Meet our alumni

Baasit uses his platform to focus on his passion for education.

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

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

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.

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.

Tyra Johl achieved more than she thought was possible whilst juggling commitments and major life changes.

Ikra Yasin applied the skills that she learnt on our Law LLB course to become, at 22, the youngest councillor in East Anglia.

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

Fraser Williamson landed a managerial role at The Football Association after completing our BA (Hons) Business Management degree and gaining experience to apply his skills in the workplace.

International Hospitality Management graduate Elsje Hugo believes that the reputation of our University played a big role in landing her dream job at a prestigious wine firm in South Africa.

From Switzerland, Gabrielle Davies used her extensive experience to pursue an online Business and Management BSc with us.

Using the skills acquired from our Business Studies course, graduate Ed Hollands won a £30,000 investment from the BBC's Dragon's Den TV show.

Online student Thobekile excelled in her studies, despite the challenges that she faced, and now wants to make a difference in addressing cultural problems.

Practicing criminal barrister and TV crime adviser, Jeanette Ashmole, discovered her passion for law after joining the police force, but faced numerous challenges on her way to success.

After securing a graduate role from taking part in an industry project, Tamara won a thesis prize for her research that’s driving forward the future of visitor experiences.

Dhana, Finance Director of Nando’s Botswana, has two master’s degrees from the University of Derby: a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Master of Science in Strategic Management (MSc).

Rumannah Akhtar enjoyed her studies so much so that, upon completing her MSc Marketing Management degree, she decided to stay as a Strategic Partnerships and Business Engagement Officer.

The founder of the successful clothing brand Balling attributes much of his entrepreneurial success to the skills and experiences he gained while studying Business Management.

During her time at the University of Derby, Natalia actively engaged in various projects and activities that contributed to her personal and professional development.

Originally from the USA, Tyra always aspired to live and study in the UK. This dream was realised when she started studying International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Derby

Dr Paul Wabike, has applied the skills he acquired on the MSc Strategic Management course to make education more accessible

Geoffrey Etule, acquired key skills through his Human Resource Management and European Studies degree, giving him the confidence to pursue his dreams of promoting the importance of mental health.

Diana Magallano, HR Executive at Ebrahim Khalil Kanoo, joined the University of Derby as an international student studying Management Accounting. During her studies, Diana developed her confidenc...

Now a Paralegal at the University of Derby, Melissa began her law journey by studying Law LLB at the University.

Mollie Selby, Aspirant Assistant Principal and Community Organisation Chair, studied International Relations, Diplomacy and Global Development at the University of Derby, where she acquired key s...

Now Senior Manager of Digital Implementation at global creative tech company Monotype, James’s career journey reflects a deep commitment to growth - both personal and professional.

Fine Art graduate Paul Cummins created a ceramic poppy display which was chosen to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War at the Tower of London.

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.

After meeting whilst at university, Photography graduates Dariusz Szwed and Rachel Powell founded commercial photography company, Studio No 74.

After first working for the charity Place2Be as one of her placements whilst studying, Kelly Truscott jumped at the chance to continue working with them following her graduation.

Shaun joined the University as an aspiring journalist and went on to become Deputy Head of News and Duputy Official Spokesperson for the Prime Minister.

Film Production graduate, Omar Soomro, has been working on a number of exciting projects, including Netflix's acclaimed series Sex Education.

Abbie Sunter is a ceramicist who developed her business after graduating from the University of Derby with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art.

During the final stages of her MA in Dance Movement Psychotherapy, Aishwarya enrolled on the 'Be the Boss' programme which led to her establishing and growing her own business, Move for Wellbeing.

Diana Pinhao left Porto, Portugal, at 18 to pursue a BA (Hons) Fine Art degree at the University of Derby and has since had her work featured in a number of exciting exhibitions.

Jon is a University of Derby alumnus and founder and owner of Hot House Music Schools.

After gaining a first class honours in her Journalism degree, Emily Robertson landed a full-time job working for one of Nottingham's top public relations companies, Eden PR.

From dedicated lecturers to the DRIVEN internship program, explore how Tom's story unfolds with meaningful projects benefiting the community.

Alexey graduated BA (Hons) Degree in Fashion Design and officially launched his own business 'Alexey Morozov' in 2019.

Nick’s journey started with a degree in Business and Economics, and it was actually through helping a friend with their course work that he discovered his passion for creativity, fashion and design.

Award-winning speaker, bestselling author and world-renowned thinker Richard Gerver is also the chair of our Alumni and Membership Advisory Board.

Since graduating in 2012, Erika Horne now runs her own business, CAD for Fashion, which specialises in CAD training and tuition for the fashion and textiles industry.

Hannah Fox began her journey at the University in 1992 and now leads major projects as the Director of Projects and Programmes at Derby Museum Trust.

Since completing our Project Design course, Sam is living out his childhood dream as a Design Manager for one of the biggest toy companies in the world – LEGO.

After graduation, David Hambling set up The Joy of Pages, a publishing services company based in Derbyshire, with the help of our Be The Boss programme.

Getting together on a project in their second year changed the lives of Film Production students Josh, Ben, Odhran and James.

Having graduated in 2019, Ryan secured a role at Two Circles, a digital data-driven sports agency.

Journalist, presenter, editor and author, Elle Farrell-Kingsley graduated in 2020 after studying Liberal Arts.

Having first studied American Studies at the University of Derby, Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing, Adam Gomes is continuing his education by studying an online masters.

Michelle Darlow studied BA Hons Fashion Studies at the University of Derby. Her story is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the power of leveraging opportunities to build a successful career...

George Papakyritsis studied our accredited online Psychology BSc (Hons) to take the first step towards achieving his goal of becoming a practising therapist.

Forensic Psychology graduate Kanish Jones is applying the skills acquired on her course to make a difference at HMP Whatton.

Amanda decided to move her career in a different direction and pursue her passions by studying our Psychology MSc.

Nursing graduate Kate Henry is using her creativity to inspire the next generation of nurses.

Studying online provided Kelly Davies with a pathway to exceed beyond her expectations and pursue a Psychology BSc.

Graduate Danielle Gunter combined her skills and passions to found the Social-ISE Project, providing social media marketing for charities, not-for-profits and social entrepreneurs.

After receiving her own breast cancer diagnosis during her second year of study, Fiona decided to change the direction of her career to investigate how cancer treatment can affect patients.

After discovering her interest in psychology whilst working in a mental health unit in New Zealand, Ann-Marie decided to pursue her degree online with us.

Shannon knew that she wanted to work with children, but she didn’t know which direction to take. After initially starting an apprenticeship in a nursery, she quickly discovered it wasn’t the right set

Sabrina is most proud of completing the qualitative research project for her MRes in Psychology, which was positively received and of interest to fellow researchers in the field.  

Muhammad is a qualified medical doctor specialising in Public Health Medicine. As a registered Care Manager with the Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Graduate Molly Kirven has applied her skills to pursue her dream job as a contracts engineer in the geotechnical/construction industry.

Luke Jenkinson's coaching placement during his Sport and Exercise Science BA kickstarted his career to becoming an integral part of the Derby County set-up.

Engineer Charlotte followed her interests in motorsport and now applies the knowledge she gained from her course as a Wheels and Tyres Engineer for Jaguar Land Rover.

Philippa Tredget's Ergonomics qualification is supporting her to make a difference at the British Army.

Ashleigh Whiffin's experience on our Forensic Science course steered her towards her dream career in Entomology.

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.

Nicole Yeomans is making an impact and encouraging more businesses to be sustainable as a Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Specialist at global infrastructure giant AECOM.

Recent graduate, Kallum Booth, secured a role as a graduate Civil Engineer at AtkinsRealis, where he uses the skills and experience that he gained whilst studying BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering.

Victoria Riley, Client Services Director at PKF Smith Cooper Systems, was interested in pursuing a degree in Mathematical Studies as she was attracted by the variety of the programme.

Ross Gilmour is a lighting technician who works on live events such as music festivals, concerts and tours. To prepare for his career, Ross studied Sound, Light and Live Event Engineering.