Meet our alumni

Ioana Bactu could have studied anywhere. As a 19-year-old in Bucharest, Romania, with an ambition of starting her career, she looked at courses and opportunities that would help create her future. She...

Five years ago, Blee Carswell made the decision to quit his job to study with us and work towards a better future for himself. The self-confessed car lover has now graduated with a Journalism degree a...

After graduating with a bachelor's degree in sports administration, Clarence chose to study an MBA at the University of Derby.

Criminology graduate lands dream job investigating financial crime at Santander.

Neil Cufley was a soldier for 20 years. After leaving the Army, he wanted to give himself the best chance of progressing in a new career. So he signed up for our online MBA.

Using experience to gain a degree - At school in Switzerland, Gabrielle had left with few academic qualifications.

After one of our academic leads helped to find the perfect course for him, Nick's now applying his newfound knowledge to take his career to the next level.

Our Accounting and Finance degree gave Michael Hackley all the knowledge and skills he needed for his career when he joined leading accounting firm PwC.

Graduate Ed Hollands went on the BBC's Dragons' Den TV show and used the skills he gained on our Business Studies course to win a £30,000 investment.

How Elsje landed her dream job in South Africa.

Luke Jenkinson is Derby County’s Head of Performance. And he can draw a direct line to that role from a 10-week placement he went on as part of his BSc Sport and Exercise Science.  

Juggling commitments - achieving more than she thought possible while having major life changes.

Sarah Jones loved our Event Management course so much that, after she graduated with a first, she got a job with us helping our current students.

Danielle Keeling chose our Business Management course because it was accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) - she is now on CMI East Midlands Regional Board.

A research project that tries to predict smartphone addiction Lewis the ideal research internship opportunity, resulting in his work being published in the Behavioural Sciences journal.

Helping people - making a difference to people's lives by working in a rehabilitation unit for challenging patients.

Real-world experience, an active mentorship and host of opportunities have helped Samantha O'Neill secure her first graduate role.

Event Management graduate Kristina Petrovicova is excelling in her graduate role as a Business Designer, helping companies to understand customers and improve services.

Journalism graduate Emily Robertson has landed a full-time job working for one of Nottingham’s top public relations companies, Eden PR, after gaining first-class honours in her degree. But she credits...

Fraser knows that choosing the right degree course is crucial. But, after completing our BA (Hons) Business Management degree, Fraser has now landed a managerial role at The Football Association.

Hazell Wooton’s marketing career is taking off in both the global and local markets. Since completing her Marketing Management MSc, she has not one but two marketing jobs - one in Derby at The Bookcaf...

Nicole Yeomans is a Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Specialist at global infrastructure giant AECOM. A University of Derby Zoology graduate, her professional brief is to leave the environment in...

For Tom Berrington, university has been about the opportunities. That link between education and real-world experience ignited a passion in him and allowed him to develop his skills – and his employab...

As a mature student, Rebecca Cuff was looking for the chance to explore new ways of working in art. She found it in our BA (Hons) Fine Art. 

The display of 888,246 ceramic poppies at the Tower of London to mark the 2014 centenary of the start of the First World War was created by our Arts graduate Paul Cummins. 

A graduate of our MA in Dance Movement Psychotherapy, Aishwarya Deshpande has made the most of self-employment support schemes at the University. These have enabled her to establish and grow her own b...

Inspired Business podcast featuring Jon Eno. Jon is the founder and owner of Hot House Music Schools. A University of Derby alumnus, he was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2019 for services t...

Hannah Fox started her journey at the University in 1992, where she completed an Art Foundation course, and then studied BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Visual Communication. Currently, Hannah is Di...

How Katie’s kimono became big in Japan.

Getting together on a project in their second year changed the lives of Film Production students Josh, Ben, Odhran and James. Just a year after they finished their degree, they are running their own p...

David is the owner of The Joy of Pages, a publishing services company based in Derbyshire. He set up his business with the help of our Be The Boss programme.

A case study that looks at new affiliate member, Erica Horne as she joins Banks Mill and the Innovation Hothouse. 

2020 has thrown a spotlight on health professionals and the risks they face. We explore the value of healthcare professionals, how we're preparing the new nursing generation, and why th...

Sam's childhood dream has become a reality. He is working for one of the biggest toy companies in the world – LEGO – as a Design Manager.

A case study which looks at Alexey Morozov successful first year in business despite a global pandemic.

Diana Pinhao was 18 when she left Porto, Portugal, and came to Derby to study Fine Art. Now graduating, Diana’s technology-based work has been getting noticed in all the right places.

Omar Soomro is living the dream. He graduated from our Film Production course last year and he has already spent six months working as a camera trainee on Netflix’s acclaimed series Sex Education. He'...

A case study that looks at recent graduate Abbie Sunter who has now set up a successful ceramic business at Banks Mill.

Photographer Dariusz Szwedo, founder of Studio No.74, and his newly engaged fiancée, Rachel Powell, are the newest members of the Banks Mill community.

Jamie Thrasivoulou joined our BA (Hons) Creative Writing and American Studies after completing a foundation degree as a mature student. Now, he is an inspiration. Anyone who has seen him perform his p...

Kelly Truscott is improving children’s mental health by working for a charity that operates in UK schools. Kelly first worked for the charity, Place2Be, as one of her placements while studying.

Sorria is a first-class engineering pioneer, the first female engineer at the company.

Graduate Daniel Fern credits us with steering him towards a career with Microsoft Xbox after completing his degree in Computer Games Modelling and Animation.

A placement year in your degree can be a game-changer. For Celine it led to new skills, an invitation to address a major London conference and to write a chapter in a book on cyber security.

Online student Asmaa Sakr has used her MSc in Information Technology to research how emerging technologies, particularly extended reality technologies, can be used in higher education.

Engineer Charlotte’s got designs on luxury car maker. She is now working at Jaguar Land Rover as a Wheels and Tyres Engineer.

Ashleigh Whiffin loves insects. As Assistant Curator of Entomology at National Museums Scotland, our Forensic Science graduate manages an insect collection that contains over two million specimen...

Since leaving University, Tom Williams has spent most of his time playing computer games. Tom is a Quality Assurance Tester at Rockstar Games, working on Red Dead Redemption 2.

After many years of volunteering for St John Ambulance, Rachel took the plunge. Now her passion and drive for mental health has made her push her career even further.

How Jennie used the law to fight for welfare rights.

Following his goals - Ken was inspired to become a psychotherapist when he saw the “amazing” positive changes counselling brought to people. He’s continuing to learn and grow in the profession.

Building confidence - Exceeding expectations and finding a new passion in teaching.

Ann-Marie was working in a mental health unit in New Zealand and, having discovered an interest in psychology, she wanted to explore the topic further.

Richard Gerver is an expert on the art of leadership. He is a former Derbyshire head teacher (and University of Derby alumnus), and is now a renowned speaker. We talk about his personal jour...

A case study looking into a recent graduate from the University of Derby, Danniebelle Gunter who discusses her business. 

Fiona was in the second year of our online Psychology degree and was writing an essay on what stops women going to the doctor when they spot breast cancer symptoms.

Kate Henry joined our Adult Nursing BSc (Hons) following a direction-changing conversation at one of our Open Days. Kate was inspired by the opportunities that would open up for her with a career in n...

What do you do if you are a German living in Denmark and you want to study a Psychology degree? This was the dilemma faced by Regina Holler. The solution? Studying in England.

Kanish Jones makes a difference, every day. She’s working at HMP Whatton in Nottinghamshire, with individuals who have committed a sexual offence, helping them to build skills, prevent re-offending an...

When George Papakyritsis found his true calling was becoming a practising therapist, he realised studying our accredited online Psychology BSc (Hons) was his best first step to achieving his goal.

Personal goals - studied to achieve his goal of emigrating to Australia. Online student Phil set his sights on emigrating to Australia. For him gaining a degree would help him to achieve his goal.

Having two young children and a business to run wasn’t enough to put Joy Rickard off her dream of pursuing a career as an educational psychologist.

New direction - Amanda realised that psychology was something that she was deeply passionate about. That's when she decided to study and move her career in a different direction.

Helping him be an inspiration to others - Stephen studied the course at an accelerated rate and he's using his new skills to become a better nurse and inspire others.

As the idea of a new career grew, Sarah wanted to learn more about Psychology. Sarah did her research before choosing our online Psychology University Certificate.

Helping people - For Philippa, Ergonomics is about making her products just right for the end user. It’s about getting everything in the perfect place.

Inspiring Joanna to push for her ultimate dream.

Legal dream opened new doors for ‘youngest councillor’.

Inspiring Open Day leads to rewarding career.

Molly Kirven followed her passions to study at Derby. And now she is working in her dream job as a contracts engineer in the geotechnical/construction industry.

When Rebecca stepped on to the volcano and gave her inspiration for her career path.