Francesca McFarlane
Head of Alumni
and Supporter Communications

Welcome to the 2026 edition of your alumni magazine. And honestly, what an edition it is.

As lots of you will know, 2026 is the Year of the Horse. A time for travel, boldness and movement. Although unintentional, looking through the issue, that Year of the Horse energy is definitely beating through every page. There’s Toby, our 2013 graduate, who spends his days in the waters off Cape Town tracking great white sharks. And Yemurai, a tech career expert who was recently invited to N0. 10 Downing Street. And then there’s the wonderful 650 (650! Thank you) of you who shared what you’ve been up to since graduating. From starting AI companies to helping look after Skara Brae, a 5,000-year-old Orkney settlement, you’ve gone on to such varied and interesting paths and our whole team love reading about where your degree took you.

One of my favourite parts about creating the magazine is getting to showcase to the world the kindness I get to see from our university community every single day. In the last 12 months alone, almost 4,000 of you gave your time to help our students and researchers by volunteering and more than 1,000 of you powered the Student Fund, which provides scholarships and bursaries for the newest members of our talented, new students.

So, thank you. We genuinely couldn't do what we do without you. And together, we're making a real difference; from giving a financially worried 17-year-old the reassurance that they can and should apply to gain their degree to supporting high-impact research, like Andy Cooper's Hive Mind work, which could reverse climate change.

Let's keep being the good we want to see in the world and I can’t wait to see what we achieve together over the next 12 months. Hope to see some of you soon at one of our upcoming events.