Alumni of the year
Each year, the University awards a number of Alumni of the Year to recognise and celebrate their outstanding achievements. Read about their success here.
Helen Cowley
BA (Hons) Fine Art, 2000
Helen Cowley is the Founder and Director of Dutch Uncle, an award-winning international art agency with offices in London, Tokyo and New York. Dutch Uncle represents and sources talent for organisations looking to commission artists to produce animation, illustration and design.
Clair Graham
Social Work BSc (Hons)
Clair left school with no qualifications and due to having criminal offences on her record, her journey wasn’t ever going to be an easy one. But after doing voluntary work and securing a role as a Social Work Assistant, Clair decided to return to education, choosing to study Social Work at BCU. Now, she is the Head of Service for Contextual Safeguarding at Birmingham Children’s Trust and continues to inspire the next generation of social workers with her extraordinary story.
Lily Pebbles
BA (Hons) Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations 2010
When Lily Pebbles began her beauty and lifestyle blog while still a student at the University, she had no idea how many doors would open up for her. Now she runs her blog and YouTube channel full-time, attends regular press events, collaborates with brands such as Revlon, Bobbi Brown and Evian, and last year won In Style’s Project 13 Awards for Best Beauty Blogger. She has an impressive 477,000 subscribers on YouTube, receiving over a million views a month, and over 420,000 followers on Instagram.
Di Xiao
BA (Hons) AdvPgDip Professional Performance 2007
Having started learning the piano at a young age in her native China, Di Xiao then got the chance to study at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where she developed personally and professionally, and had the chance to build her experience with the opportunity to perform at such prestigious venues as Birmingham’s world-famous Symphony Hall.
Tom Bell FRICS
BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying, 2009 (part-time)
Tom is a partner in Quantem Consulting, specialising in quantity surveying and managing construction projects. He focuses on the industrial, commercial and advance manufacturing sectors, and has international experience in delivering Aviation projects.
Mark Cund
BSc (Hons) Computing and Electronics, 2008 and MSc Automotive Calibration and Control, 2012
Mark Cund completed a BSc (Hons) in Computing and Electronics in 2008, before returning to study for an MSc in Automotive Calibration and Control, which he graduated from in 2012. After working for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) for almost 20 years in roles including System Engineer and Autonomous Vehicle Control Manager, Mark is now the Technical Lead in Control and Automation at Komatsu Mining.
Abed Ahmed
PGCE Secondary Mathematics with Qualified Teacher Status 2016
Abed teaches secondary school maths at Holte School in Birmingham, an achievement made all the more impressive by the fact that he has had a stammer since the age of four. Despite the fact that teaching requires a lot of speaking, Abed has overcome his difficulties and also set up his own stammer support sessions in the school, to help young people in the same position.
Hardeep Jawanda
BSc (Hons) Information Technology Management for Business 2009
Harry is the CEO and Co-Founder of Wambiz, a provider of industry-specific apps which create private social networks for schools and colleges, allowing them to communicate more easily with students.
Mark Radford
BSc (Hons) Nursing, 1994, Postgraduate Diploma in Advance Practice Nursing, 2000, Research to PhD (Health), 2011
Mark chose to study at BCU as it was one of the only university’s to offer a three-year Nursing degree at the time. After thriving in his course, Mark went onto excel in his chosen industry and is now Chief Nurse of Health Education England and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England, as well as a Visiting Professor right here at BCU, and has recently received at CBE for his services to Nursing.
Lawrence Kendrick
Lawrence graduated in 2010 with a first-class honour’s degree in Sound Engineering and Production and is now Creative Director at Strings and Tins. He has worked on award-winning independent films and Superbowl adverts, and has produced music and sound effects for a range of clients including global brands Amazon and Audible. Alongside his work, he is also an Industry Mentor for BCU and regularly shares his experience and passion with students and staff through guest lectures and site visits to his workplace.
Eileen Schofield
PgDip Legal Practice 1995, LLB (Hons) Law 1996
Eileen Schofield is Principal of Schofield & Associates – a specialist employment law practice which she set up in 2009 with the specific aim of providing strategic and pragmatic advice to employers and to individuals.
Barry Moor
BA (Hons) Industrial Design Engineering 1994
Barry studied Industrial Design at Birmingham City University. He is now managing director of a £16 million-turnover business which supplies hi-tech components for car manufacturers around the world.
Danielle Pinnock
MA Acting 2012
Danielle, from New Jersey in the USA, has gone from strength to strength after graduating from Birmingham School of Acting (BSA), winning awards for her one-woman stage show and then following up her success in the theatre with a number of TV shows, including a recurring role in Young Sheldon, the prequel to hit comedy The Big Bang Theory, shown on E4 in the UK.
Harry Lightfoot
BMus (Hons) Jazz, 2007
Harry Lightfoot is a music composer for film and television. After graduating from Birmingham Conservatoire, Harry started as a session saxophonist before writing and producing music for labels including EMI, Sony, BMG and Warner Chappell. He’s composed music for TV shows and adverts, for companies including McDonald’s, Jeep, Samsung, Pepsi and many more.