St Andrews Fusion members Theo Robinson, Gitika Sanjay, Jonathan Kemp and Alasdair Wilde (pictured) and Oscar Cooper and George Davies (not pictured)

Welcome to our newest alumni

We celebrated the successes of 2500 new graduates who crossed the Younger Hall stage in June. Many of our newest alumni signed up to join us at the Development Office for our Kaleidoscope Courtyard Receptions, which have become a staple of graduation week.

It was fantastic to hear about next steps, career plans and travel adventures as graduates stopped by for refreshments, free photo prints from SquareShare, and to pick up their free KAN gift. We’d love to see your photos featuring your exclusive Kaleidoscope Alumni Network travel mug – it’s always exciting to see where in the world they end up (along with their owners!).

For those who have recently joined KAN, we’ll share news and events throughout the year along with our biannual newsletter. You can also find out what’s going on in the network via the website.

Stephanie Huang (piano) and Angelia Luo (guzheng)

Alumni Weekend: Guzheng and Piano Recital

We were delighted to host a special Guzheng and Piano Recital as part of the Alumni Weekend 2024 programme of festivities in June. It was a pleasure to hear from two exceptional performers – Angelia Luo and Stephanie Huang – in the superb venue of Holy Trinity Church, St Andrews.

Celebrating cultural connections: new year around the world

With each new year comes new beginnings: a sense of renewal, of hope and of a fresh start. In many cultures people come together to dust off the cobwebs and celebrate – out with the old, in with the new, as the saying goes. Throughout the year, we shine the spotlight on cultural and religious festivals from around the world. For 2024, the focus of this is new year celebrations.

A student preparing for the occupation of Lower College Hall in 2009

Scholarship support for Palestinian students

Following an approach from student groups including Amnesty St Andrews, the Middle East and North African Society, the St Andrews Muslim Students’ Association and the BAME Student Network, the University has announced that it will fund two additional scholarships under the STEPS (St Andrews Education for Palestine) programme.

These new Sanctuary Scholarships will provide life-changing opportunities to talented Palestinians who, it is hoped, will go one to make important contributions to Palestinian civil society.

Alumnus Dr Patrick O’Hare (MA Hons 2011), lecturer in the School of Philosophy, Anthropology and Film Studies and former president of the Students’ Association describes his involvement with STEPS scholarships and explains how these opportunities have evolved at the University.

British Council Study UK Alumni Awards

Congratulations to St Andrews alumni Charlotte Engel (BA International Honours 2019), who has been named as a global finalist in the British Council Study UK Alumni Awards in the Culture and Creativity Award category.

Charlotte is the clothing historian at the New Canaan Museum and Historical Society in Connecticut, USA, and uses social media to educate audiences about working with historical clothing. She is also helping to digitise the museum’s textile and clothing collection and make it accessible to researchers and students.

More about the awards

Read Charlotte’s Alumni Story here.

Look out for details of how to enter the 2025 British Council Alumni Awards over the coming months.

Alumni Stories

In this issue, we hear from Wei Wan (MLitt 2010), a Beijing alumnus who graduated from St Andrews in Management and has gone on to start a successful business training English language teachers in China. He caught up with Dr Catherine Dunford at our Beijing Alumni Reception earlier this year.

Stories from St Andrews alumni, students and staff are shared in the monthly St Andrews in the News e-newsletter and online. We welcome contributions from members of the Kaleidoscope Alumni Network. Please get in touch with us at stakan@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Kaleidoscope events 2024

Keep an eye on your emails from us at stakan@st-andrews.ac.uk for information about events between KAN newsletters.

Tune in: KAN podcasts

We are delighted to share four new episodes of our Kaleidoscope Alumni Network podcast 15 minutes with…. You can find the podcast on Spotify right now and we aim to make them available on other platforms in the near future. Transcripts can be accessed on the Listen page of the KAN blog.

Hear us in conversation with Bill Shackman, Interfaith Chaplain at the University of St Andrews, discussing his role, his philosophy of radical acceptance, and how the chaplaincy brings the faith communities on campus together.

Listen now: 15 minutes with Bill Shackman

We also speak to Dr Jonathan Kemp, Head of Music Technology at the Laidlaw Music Centre, St Andrews, and the man behind the production of all our podcasts. In this episode, he chats about his research into the physics of music and on producing music events at St Andrews.

Listen now: 15 minutes with Jonathan Kemp

Dr Rita Tojeiro, Reader in the School of Physics and Astronomy, talks about the purpose of education, inclusivity in STEM and understanding science’s human cost through examining the discipline in a wider context.

Listen now: 15 minutes with Rita Tojeiro

And in the sixth episode of 15 minutes with… we hear from Paul Gardner, Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, as he discusses how to think about inclusion and opportunity, and the importance of transforming lives through education.

Listen now: 15 minutes with Paul Gardner

You can find all our Kaleidoscope podcasts below.

Spotlights and Spotify