Here is a selection of events we have held in recent years. There are always new opportunities for you to come back to campus, or meet with fellow alumni – take a look.
Alumni Sports Day - April 2013
On Saturday 27 April over 400 students and alumni come back to campus to compete in the annual ‘Alumni v Students’ sports day. There were 14 different sports on throughout the day from Badminton to Lacrosse. The current students won again, however the alumni ladies basketball and water-polo were victorious.
This year’s VP Sports Development Co-ordinator, Dean Jones said:
“This year’s alumni sports day was a great success. The current students won overall, but it’s more about students past and present coming together to play the sport they love rather than a serious contest”
See the photos of this event.
Mexico Alumni Event - October 2012
On 2 October 2012 our alumni in Mexico got together to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their University receiving its royal charter and the 150th anniversary of the opening of the original Hartley Institution, from which the University developed. The event, organised by Alejandro Chavarri, was also attended by Sara Higgins - Country Development Manager for Latin America at the University of Southampton and a group of exchange students that had just arrived to spend an academic year in Mexico. The event provided a great opportunity for our alumni to introduce the students to Mexico and together they shared experiences and memories.
The Reunion Experience 2012 - September 2012
On Saturday 1 September 160 alumni returned to campus to celebrate their 20th, 30th, 40th and 50th anniversaries of graduation. The day was filled with interactive tours conducted by the faculties and the frivolity continued into the evening with a drinks reception and three-course meal.
Tours included hands-on experiments with Chemistry, live music with Humanities, stimulating lectures from University academics and a tour of the ECS Nanofabrication Centre. Guests could also take a tour of the night sky in the Soton Astrodome and attend a dazzling Laser Light Show as well as walk around the campus, visit the Hartley Library and travel on the Toastrack bus.
As evening approached, the guests attended a formal drinks reception filled with live music played by a classical guitarist. They were welcomed to the three-course dinner by Vice-Chancellor Professor Don Nutbeam, and treated to a speech by keynote speaker Penny Clark, a Southampton alumna who participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The bar then opened and the room filled with a nostalgic mix of hits from the guests' University years.
See the photos of the event: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
University of Southampton Rugby Reunion - August 2012
On Friday 31 August 2012 at Chiltern Manor seventeen alumni met from the years 1957-62 for a University of Southampton Rugby Reunion. It had been 50 years since their rugby and University days, which meant lots of laughter and tales were shared and friendships renewed. Long journeys were made by Brian “Taffy” Osborne (BA Geography, 1960) from Kingston Ontario and Rod Challis and Alan Bishop (BSc General Science, 1961) came all the way from Melbourne to attend the reunion.
Peter Herring (BSc Economics, 1962) organised this event with help from Brian Beadle (BSc Aeronautics, 1961) and Robin French (BSc Physics, 1961). Any alumni who wish to be informed about any future events or would like to make contact can email us on ARevents@soton.ac.uk and we will put you in touch with Peter Herring.
School of Medicine 40th Anniversary Celebration - June 2012
On 16 June 2012 the Faculty of Medicine celebrated its 40th anniversary at the University of Southampton. 180 alumni, students and staff enjoyed a series of lectures and interactive tours during the day at the Institute of Life Sciences and a three-course banquet dinner and dance at St. Mary’s stadium, Southampton in the evening.
Lectures included ‘Lifelab – Lessons for Life’, ‘Prevention of Osteoporotic Fracture from Cradle to Grave’, ‘The Teaching of Medicine in Southampton and the Beginnings of Research’ and ‘Understanding and Treating Cancer: Southampton’s Story’ all given by our noted academics Professor Mark Hanson, Professor Cyrus Cooper, Professor Stephen Holgate and Professor Martin Glennie.
Our guests relocated to St Mary's stadium, home to Southampton Football club, for the black-tie dinner and dance in the evening. After walking pitch side along the red carpet our guests were treated to a key note speech from the renowned physician and epidemiologist, Professor David Barker. The evening concluded with a three-course banquet dinner and dance and an opportunity to bid on a 2011/12 signed Southampton Football Club shirt from the newly promoted Premier League team!
See the photos of the event: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Toronto and Vancouver - June 2012
Alumni Receptions were held in Toronto and Vancouver at the start of June 2012, attended by the Head of Law School, Professor Natalie Lee and Country Development Manager for North America, Joanne Fretwell.
Both events were well attended and our alumni guests enjoyed drinks and canapés, a University update from Natalie and Joanne and an opportunity to network with fellow alumni from their area.
'Life After Gradution' SOES Alumni Careers Event - March 2012
The recent ‘Life after Graduation’ alumni careers event was a huge success. On Tuesday 6 March Ocean and Earth Science alumni and graduate employers provided guidance and advice on career options in the marine and geological sectors to over 250 students. Last year one of the top employers of Southampton SOES graduates recruited three students that attended, which shows how these events present opportunities to students. The students feel these events improve their networking skills and understanding of what job opportunities exist after graduation.
Alumni Reception Malaysia - November 2011
We celebrated the progress of our campus in Malaysia last night with an alumni reception held at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. Around fifty alumni attended the event hosted by the British High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr. Simon Featherstone and Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Mark Spearing.
Our guests had the opportunity to meet with other Malaysian alumni from graduating years spanning 1958-2005, along with our Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Sarah Jarman, to hear the latest news from the University of Southampton and learn about our new campus which will be based in EduCity, Iskandar, Malaysia.
Many of our Engineering alumni welcomed the chance to meet up with their fellow graduate or tutor Professor John McBride (Aeronautics, 1978).
There was a great deal of excitement about the USMC, especially as it is easy to get to by car and could become a focal point for local self organised and large University alumni events. There was also real enthusiasm to invigorate the alumni community, which is a priority for the University’s Alumni Relations team.
Alumni Class Reunion September 2011
Over 120 alumni from the classes of 1961, 1971 and 1981 attended their class reunion on Saturday 10th September to celebrate their 30th, 40th and 50th anniversaries. They came back to campus for a day packed with activities including departmental research tours, halls of residence coach tours, academic presentations, trip with the vintage Toastrack bus, and campus walking tours led by current students.
The day was closed with a welcome talk by Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Debra Humphris, a presentation by Professor Mark Hanson from Lifelab and dinner in Garden Court (aka the West Ref).
Our alumni generously contributed a total of £6228,50 towards a Class Gift. We had plenty of positive feedback on the even and hope that everyone enjoyed themselves. The photographs of the day can be found in 2 online slideshows: part 1 and part 2. Do not hesitate to contact alumni@soton.ac.uk with further feedback or any queries.
Highfield Hall Reunion – September 2011
This September, a group of alumni who met in Highfield Hall ten years ago returned to campus from all over the country to reminisce and catch up. The 2004 graduates took advantage of the University’s Undergraduate Open Day by exploring their old halls of residence and campus, and revisiting the classic student haunts. The group is planning another reunion for September 2014, and welcomes any interest from other alumni – email Highfield10year@hotmail.co.uk for more information.
Alumni Sports Day - May 2011
Approximately 300 alumni and current students attended the Annual Alumni Sports Day at Wide Lane and Jubilee Sports Centre.
Photographs from the day are available here: part 1 , part 2
It was a fun packed day for everyone who attended and it ended with the Students succeeding in winning the Sports Day trophy for the second year running.
Ladies Rugby - Students win 36-17
Mens Rugby - Alumni win
Ladies Hockey - Student win 2-1
Mens Hockey - Alumni Win 3-2
Mens Tennis - Student Win
Ladies Tennis - Student Win
Netball - Alumni Win
Mens Waterpolo - Student win
Ladies Waterpolo - Student win
Swimming - Student win
Mens Lacrosse - Alumni win 11-4
Ladies Lacrosse - Alumni win 12-10
Mens Football - 5-5 Draw
Unfortunately not many actual results were provided so if you know the result please email alumni@soton.ac.uk
Southampton Stag's Reunion - April 2011
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Over 100 graduates from the classes of 1959 and before came back to campus to enjoy their Stag's Reunion. After lunch in the Student's Union Bridge Bar they were welcomed by Professor Adam Wheeler (Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor). Next, Professor Jane Falkingham (Director of the ESRC Centre for Population Change, Professor of Demography & International Social Policy) gave a captivating presentation about population change in the UK, which was very well-received by the audience.
Alumnus Clinton Silver (BSc Economics 1950; Honorary Degree 1997) was proud to announce the Class Gift total. In an engaging way he pointed out the importance of giving back to your University. Including the donations we received after the event, a generous total of £4,010.00 was raised (excluding Gift Aid, £4,670.00 including Gift Aid, reflecting 58 donations!) and will be used to support the Vice-Chancellor's Strategic Fund.
In the afternoon guests could join a bus tour taking them around Highfield Campus and to nearby Halls of Residence. This nostalgic day was ended with a cream tea which provided another opportunity for the guests to reminisce, look through the exhibition of photography and blazers and catch up with former friends they had not seen for many years
We had a great turnout and lots of positive feedback on this first Stag's Reunion and hope everybody had a great time and enjoyed being back on campus. Photographs of the event can be found here: part 1, part 2.
Postgraduate Alumni Event ‘Environmental Change – Linking Up Our Knowledge’ – March 2011
In our last alumni survey our postgraduate community indicated that they wanted more opportunities to attend public lectures by academics and networking events. Taking on board these suggestions, we organised our first postgraduate alumni event. This pilot combined a series of talks on a central topic with a networking reception.
Over 50 alumni came back to campus to listen to presentations by Environmental Change experts Professor Robert Nicholls, Professor Jane Francis and Professor John Dyke. They each presented their own perspective on the topic, ranging from sea level change, over reconstructing polar landscapes, to discussing the chemical composition of our atmosphere. Interesting debates were started with the speakers, our alumni and current postgraduate students and ideas were further exchanged at the reception.
Overall the afternoon was a success and we had plenty of positive feedback together with some useful comments for future initiatives. The event was also captured on film and a video documentary was made by film student Laurence Summers. You can watch his footage here:
Are you interested in coming along to one of our next alumni events? Please have a look at our events calendar.
Belgium Alumni Event 2010
Around 15 Southampton University Alumni from all over Belgium braved the relentless rain and wind to come together for an after work drink last week at Irish pub Kitty O' Shea's in the EU-quarter. The second event to be held in Brussels organised by the nascent Southampton University Alumni Network in Belgium saw many new faces as well as a few familiar ones from the first event that took place in June. With a spread in graduation years from 1962 to 2009 and alumni from all over Europe present, the discussions were lively. Says Hilary Jones, one of the three co-organisers (with John Fitzgibbon and Julie Kjestrup): 'We're very pleased with the turn-out and particularly impressed that many came from other towns and cities to join the gathering. It shows that there is a real enthusiasm for building up an alumni network in Belgium, and we look forward to the next steps'.
Our Belgium network now has its own email mailing list so members can keep in touch with each other at the click of a button. If you would like to be added to this list, simply email alumni@soton.ac.uk.
Alumni Class Reunion 2010
Alumni from the classes of 1960, 1970 and 1980 came back to campus on Saturday 11th September to celebrate their 30th, 40th and 50th anniversaries since their graduation. The former Southampton students enjoyed a day of campus tours, presentations by our leading academics including Professor Dame Wendy Hall, trips on Toastrack and a dinner and drinks reception hosted by Pro-Vice Chancellor of Education, Professor Debra Humphris.
The guests generously contributed £5420 towards a Class Gift which is being used to support Postgraduate research scholarships.
We had many positive comments about the Class Reunion and hope that everyone enjoyed themselves. You can see all of the photographs from the day in Part 1 and Part 2 and if you would like a high resolution copy of any of these, please email alumni@soton.ac.uk stating the photo number.
Greece Branch Summer Event 2010
Our alumni branch in Greece organised a fantastic get together this summer. See all the pictures from the event.
Alumni Sports Day 2010
This years’ event was kindly arranged by the Athletics Union. The sunshine came out to preside over events and saw hard fought matches between the current teams and returning alumni in sports including Basketball, Netball, Football, Lacrosse, Rugby, Hockey, Tennis, Waterpolo, Swimming, Badminton, Archery and Table Tennis.
This year the current students were once again victorious. For a full report on the Sharks vs. Alumni basketball match you can watch the video `Proving Grounds` made by current students Andrew Hodge, Liam Stagg and Pete Willmot as part of a documentary film course:
Proving Grounds from Pete Willmot on Vimeo.
Photographs from the Alumni Sports Day 2010 are also available
Alumni Gathering in Switzerland 2010
We had our first alumni gathering in Switzerland in the centre of Zurich in March 2010. The event had a fantastic turnout and it is hoped it will be the first of many in the country.
See all the photos from the event.
Alumni Class Reunion 2009
We were delighted to have so many alumni from the classes of 1949, 1959, 1969 and 1979 back on campus to celebrate their very special 60th, 50th, 40th and 30th anniversaries since their graduation. Two hundred former Southampton students came back to campus for a weekend in September to enjoy academic lectures from each faculty, campus tours, trips on Toastrack as well as a drinks reception and dinner hosted by the new Vice-Chancellor Professor Don Nutbeam.
Many guests also generously gave a donation to the class gift, which this year raised over £3000. The money went towards supporting student bursaries, helping the best students to follow in their footsteps and study at Southampton, regardless of their financial background.
You can see all the photographs from the day: Part 1 Part 2
Everyone we spoke to thoroughly enjoyed the event and can't wait for their next reunion, so make sure you don't miss yours. See our forthcoming events.
Virtual Event for Alumni in China
On the 27th August the Vice-Chancellor gave a talk to alumni in China live online. He spoke about some of the collaborations between the University and China, gave alumni the chance to ask questions, and said farewell as he comes to the end of his time at Southampton. Watch again: http://www.zepler.tv/Alumni/
SOES 10th Anniversary
On Saturday 14th March, SOES welcomed over 120 guests to its first alumni reunion for all graduates. Alumni from the early classes of Geology (1954) and Oceanography (1964) to the recent class of 2008, as well as current and retired academic staff, gathered at the National Oceanography Centre to help SOES celebrate its 10th Anniversary.
“I thought the day was a great success! It was fantastic seeing some old faces,” said Matthew Lambe, (Geology 1994).
Geology has been taught at Southampton since 1946, and the Oceanography since 1964. Through the years, the departments of Geology and Oceanography have evolved and in 1998 merged to become SOES, one of the UK’s strongest Schools for ocean and Earth Science.
“The merger of two small University departments in 1998 and the integration with the wider NOCS community has created a diverse and exciting School like no other,” said Dr Rachel Mills (Oceanography with Chemistry, 1988, Academic staff 1993 to present). “There are world experts in a huge range of subjects within a quick stroll from my office.”
Thank you to all of the alumni who attended—we look forward to seeing you again.
Alumni Careers Panel
High profile alumni from the worlds of business and commerce have been back on campus to share their experiences and tips on achieving career success with current students.
The University’s first alumni careers panel was themed by the strapline “It’s a jungle out there!” and encouraged our alumni leaders to share the key to success with current students.
Panellists included Geoff Darby, Independent Venture Capital and Private Equity Professional, Paul Ettinger, Director of Development and Communications, Caffe Nero, Professor Natalie Lee, Head of the School of Law, University of Southampton, Chai Patel, Chairman of Court Cavendish, Stephen Payne, Vice President Chief Naval Architect, Carnival Corporate Shipbuilding Southampton,
Raymond Scott, CEO of Axolotl, David Pointer, Managing Director and founder of Point Source Ltd, Chris Carnegy, former BBC Radio presenter and entrepreneur, and Carol Marlowe, President and Managing Director of Cunard Line.
The event included short presentations from each panellist and a session dedicated to a Q&A with current students.
Athens Alumni Reception 2008
Over 190 alumni came together at the residence of the British Ambassador in Athens for our biggest international reception ever!
Take a look at some photographs from the event.
Athens Event
2008