Thank You to our Volunteers

Each year, we never fail to be overwhelmed by the support of our alumni and the time that they give back to help students, fellow alumni and the University. In the last year, we have counted over 500 hours of volunteering carried out by alumni. That’s 500 hours that have helped students to decide their future career, helped applicants decide on Dundee as their place to study, brought alumni together and helped the University to transform lives across the world.  

Alumni Ambassador Programme 

In last year’s online edition of The Bridge, we announced the launch of our Alumni Ambassador Programme, through which our graduates are invited to become ambassadors to help with in-country and regional activity. We are delighted to say that this programme has been going from strength to strength as we now have over 40 Alumni Ambassadors representing us across 18 different countries and 7 different schools. Here are just a few things that our Alumni Ambassadors have been getting involved in: 

• Nii Ashong and Philip Botchway have established and coordinated the Ghana Alumni Group 
• Heather Doughty spoke to students from Grove Academy in Dundee about her time in Dundee.  
• Hao Wu and Cindy Adriaan sat on the School of Business Accreditation Focus Group. 
• Soupal Roy has been in contact with applicants and offer-holders to share his study experience.  

This is only a snapshot of the activity carried out by our Alumni Ambassadors. All of them have done a fantastic job representing the University.  

Get Involved 

If you are interested in volunteering your time with the University, whether that’s giving a career talk, speaking to offer-holders, helping out at events or mentoring students please do get in touch with the Alumni Relations Team by emailing alumni@dundee.ac.uk.

Alumni mentor students from the Women in STEM Society  

The Women in STEM Society was set up to address the lack of connection and support between women in STEM degrees and to promote initiatives in industry that give female or non-binary students a step up and to provide an inclusive community of support. Last year they launched an Alumni Mentorship Scheme, pairing up their student members with alumni who graduated from STEM subjects and are working in related fields.  

“The benefits of having a mentor-like contact supporting and rooting for you are endless and invaluable, especially when they have had similar experiences to you”, explained Skye Kirwan, President of the society.   

“That is why we reached out to the Alumni team and were very grateful when they helped us reach our mentors”.  

Alumni mentors were encouraged to share their experience and advice with students, as well as helping them with internship applications and interview practice.  

As Skye points out, there are many benefits alumni can bring to current students.  

“It can be hard for students to keep up a sense of perspective and motivation. Having someone who is at the other end of their studies, sharing their experience and offering advice is exactly what is needed to inspire and relight the fire that made us pursue our field in the first place”.  

As part of the scheme, mentors and mentees were also given the opportunity to attend training sessions delivered by Equate Scotland. Laura D’Ignazio shared her experience of being a mentor.  

“I decided to take part in the Women in STEM alumni mentoring scheme to inspire any young woman to pursue her career goals, actively looking for her best fit among numerous possible opportunities in the STEM field. Also, it is true that mentoring is a two-way street. Being a mentor is greatly contributing to my own personal transformation and growth.” 

Laura’s mentee, Niamh, also benefitted from the scheme.  

“Taking part in the Women in STEM alumni mentoring scheme has given me a real-life insight into the types of opportunities that will be available to me after I graduate from the University of Dundee. My goal of pursuing further education has been thoroughly cemented through this experience.” 

There is more information about the society on their website, where you can read a blog that explores some of the challenges that women in STEM face, alongside interviews with people at various stages in their careers. https://uodwomeninstem.wixsite.com/uodwomeninstem/blog.  

The society is always looking for new ideas and potential collaborations. If you would like to get involved email wistemsociety@dundee.ac.uk.