Student Success

Showcasing our students and graduates

We champion and encourage the extra-curricular successes of our students and graduates. By valuing our people, we respect one another and enable everyone to achieve beyond their expectations. We are proud of the achievements of all our students and graduates, and are excited to see the careers they go on to.

Recognising brilliance

Our teaching team offer opportunities to further students' knowledge and develop themselves as individuals beyond the classroom. Our careers team leads the way with industry engagement, enabling students to make an impact within businesses. And our students’ brilliance is often recognised and rewarded nationally and globally, giving us the chance to celebrate their achievements.  

College of Arts, Humanities and Education

• BA (Hons) Film and Television Production alumni Ross Wilkes-Houghton was part of the team behind a BAFTA and Oscar-winning short film. Ross was Foley Sound Designer on An Irish Goodbye, which won the British Short Film award in February, followed by Best Live Action Short Film Academy Award in March. Commenting on the Academy Award, Ross said winning was “a bit of a shock. It’s also a big honour – I didn’t expect to be on an Oscar-winning film so soon.” His specialism traces back to his development at Derby: “My lecturers could see my interest in sound so they encouraged me down that route. They told me I'd do well to focus my career rather than trying to do everything.”

• Media Production student Zeyu Wang’s film ‘Heritage On Fingertips’ was shortlisted for the Royal Television Society Student Awards 2023 in the Best Camera Work category. The film was also nominated for the Craft Skills Awards, a remarkable achievement for a student filmmaker. Senior Lecturer in Media Phil Basi said: "We're thrilled that Zeyu has been recognised for his outstanding camera work, his film is a testament to his passion for visual storytelling and his dedication to his craft.”

• Second year BA (Hons) Theatre Studies students on the Applied Theatre Practice module toured schools in Derby, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire with ‘Bretevski Street,’ their show written by award-winning playwright Lin Coghlan. Over 500 students watched and participated in workshops on the piece, which raised themes around war, conflict, racism and right-wing nationalism.

• MA Publishing alumni Chelsea Graham was named a winner of the 2023 publishing industry Trailblazer Awards by the Publishers Association and the London Book Fair. Chelsea’s award was in recognition of her work as Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Publishing Post, a magazine designed to help young people break into the industry.

• MA Fine Art student Dawn Wesselby won a 12-month residency at Banks Mill Studios, our business support and incubation space. It concluded in summer 2022 with Dawn hosting an exhibition of her work called ‘Dis-connected’. She also took part in the MA Arts degree show at Artcore, an international centre for contemporary art in Derby city centre, featuring her latest work titled ‘If you loved me…’

• MA Visual Communication graduate Nathan Addai received the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Award at the Generation Next Awards Ceremony in July. The award is in recognition of his Mental Roots project, a series of audio and visual content combining animation, journalism, poetry and music to educate on and empower mental health in underrepresented communities. This project started in December 2021 when Nathan released a short film through BBC Four's programme Animated Shorts: BBC Introducing Arts. Nathan said: “Each time my work is nominated for an award, it encourages me even more. There is a big gap in the market for artistic solutions for mental health. I look forward to the purposeful partnerships that may come from winning this award!” Nathan’s film was also shown at the BFI Future Film Festival in February 2023, leading to an interview with The British Blacklist.

• MA Arts student Christie Freeman had the opportunity to share her skills with China Petals, an independent craft mosaics company based at Banks Mills Studios, as part of the DRIVEN project, run through the University. Christie said: “Interning at China Petals through DRIVEN was a wonderful opportunity to gain valuable experience in the wholesale industry while also learning about the corporate side of business.”

• Carmen Casingena completed her BA in Early Childhood Studies last year via the online top-up route. Her independent study has been published in the Early Childhood Studies Degree Network Journal. Titled 'An exploration of the development and prevention of trauma in children within the Emergency Department and the role of the Play Specialist', Carmen's research has informed provision in Children's A&E at the hospital where she works.

• Second-year Fine Art students took part in a vibrant, contemporary art exhibition over summer at the Tram Shed on St James' Street in Derby. The ‘Liminal Motel’ exhibition presented an eclectic display of art including live performance, sculpture, drawing, paintings, and video projections. Caroline Locke, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Art at the University, said: “By bringing the students directly into the city centre to exhibit their work at the Tram Shed, we were able to reach a broad audience and provide an experience students really valued as they learnt what it takes to put on a professional show.”

• Applied Art alumni and Banks Mill Studios affiliate member, Sara Jane Boyle, hosted her first solo exhibition ‘What Has Love Got To Do With It’ at Loughborough Town Hall’s Sock Gallery in June. The exhibition explored her family's traumatic experiences of life in the care system, and shined a spotlight on the historic treatment of unmarried mothers who were forced to give up their children for adoption. Sara explained: “In my early childhood I had selective mutism and struggled to communicate. Because words were so hard to find I tried to imagine other ways to creatively express myself and so began my long relationship with the arts."

College of Business, Law and Social Sciences

• The University held the finals of its internal mooting competition before the Supreme Court sitting in Manchester's Civil Justice Centre in March. This was the first time the court has sat outside one of the four UK capital cities. The finalists appeared before Lord Richards and his Judicial Assistant, who praised the high standard of advocacy. Second year LLB students Joshua Gillson and Farris Saleem represented the Appellant against Elsa Zahin and Ryan Ford on behalf of the Respondent. Joshua additionally received a prize for best advocate. 
• Economics and Finance students Adhinav Jain, Dain Soto Pereira and Claudia Juanco were shortlisted as finalists at the Enactus UK X SAP - Tech4Good Action4Impact Challenge in May. SAP partnered with Enactus UK to empower students to develop impactful sustainable social action projects that address some of humanity’s greatest challenges through the innovative use of technology. The trio entered with their Enactus Derby project – Plastic Fantastic, which aims to convert waste collected on campus, such as plastic water bottles, into useable materials and products. Claudia Juanco said: “Enactus empowers students to unlock their full potential by prioritising both education and action. As an Enactus member, I not only had fun but also formed lifelong friendships with like-minded individuals who share the same passion for creating a better world.” 
• Rhea Sutton is putting the skills she learned in our MSc Intelligence, Security and Disaster Management degree directly into practice at the British Red Cross. Working as an Emergency Response Officer in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, Rhea manages 40 emergency response volunteers across the two counties. She believes that what she learned on the course has helped make her more employable: “The core module on my masters, Introducing Risk and Managing Disasters, prepped me with lots of knowledge that surrounds the role I am in now.”  

• Our MSc Intelligence, Security and Disaster Management students took part in a disaster preparedness operation called 'Exercise Silver Siren'. The scenario, prepared by the RAF in conjunction with the Derbyshire Emergency Planning Team and the Emergency Services, was designed to test the response to a major incident based around a scenario that would require the activation of the Survivor Reception Centre (SuRC) procedures at Belper. Students also visited the Ministry of Defence at the Chilwell military base in Nottingham to learn about British Army leadership styles and types of intelligence used in their Civil-Military operations in the UK and abroad. The visit led to the recruitment of one of our students as a Military Intelligence Reserve.
• The University's free clinic for the local community, The Student Legal Advice Centre, continues to be an invaluable training ground for developing our law professionals. During the year, 79 Law students volunteered in the Centre and assisted 215 clients with their legal problems. In April, Jade Dickson was awarded the High Sheriff of Derbyshire Award for Contribution to Justice in Derbyshire. The award recognised Jade’s commitment to volunteering in the Student Legal Advice Centre. 
• Business Management student Nathan Sawyer won a coveted placement in global communications and business support at Lubrizol, the global science company based near Belper. Nathan takes over from Lydia Turner, a student on the same course. Lydia said: “I’ve loved my year with Lubrizol. I’ve learned so much about project management, particularly from a creative aspect. I’ve just re-done my CV and I might have too much to put on it now!"

College of Health, Psychology and Social Care

• Children’s Nursing students Ros Pocklington and Grace Broughton won the Zenith Global Healthcare Rising Star award in October for their work in curating the Children & Young People Student Nurse Network. The CYPStNN is an online resource, allowing Children’s Nursing students nationwide to access support and advice from students across the country on the same course. The awards celebrate fellow healthcare and allied healthcare professionals for their commitment and dedication. Senior Lecturer in Children’s Nursing, Trudy Cowan, said: “We are extremely proud of the ‘small but mighty’ Children’s Nursing cohort that Ros and Grace are part of. Winning this award is testament to the hard work they have put in to the CYPStNN. Their fundamental values of care and compassion are evident in all they do.”

• Mental Health Nursing Apprentice Steffi Ward’s work has influenced the revalidation of BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing. Steffi had the opportunity to be involved in the working group looking at developing the nursing simulation programme before revalidation with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. She was able to provide feedback on behalf of her cohort to improve the future student experience. Steffi says: “As part of the working group, I attended the revalidation board made up of a variety of stakeholders and NMC representatives, to answer any questions they had for student members.”

• A Children’s Nursing placement with the safeguarding and vulnerable team led to student Holly Chamberlain being awarded a prestigious accolade. The award is in memory of the late Alison Statham, a Sister at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton Trust’s Maxillofacial department. It recognises the outstanding contribution of student nurses who continue to demonstrate Alison’s spirit of commitment, compassion, care and courage in the work they carry out. Holly received the award as a result of showing incredible kindness when working with a young patient with learning disabilities.

• In collaboration with the organisation Projects Abroad, 11 students undertook a four-week placement in Guadalajara, Mexico, working with the United Nations funded charity FM 4 Paso Libre. Students assisted in the provision of humanitarian assistance and advocacy to migrants and refugees within Western Mexico. The students separately supported a medical outreach team in the provision of weekly community public health services in areas across the local region where the population has limited access to healthcare. They also helped provide screening, medical consultations and treatments. Senior Lecturer in Nursing and College International Academic Lead, Guy Collins, said: “As a direct result of this experience, several students are not only focusing elements of their study and assignments around the topic of migration, but they have also registered to volunteer with local migrant and refugee organisations, and some are considering a future career pathway in wider humanitarian work.”

• Nursing and Midwifery students completed an extensive weekend of disaster simulation exercises at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland, in collaboration with colleagues from Health Action Training and the International Red Cross. This was the first time that external students had been invited to join the simulation exercises at Ulster. The weekend was co-facilitated by over 20 agencies including the Police, Ambulance Service, Search and Rescue, Territorial Army, Red Cross, Lifeguards, and other agencies. Registered Nursing Associate and third year BSc Nursing (Adult) student, Danielle Parker, said: “We all undertook a range of scenarios including gas explosions, hostage situations, and psychological support within a major incident reception centre."

College of Science and Engineering

• BA (Hons) Sport Coaching and Development student Rhianna Parris-Smith was selected to join the GB Cycling Team in April, and took a gold medal at the July European Track Championships in Portugal. To work around her training and competition schedule, Rhianna is continuing her studies on a part-time basis, enabling her to complete her degree whilst still competing, with the aim of being selected for the Commonwealth Games in 2026 and the Olympics in Los Angeles 2028. 

• Zoology graduate Eleanor Crookes has been invited to spend a year in Peru completing field work with red titi monkeys. The opportunity came as a result of Eleanor’s participation in an international online seminar series co-hosted by Eduardo Fernandez-Duque from Yale University. The online networking led to an exciting cross-continental activity for Eleanor as Eduardo is collaborating with the research site in Peru.

• A team of undergraduate and postgraduate engineering and computing students, as well as recent graduates working at Alstom, took second place in an international competition in June. Organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), the annual Railway Challenge sees teams working together throughout the academic year before taking part in a weekend of track-based challenges and presentations. Eight teams from across the UK and Europe took part in the final competition weekend, which was held at Stapleford Miniature Railway in Leicestershire. With the judges describing the standard of entries as the highest ever, the University of Derby/Alstom team finished in second place, narrowly behind a team from Poznan University of Technology, Poland, and the only UK team in the top three. Professor Chris Bussell, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Dean of the College of Science and Engineering, said: “These are brilliant results from the University of Derby; they are evidence of the positive impact of applied learning and the benefit of collaboration between our students, academics, technicians and colleagues at Alstom – all of whom have played their part in this achievement.”

• In May, the first cohort of level 5 students studying on the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) accredited BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science degree received confirmation of their industrial placement year with the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton and Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trusts. These students were selected after a panel interview conducted by the specialist Biomedical Scientist teams from these two Trusts. The students will be working in specialist fields including Haematology and Transfusion Science, Cytology and Clinical Biochemistry across both Trusts. They will get an opportunity to complete their IBMS portfolio during this time and apply for the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) licence upon completion of their degree. This is a requirement to become a biomedical scientist and work in the NHS.

• In June, Strength, Conditioning and Rehabilitation student Antony Weston competed at the World Bench Press Championships in Sun City, South Africa and took first place for his Juniors category. The success made him the International Powerlifting Federation 2023 junior 120+ world champion.

• First year BSc (Hons) Sound, Light and Live Event Engineering student Nick Peverett joined Adam Hill, Associate Professor of Electroacoustics, at the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Make Listening Safe (MLS) initiative consultation meeting at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Nick was invited to provide a voice for the youth, specifically giving insights into the position of young musicians and sound engineers. He took part in a panel session, moderated by multiple Grammy award-winning Indian musician, Ricky Kej, where he made clear what messaging is needed for key stakeholders at live events and how to reach younger generations to promote safe listening practices.