This year has been unprecedented and alumni across the globe have made incredible contributions to their communities. We have seen lots of successes for the #LboroFamily in 2020. Here are some of our best bits!

January

Eight alumni had an honourable start to the decade as they were named in the 2020 Queen’s New Year’s Honours. They were recognised for their outstanding work across health, education, charity, sport, and service to the local community. 

Professor Dame Sally Davies DBE was awarded the Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). Baroness Sue Campbell CBE became Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). Christine Hodgson received a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire). Andrew Ebben, Mairi (Alyn) Gowans, Rajiv (Theratil) Ouseph were all awarded a BEM (Medallist of the Order of the British Empire).

February

Alumna Christine Hodgson CBE Capgemini UK Chair visited campus to share her story with staff and students at the University.

James Elderton and Joseph Thomas, founders of Wonder Vision, won the 2020 German Design Award for their CGI look, development and production for the Triumph Speed Twin, in the category of Excellent Communication Design.

March

In March, Women of the #LboroFamily come together to support International Women’s Day, supporting two events held on campus: Inspirational Female Leaders in Business, and Inspirational Female Leaders in STEM.

The University hosted its fourth annual Donor Day. Over sixty donors attended, who heard first-hand from students, alumni and university staff who they have positively impacted.

April

Loughborough alumni across the country worked to produce protective visors for staff in the NHS and care homes amid efforts to protect carers throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Alumni Charlie Baron and Forrest Skerman-Stevenson, Co-Founders of ChargedUp, launched CleanedUp – an adaptation of the company’s current phone charging stations – to dispense hand sanitiser in public places.

Thanks to the Loughborough family, we raised more than £50,000 to support those students who were most in need during the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic.

May

In May, the 130 Challenge took place with Alumni Association President Ollie Sidwell leading the charge. Our alumni came together virtually from all over the world to cycle in aid of the University’s COVID-19 Emergency Hardship Fund.

ExpHand Prosthetics, founded by alumna Kate Walker, started producing 3D printed ear guards for NHS workers at Leicester hospitals to prevent and reduce the pain of blisters caused by wearing protective face masks for long periods of time.     

Alumnus Mike Fleet set up an art gallery to give children additional activities during lockdown, with weekly prizes awarded based on age and achievement.

June

In June, graduates from Loughborough University London came together in support of racial equality and alumnus and Sky Sports News Presenter Mike Wedderburn spoke out about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Alumna Linda Garner provided us with some Maths and English top tips, drawing from her 30 years as a teacher to help parents and their children who continued to be home schooled during the pandemic.

A spinout company founded by two Loughborough alumni supported the launch of a new rugby ball which aims to provide instant, actionable insights through its 3D real-time tracking capability. Meanwhile, graduates Harriet Eastham and Charlie Hayworth contributed to Loughborough’s sports innovation ecosystem participating in a mentoring  event for early stage companies who have an innovation-driven solution to a challenge in sports.

July

In July, Mike Wedderburn joined us to congratulate the Class of 2020 in special online show. Alumni Emma Hatton, David Moorcroft OBE, Paula Radcliffe MBE, Philip Serrell, Katie Shanahan and Bob Wilson OBE shared messages of congratulations and top tips for heading into the working world.

The Game Changers podcast, created and hosted by alumna Sue Anstiss MBE, won Bronze in the “Best Sport” category of the British Podcasts Awards 2020.

Alumnus Brian Yip, the Director of Wing Yip, the largest oriental grocery business in the UK gave us an insight into running stores in the pandemic.

August

Alumnus James Crawford shared his amazing story on how he went from editing the music column for Label, the student magazine, to running an award-winning PR Agency with clients like Decathlon, Auto-Trader and Money.co.uk.

‘Stationary’, a short film, was released by alumnus Louis Chan on YouTube, attracting thousands of views and several prestigious accolades.

Finally, after over 75 applications, three new members were elected to the Alumni Advisory Board: Aisha Adedeji, Amy Ward and Yasamin Fozouni.

September

Six 2020 graduates from the School of Creative Arts were shortlisted in ARTSTHREAD’s first-ever online degree show, the Global Graduate Design Show, which was launched in response to end of year show cancellations in collaboration with Gucci.

Two Industrial Design and Technology graduates were crowned award winners at New Designers 2020. Tara Janes was awarded the Mojo Nation prize for the Toy Design Award. Joe Slatter was awarded the Cambridge Consultants Breakthrough Design Award.

Professor Mike Caine was appointed Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Sport. He will work closely with the Provost on the development of the sport related strand of the University’s next strategic plan.

October

Five alumni were awarded Queen’s Honours in the Birthday list, published in early October. They were recognised for their exceptional work across sport, chemical engineering, international business, education, and service to the local community.

Jane Atkins became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Michael Whittingham, Caroline Hoddinott and Philip Wood became Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Alison Oliver became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

November

We welcomed back alumnus Mark Thurston, the Chief Executive Officer of High Speed 2, who inspired current engineering students through a socially distanced guest lecture.

Yunanto Utomo won a prestigious science journalism award. His team created an online comic book style series. The three-part series, aimed at 11-14 year olds, describes the biology around the novel coronavirus which triggered the current global pandemic. The alumni team was awarded Gold for Best Alumni Initiative at the Thirtieth Annual Heist Awards for the #LboroMemories campaign.

December

Mithran Thiruvengadam Padmini coordinated the largest international virtual marathon and four alumni appeared on a Christmas special episode of University Challenge.

Alumni business, Alliance Events, partnered with the University to provide security and stewards to its elite sporting events, creating student jobs.

To round off 2020, we celebrated our December graduates in virtual style and welcomed them to the Alumni Association with the help of alumni from around the world.

We’re already looking forward to a great 2021. Got a story to share? Let us know.