Welcome to the May edition of St Andrews in the News.
This month, we have much to entertain and distract you – from video footage of students all over the world taking part in their own individual versions of May Dip to our first ever online Meet the Author event and continuing our recent series of alumni and student stories of life in lockdown. Please contact us if you would like to contribute your story, video or podcast to share with our online community!
An appeal launched to help Fife students affected by the Covid-19 crisis, support vital research at the University of St Andrews, and help the town of St Andrews get back on its feet after the pandemic has raised over half a million pounds in a little over a month. Read more.
Two University of St Andrews students – appalled at seeing the mark up of face masks when they tried to source them for their volunteering charity StudentsAgainstCorona – set up an operation to supply these at virtually cost price. Read more about this and read about Micaiah Lowe (MA 2019) who took StudentsAgainstCorona to the USA.
Listen to key Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) member Professor Sir Ian Boyd (former Chief Scientific Adviser at DEFRA and creator of the Scottish Oceans Institute) answer questions about how this influential group advises government.
Professor Eric Priest of the University of St Andrews has been awarded the Senior Prize of the European Solar Physics Division of the European Physical Society. Read more.
From puddles and bins to beaches and showers …
In the last edition we gave you an amuse bouche to whet your interest in what has turned out to be a wonderful collaborative project – and now we can reveal all!
The Fellowship of St Andrews – a group of undergraduate and postgraduate students united by their love for St Andrews – are challenging students, parents, friends and alumni to take up the Soaking for St Andrews challenge throughout May to support the University Community Fund and keep the spirit of May Dip (and post exam soakings) alive and well.
Watch on the University YouTube channel as students all over the world marked this ancient tradition in their own individual ways. By taking part they are also donating to the Fund to support local individuals and organisations in St Andrews who are providing vital aid and guidance during the Covid-19 crisis. Why not have some fun, soak for St Andrews and help them to reach their target of £1,000
You can also read what some of these students thought about this year’s virtual May Dip on our alumni updates page.
University of St Andrews Professor Kirstie Ball – one of the lead authors of major research in smartphone location tracking (SLT) – has said that public concern over this could jeopardise governments’ efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19 using surveillance technologies. Read more.
Santander Universities – long term philanthropic supporters of the University of St Andrews – have recognised the significant financial impact that the Covid-19 pandemic will have on St Andrews and the other 84 university partners within its UK network. Read more.
Green Gown Awards showcase and celebrate sustainability best practice. Applications are invited from St Andrews alumni (up to a maximum of three years from graduation) in the Enterprise category, sponsored by CUBO (College and University Business Officers).
The deadline for applications for this year’s Green Gown Awards has been extended to 12 noon on 9 September 2020.
If you have established a sustainability initiative or enterprise, or have an idea for an award application, please contact the Environment Team at St Andrews environment@st-andrews.ac.uk in the first instance for advice and support regarding your application.
The recent Virtual Saints Sports Awards held between 27 April and 1 May were a huge success with a fantastic level of engagement! And the Club of the Year was … the Boat Club! Watch their video to find out why they won and thank you to everyone who helped them achieve their Project24 fundraising initiative. If you missed the online events, you can find out about all the other Awards, finalists and winners in the brochure.
Thank you so much to everyone who took part and made this possible!
If you finished your course 15 months ago, you will be contacted soon and asked to complete the Graduate Outcomes survey. This helps to provide information about where you are in your career and to inspire the next generation of students about their future careers.
You can find out more about the survey. To make sure that you receive it, keep your contact details up to date with Alumni Relations.
When you are completing the survey, please give as much detailed and accurate information as possible – especially about your job title and duties.
Remember that the Careers Centre is still here to help you to progress in your early graduate career with all sorts of advice and CV checks. Visit our alumni careers web page for inspiration and support as a recent St Andrews graduate.
You can also visit our dedicated careers and alumni networking platform to keep up to date with the latest news from the Careers Centre and to find out more about how you can volunteer your time to help our student community.
Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed so far to our St Andrews Covid-19 Appeal. Since the launch, we have received a truly wonderful response and have secured over £500,000.
We know that the pandemic has affected many people’s finances adversely and we therefore do not ask for your support lightly. However, these are extraordinary times and any donation you can make – regardless of size – is crucial to many of our students.
We also know how lucky we are to have such a tight-knit, caring and generous University community. Thank you.
Donate now.
University Community Fund Appeal
In our local St Andrews community, voluntary bodies of all shapes and sizes are responding to the needs of our residents during this time of crisis. Not only is their contribution crucial just now – it will also be key to the town’s ultimate recovery – which is why we are encouraging applications to the University Community Fund for awards ranging between £250 and £3000 to support our wider community.
Applications are currently being received and the committee is looking forward to making the first awards in the near future.
We are delighted to invite alumni and friends of St Andrews to our first ever Meet the Author online event with Dugald Bruce-Lockhart on Facebook Live.
Dugald’s debut novel The Lizard was published just last month and is already receiving fantastic reviews. He will be reading extracts from the book and taking questions during the event. If you would like to submit your questions in advance, please send them to alumni@st-andrews.ac.uk by 5pm on Monday 8 June.
Curious? You can do some research before the event by reading about Dugald’s time at St Andrews and his path to becoming an actor and author in his story on alumni updates.
US Career Events
The University of St Andrews Careers Centre and US Development Team are delighted to host a series of virtual career panels featuring St Andrews alumni speakers. In our first session in April alumni panellists shared valuable insights and advice about expanding opportunities during uncertain times. If you were unable to join live, you can view the recorded session: Expanding Opportunities in Uncertain Times.
Students and alumni are welcome to join us for the next series of virtual career events, which feature panels of US-based alumni discussing strategies for entering careers in their particular industries and advice for our students and alumni. There will also be time for a Q&A session with each panel. Click the links below to register your place via Saint Connect and find more details for each event.
Saint Connect is our exclusive platform for University of St Andrews alumni, students and parents. We are delighted to announce the jobs board is now fully operational, with over 650 listed on the site. You can also use Saint Connect to reconnect with former classmates and use the trusted University of St Andrews environment to expand your professional network.
You can also keep St Andrews in your pocket with a brand-new app: Apple Store (download Graduway Community app, then search University of St Andrews), Google Play Store.
We have had a great response so far to our Alumni Playlist, with over 198 different songs submitted from alumni all over the world. Or to put it another way, that’s over 14 hours of nostalgia just waiting to be tapped into.
Seize the moment, go to our Alumni Playlist on Spotify and add the song that transports you back to your days at St Andrews. Remember to let us know what makes it special to you.
SAINTS AT HOME
We are continuing our Saints at Home series by asking graduates from all over the world about (amongst other things) their favourite St Andrews memories and their guilty pleasures – and you get to watch and read them! We will post their answers on social media over the coming months and will collate them to create an interesting archive.
Naomi Boon (MSc 2019) (who is currently living in Halifax, Nova Scotia) is the first to send us her answers. You can take a sneak peak over on YouTube. If you would like to take part email audrey.dyce@st-andrews.ac.uk for a full list of questions!
Lots of you have been sharing your #IndoorSaints experiences with us through blogs as well. We hope you enjoy this selection from Caleb Fong who is spending lockdown in St Andrews with his girlfriend; Amy Cummings (MA 2016, MLitt 2017) who describes how she keeps in touch with alumni friends while staying at home in Manchester and Micaiah Lowe (MA 2019) who brought the student-led movement StudentsAgainstCorona to the USA – a global group co-founded by his good friend and also a St Andrean, Frederik Filz (BSc 2018).
If you would like to share a blog, video or podcast, please let us know by emailing us at alumni@st-andrews.ac.uk.
Manchester Royal Eye Hospital 1814-2014: An Inside View
Nicholas Jones, BSc 1978
RECONNECT
Reconnect
Alumni and Club events have been cancelled for the time being, so why not use this time to reconnect with former classmates? Get in touch alumni@st-andrews.ac.uk and we will be happy to pass on messages and promote any Club events you are holding. Look out for our schedule of online events for alumni and friends across the world!
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