Alumni news

Where has life taken you since you’ve been away from Aston? We’d love to hear what you’ve been up to.

Why not drop us an email at alumniinfo@aston.ac.uk with your story and a photograph? The best will be included in the next edition of the magazine.

1960s

Mehdi G Mehdi (Chemical Engineering, 1967) was one of the graduates who were awarded degrees for the first time when Birmingham College of Advanced Technology received its Charter and became the University of Aston in Birmingham. Mehdi worked abroad in the textile industry as a project engineer. Then he worked in the UK as a senior research and development engineer for a furnace company. Following that, he became a chief research and development engineer for a boiler company and then a teacher (teaching both GCSE and A-Level science). He is now enjoying his retirement.

1970s

Jo Donnelly

(Biological Sciences, 1971) followed her Aston degree by attaining a PGCE at Chelsea College and then went on to teach biology, geography and religious education. In her forties she retrained in special educational needs (SEN) and taught special needs pupils. Her career as a SEN coordinator in two large secondary schools in West London spanned 20 years. “I never regret my time at Aston,” she said “It helped to build my confidence and I met some amazing people. My tutor was Mr Gardener and I also remember Dr Egins and Dr Cole.”

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Chris Peace

(Environmental Health, 1974 and Risk Management & Safety Technology, 1997) started his working life enforcing health and safety legislation in the UK before emigrating to New Zealand in 1980, moving to work in the insurance industry as a loss control engineer and subsequently as a risk consultant. In 1990 Chris returned to the UK for five years where he worked for Jardine Lloyd Thompson as a risk management consultant. During that time he worked with major manufacturing and retail companies and public and private hospitals, work which took him to the USA, the Caribbean, Holland, Spain, Eire and Italy and included acting as an expert witness. In August 2019 he was appointed adjunct research fellow in the Faculty of Health at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, after graduating in December 2019 from the university with a PhD on ‘The effectiveness of risk assessments in informing decision makers’. In 2020 Chris started a new post as teaching fellow at Victoria University, instructing on the principles of health and safety management as well as hazard and risk.

1980s

Richard Brittain

(Physical Methods Analysis, 1981) came to Aston as a fresh, young physics graduate seeking to hone his skills in a specialised and vocational area of science and technology. After graduating from Aston he was offered a role as a research assistant at London University working on highfrequency wide-band ultrasound for materials analysis and medical imaging. This ultimately led to the completion of PhD based on part-time study. In 1989 he took up a role as head of electrical and electronic engineering at a large private educational institute based in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. He moved from there to Sydney, Australia, where he worked initially in commercial research and development for a company making medical imaging systems, and then at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) materials science (ceramics) laboratory. After that he joined the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) as a senior research scientist. He later moved into science management and policy before joining the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science and Research. From there he moved into the field of legal metrology, specialising in the development of technical policy and infrastructure. To further support this role – and indulge a long-held interest in law – Richard undertook an external Legum Baccalaureus (LLB) followed by a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice at the New South Wales College of Law. He completed his practical legal training at the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Office, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Homeless Persons’ Legal Service in Sydney before being admitted as a lawyer by the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2010. After 23 years in the Australian public service, Richard started his own legal consultancy and now provides consultancy to the governments of Fiji, Myanmar and Ghana on legislation to facilitate and strengthen their technical infrastructure to support both their internal and international trade and regulation. He feels that his transition from a science graduate to an international expert and consultant really started with the specialist postgraduate training he received at Aston.

Alison Tennant

(née Abernethy) (Pharmacy, 1987) left Aston to train at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London for her pre-registration year. She then returned to the Midlands to work at the General Hospital across the road from Aston. Alison moved around various Midlands hospitals before she was appointed as one of the first GP practice pharmacists in 1997. She progressed through the various NHS changes to become a specialist in pharmaceutical public health at Dudley PCT. Following the 2012 health reforms Alison moved into broader NHS management, eventually working at a regional level within NHS England. In 2016 she decided on a move back to hospital and took up the post of chief pharmacist at the Royal Wolverhampton Trust. Alison is now back across the road from Aston in the original General Hospital building as the chief pharmacist at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Trust. She enjoys hosting the pharmacy students from Aston and talking to them about a career that can lead you full-circle geographically.

1990s

Alastair Cush (International Business & French, 1999) met his Canadian wife during his time in France as part of his course. After graduating, he moved to Montreal and is still there 21 years later. He works as managing director of Skyfold (a maker of vertically-folding retracting walls owned by the Swiss group, dormakaba). Thanks to learning French while at Aston, he integrated easily into Québec life and into his French-Canadian family.

2000s

Rory Bate

(Mechanical Engineering, 2012) joined the British Army and completed his Aston degree while a salaried captain. Rory’s current role involves responsibility for the testing and evaluation of equipment parachutes for UK Defence. This includes the assessment, validation, design and authorisation of parachute systems to deliver up to 8000kg of equipment onto land or into water from large freight planes and helicopters globally. Rory travels extensively and on his next trip he will be deployed to Southern Chile where he will be based to resupply the British Antarctic Survey at their base.

Hasnain lalji (Pharmacy, 2014) graduated from Aston University with a Masters of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree. He passed his pre-registration exam and qualified as a practicing pharmacist in August 2015. He is currently studying for a PhD at the University of Bath focussing on ‘Investigating sex differences in the response to kappa opioid receptor antagonist in mice’. He also does locum work as a community pharmacist every Saturday and during Christmas.

Anum Abdullah (Business and Management, 2015) returned to the UK after completing a Global MBA in International Business, which involved spending 12 months working as a HR analyst on Wall Street in New York and four months studying in Thailand. Having gained different experiences in the HR field in a variety of different industries, she now works as an HR advisor providing knowledge on employment law and employee relations; she also provides a private tutoring service to students teaching English, maths and business studies. Her first book, The Never Ending Life, was published in February 2018 and is available on Amazon worldwide.

Ashok Sureshkumar

Kalavathi (Supply Chain Management, 2018) was always proud to have gained a scholarship to study at Aston University. Following his Masters he started his first role as a marketing and operations specialist for a Finnish multinational corporation, Mirka Ltd. (a manufacturer of coated abrasives and power tools). Now Ashok heads up the Middle Eastern marketing operation, based in the Dubai office. In addition to his Masters from Aston he achieved a Certification from Harvard Business School in Sustainable Business Strategy. “I have respect and love for the University and the dear teachers who helped me to reach where I am,” he says. “Last September I was in the UK for a business trip and was fortunate to visit Aston. I was so moved by the new Students' Union building. The friends I made at the University are for life and it was great to see them attending my wedding last year in May 2019.”