
Serter is a fantastic role model for the University’s international student community and a deserving winner of our International award.