News and updates from The Bridge 2022

Cynthia Murray

Nursing, Class of 2008

Cynthia recently completed a national appointment within the United States Veterans Health Administration (US VHA) Office of Nursing Services (ONS) as the first Clinical Nurse Advisor of Primary Care Nursing from 2019-2022. In this role, Cynthia provided expert opinion and advice on all practice considerations for nursing in the primary care setting.

In May this year, Cynthia began a three-year long Board of Directors role within the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) focusing on the expansion of nursing’s influence in today’s global health care environment.

In 2019, as a nurse entrepreneur, she formed Cynthia L. Murray Consulting LLC, a consulting firm of nurses providing subject matter expertise within the field of ambulatory care nursing practice.

Roy Irvine

Geology, Class of 1978

Upon completion of his Dundee studies, Roy embarked on studying an MSc at University College London thereafter spending the next 27 years working with De Beers. He then took up the opportunity to move into the mining software field, to further develop his customer relations and marketing skills, and then found his next job as an Expat Geologist in a mine in the Sahara Desert. After a further career change, he now works as a Mergers and Acquisition Analyst for a company that focuses on engaging with software companies – using the technical and soft skills he has developed over the past 40+ years.

"The time I spent at Dundee was very special for me, it gave me the grounding to have a successful career, which is still continuing. It is wonderful to see that the University is rated so highly as a place of learning and research."

Jim Wilkie

Arts and Social Sciences & Economics-Psychology, 1970

2022 marks the 50th anniversary since the West Highland Free Press was founded by four University of Dundee graduates, Jim Wilkie, Dave Scott, Brian Wilson and (the late) Jim Innes. The idea was that the West Highlands were served by the venerable Stornoway Gazette in Lewis and the Oban Times in Argyll but there was a space somewhere in between. They decided that this space should also include Wester Ross, Lochalsh and the Uists and Barra in the Western Isles. Jim Innes suggested the name for the new paper, the West Highland Free Press, and so it was born. The original four were able to pass the baton to a number of talented young journalists and, in 2009, the paper was sold in a workers’ buyout – the first newspaper in the UK to be owned by its former employees.

Chic Harper

Graphic Design, Class of 1975

For over twenty years as Creative Director of Scotland’s largest communications group, based in Dundee, Chic was personally responsible for the creation of internationally recognised brand identities, award-winning national blue chip advertising campaigns, retail packaging and corporate print. Today, he continues his design business and, since 2002, has produced fourteen golf books, earning him UK and USA awards, as well as respect from golf collectors worldwide.

Ashford Watkins

International Oil and Gas Management, Class of 2012

"The 1st of April 2022 marked my one year work anniversary as a Grant Management Consultant within the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Government."

Dr Mary Cusack

Anatomy, Class of 1996

Mary was recognised in the New Year Honours List for the work she has done helping thousands of India’s most deprived and vulnerable children. Mary and Dr Cat Morris set up the charity, Love The One, which sets out to transform children’s life chances. They have lived and worked in India for fifteen years and both received an OBE earlier this year for services to Healthcare and Child Welfare in the country.

Dr Garba I Malumfashi

Petroleum Law and Policy & Energy Law and Policy, Class of 2004 and 2011

Led by Dr Garba I Malumfashi, our alumni in Nigeria came together for a social event in January to celebrate the new year. Around 25 alumni were in attendance with plans in place to host social occasions on a monthly basis.

Dr Dele Kogbe

PhD in Politics, Class of 2021

Dele Kogbe has written a new book: The Girl Who Dares the King (A Play), which has been published by Creative Africa Publishers (Nigeria). He is also looking forward to his academic book 'Rethinking Civil Society Regionalism in Africa', which is based on his PhD thesis, being released by Routledge in September this year.

Dr Krunal Soni

MCh Orthopaedics, Class of 2020

"I am now working as a Consultant in the Department of Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine at Shalby Hospitals, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. My personal journey in sports began with playing badminton when I was younger, getting more serious while I pursued Orthopaedics. The MCh Orthopaedics programme at the University of Dundee fortified my passion and I enrolled myself in an Arthroscopic Fellowship when I returned to India after graduating.

We as a Centre of Excellence in Sports Medicine insist on reinforcing educational awareness programmes with primary focus on injury prevention. Promotion of sporting activities is important at all levels in society – be it for leisure or at a professional level and we believe that sport, when played under proper guidance and with formal training, is an excellent way to boost the physical and social well-being of individuals. Everyone should take up an appropriate sport on a regular basis to reap the benefits of a healthier lifestyle."

Andrew Bowie

Accountancy, Class of 1993

Andrew very sadly died on 8 March 2022, at the age of 55, only 11 months after being diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer.

He graduated from Dundee in 1993 with a BAcc (First Class) and met his wife, Jill, in 1990, whilst they were both studying there. They got married in 2002 and have two daughters, Mia (18) and Eva (14).

Andrew qualified as a Chartered Accountant, completing his training with Henderson & Loggie in Dundee in 1996, then moved to Manchester with Jill, where he worked in audit at Arthur Andersen. He then spent 19 years at Tyco, starting as an Acquisitions Analyst, then in shared services, before becoming Financial Controller. The last four years of his career were spent with PZ Cussons, where he was Group Financial Controller.

Andrew always looked back very fondly upon his time at Dundee, re-telling many tales of the wonderful memories he shared there with Jill as a student, and their subsequent family visits to the city with their daughters, in his final weeks – Andrew will be missed very much by Jill and their daughters.

Kaileigh Begley

MSc in Infection Prevention & Control, Class of 2020

"Following competition of the MSc Infection Prevention & Control qualification in 2020, I have recently secured the position of Senior Nurse at ARHAI Scotland. This is a national post and I am looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead. Working in the field of IPC during the pandemic has been exhausting, however, I have been extremely fortunate to have been surrounded by an incredible team of nurses which made every day bearable, and for that, I am thankful."

Kaileigh would like to take the opportunity to thank her previous nursing lecturers for their support during her studies at Dundee.

Philip Welton

English & Philosophy, Class of 1971

Philip enjoyed a trip back to Dundee in April this year to reunite with some old friends and to see how Dundee has changed over the years. He also enjoyed spending some time looking at some of the DJCAD exhibitions during his visit too.

Umer Masood

International Business, Marketing & Human Resource Management, Class of 2012

"This year marked my 10-year wedding anniversary. I have also started a new project of a Wheat Flour Mill and Rice Mill in Karachi, Pakistan. Hopefully, by next year, we will be in the production stages and our products will soon be on the market."

Zena Ali

Human Clinical Embryology & Assisted Conception, Class of 2017

"I would like to share the news that I welcomed to the world my baby girl, who was born in October 2021 at Ninewells in Dundee. She is our first child, we named her Syrianna Marah – Syrianna referring to my Syrian origin and Marah after my sister.

I met Syrianna’s dad whilst I was studying for my Master’s at Ninewells in Dundee."

Nooreen Adnan

Medical Education, Class of 2020

Only eight months after she graduated, Nooreen’s husband very sadly passed away suddenly after suffering a cardiac arrest, leaving her as the only breadwinner to support herself and her two young children. Nooreen remained positive and courageous and secured a job as a Senior Lecturer in 2021 at her parent institute in her home country. Since beginning her role, she has been involved in many projects putting to practice her wealth of experience. Simultaneously, she has also been involved in many research projects and one of her papers has recently been accepted for publication.

"During this pandemic, I bore the heavy loss of my husband and all those moments that we could have celebrated together. I also gained lots of things like my degree, spending time with my family and my children, but above all, I gained the patience and courage to keep going. Life is a bumpy road, but you have to keep going for others, but especially for yourself!"

"The journey doesn’t end here…as Robert Frost says: “And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep” – these words have kept me going through this difficult time."

Soufia Farrukh

Medical Education, Class of 2020

"Since completing my postgraduate diploma, I have become Director of the Department of Medical Education at QAMC, Bahawalpur, Pakistan on the basis of my postgraduate degree. In January of this year, I also completed my MSc in Medical Education from the University of South Wales. I am really pleased to have achieved my goals!"

Muhammad Ali Khan

Business Administration, Class of 2001

Having graduated from Dundee with his MBA in 2001, Muhammad is now working as the Head of Planning & Administration for Petromin Corporation in Saudi Arabia.

Saadoun Ismail Mohammed

MSc Structural Engineering, Class of 1974 and Diploma in Structural Engineering, Class of 1972

Saadoun has worked for more than 50 years in the engineering sector, covering many different types of work from irrigation projects, oil and gas fields, high-rise towers and skydive structures. Saadoun has also written 23 engineering and scientific books, in the hope of transferring his wealth of knowledge to another generation.

In addition, he has also written 16 poem books, one of them in English, in which he expresses his feelings, and thoughts and talks of some of his favourite moments from throughout his lifetime.

Dr Amjed Khan

Medicine, Class of 1987

Having graduated from Dundee Medical School in 1987, Amjed now practices in England as a Consultant Cardiologist. In 2019, he became a TEDx Speaker and in 2020 he was voted as one of the Top 100 Asians in the Northern Powerhouse. This year, he has started plans to build a non-profit Cardiology Hospital in Sahiwal, Pakistan.

Silvia Cenzano

Biological Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Class of 1995

"On 25 February 2022, I attended a celebration of the 263rd Anniversary of the Birth of Robert Burns in New York City, USA. The evening was a Burns Night Dinner which was held at the University Club in the city, in association with The American-Scottish Foundation. I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to be part of this celebration, and to recognise the Scottish traditional 'Burns Supper', as well as meeting up with Scottish friends in-person in NYC again. It was a great event, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening."

Dr Arun Verma

PhD Medical Education, Class of 2018

In June this year, Arun’s book 'Anti-Racism in Higher Education: An Action Guide for Change' was published by Policy Press.

Rabia Abubakar

MSc in Accounting, Management and Strategy, Class of 2019

"I am currently working with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit in Nigeria and would like to announce that I was awarded and recognised as the Overall Best Staff Member of the Year in my department for 2021."

Vivek Swaroop

Biomedical Engineering, Class of 2011

“Scotland welcomed me with open arms and helped shape me into who I am today. I am now working as an Agile Coach at Deloitte Consulting, I am married and we are blessed with a little boy. I would like to extend my gratitude to my family and veteran professors at the University, especially Dr Zhihong Huang, Dr Ali El Wahed and Dr Alan Slade for their contributions to the Mechatronics department."

Trevor Chin Quee

Dentistry, Class of 1970

Trevor has been awarded the Barnabas W. Day Award for Distinguished Service by the Ontario Dental Association, which is the largest provincial dental association in Canada.

"The Barnabas Day Award is probably one of the highest honours that one can obtain from the ODA and the list of previous honourees are all distinguished people in the field of Dentistry in Canada, therefore it is a tremendous honour"

Andrew Cronshaw

Microbiology, Class of 1979

“Whilst studying in Dundee, I became fascinated by local history. Whilst working as a protein chemist in Edinburgh, I took annual leave to visit Dundee to photograph Tay Spinners works before closure in 1998. Since retiring I have spent some time preparing photographs for exhibitions at the Verdant Works. 'Meet the Last Tay Spinners' launches in July 2022 and the exhibition will feature my photographs and artwork on jute spinning at Tay Spinners."

Alison Reid

English Law, Class of 2002

Alison has been appointed as Office Managing Partner at Gateley’s office in Belfast.

"I only joined the business in 2021 so I am very proud of this achievement. It’s also noteworthy being a female in this position as I’m paving the way for those female lawyers coming behind. I am keen to expand Gateley’s service offering in Northern Ireland and we have a growing team already."

Aziz Mulla

Geography & Environmental Science, Class of 2014

Having graduated from the University of Dundee in 2014, Aziz has recently been awarded his PhD in Coral Reef Ecology in Taiwan. His PhD title was 'Population Ecology of the Pocillopora verrucosa species complex.'

Dr Rebecca Wade

Geography and Contemporary European Studies, Class of 1993 PhD in Geography, Class of 1998

A double graduate of the University of Dundee, Rebecca has subsequently served as an external examiner for the University and has maintained some excellent collaborative relationships with academic colleagues.

Earlier this year, Rebecca received two incredible awards. The first of which was Woman of Influence 2022 which was awarded by Action for Children Scotland in March 2022. The following month, Rebecca was then named as the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Scotland’s STEM Ambassador of the Year for 2022, for her work inspiring the next generation of civil engineers.

"I strongly believe that with more women and more diversity around the decision-making table, we will make better decisions for society and the environment,"

Atrayee Bhattacharya

MSc Mathematical Biology, Class of 2020

After completing her MSc in 2020, this year Atrayee has started her PhD in Mathematics at the University of Glasgow. She wants to pass on her thanks to everyone in her Dundee community who helped her through the process.

Eirini Patsaki

PhD in Rehabilitation of Critically Ill Patients - MSc Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Technology, Class of 2008

After twenty years of working as a clinical physiotherapist, Eirini has taken up the position of Assistant Professor in Clinical Respiratory and Cardiovascular Physiotherapy within the Department of Physiotherapy at the University of West Attica in Athens, Greece.

"Having worked extremely hard, starting with my postgraduate studies at Dundee, and then continuing with my PhD, it has all finally paid off."

Wendy Maltman

Graphic Design, Class of 1995

Wendy has been running The Malting House, a graphic design and marketing consultancy, for nearly 20 years. In 2021 she transitioned the business from sole trader status to a Limited Company.

Following graduation she worked for several of Scotland’s leading design agencies before setting up her own business following the arrival of her family.

Underlying all the work she produces are the fundamentals of good design principles instilled at DJCAD. Her clients include Gleneagles Hotel, National Trust for Scotland, Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce and many local businesses including Little Things Café, Evermore Wellbeing and Citrus Floorcare. The Malting House team are also consultants for Business Gateway providing marketing and branding support.

Serving the local community is ingrained into the company’s values and Wendy is a past Chair of Women Ahead and former President of the Association of Scottish Businesswomen. She will be the 100th president of The Rotary Club of Dundee when she takes up the office in 2023, and is also Vice-Chair of Dundee Museum of Transport. Wendy became a member of the Dyer Craft of the Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee in 2019, and is only the second female member in its 300-year history. She was appointed as their first female clerk in 2022.

In 2021 The Malting House were finalists in the Courier Business Awards and received a special commendation from the Association of Scottish Businesswomen Awards in the High Growth Business of the Year category.

Wendy regularly returns to DJCAD to speak to students and, of course, to visit the Degree Show.

Robert Young

Psychology, Class of 1965

"For me, 2021 was…

• The year I resigned as Chair of Governors of an inner-city primary school in South East London after twenty years in post, however, I am continuing to serve as one of the Vice-Chairs
• The year I resigned as a National Leader for Governance
• My second year as Chair of the Primary Umbrella Group, a forum for representatives of organisations with current issues in the primary education sector
• The year I became a grandparent for the fourth time and relishing the experience with the youngest now at 5 months and the oldest at 15
• The year I revisited Scotland in August and am still feeling a sense of belonging and pride in my links with Scotland, and Dundee in particular."

Dr Sanjay Mody

Anatomy, Class of 2002

Having graduated from Dundee in 2002, Sanjay went on to study for a Master’s in International Healthcare Administration in the USA, this was followed by his graduation with a doctorate in Medicine.

Sanjay is now providing post-covid Healthcare Consultancy internationally, working for Healthcare Concierge and Consulting Ltd, where he is the Director.

Quazi Tafsirul Islam

MSc Management & Human Resources, Class of 2017

"I have been teaching and researching since 2018. I teach Strategy, Negotiation, Human Resources to undergraduate business students who are pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. I have also been actively researching Sustainability, CSR, and Human Resources. My research has thus far been funded by two accredited top business schools in Bangladesh, namely North South University and United International University.

"The University of Dundee gave me a platform, a network that I have been utilising to the fullest. My degree added to my learning and also to my credibility."

John Giannone

Elective Medical Student, 1982

"The sun is setting on my 40-year-long career. Since 1985, I have been a fully active family physician and I have been involved in administrative medicine. I have moved back to clinical medicine and taking care of my ageing patients, and sometimes the babies of babies I have delivered! My administrative career is robust and I have now retired from it all except telemedicine."

John MacMillan

Law, Class of 1978

"After two years in a high street practice in Ayrshire completing my Law Apprenticeship, I joined MacRoberts (now LLP) in Glasgow in 1981 and have remained there in all sorts of roles, latterly as Consultant. All that has come to an end as of April 2022 with my retirement. My last few years brought me back to Dundee where, amongst other things, I have been tutoring on the Diploma (Employment Law) and making a full circle to where it all started, at the University. My time at Dundee set up these 42 years of law practice, by establishing a wonderful foundation. I will remain forever grateful for all of that."