Welcome to Voic:E

Welcome to the November 2016 edition of our alumni ezine. We love to hear from our alumni to find out what you are doing now so if you have any news or stories you think would interest the rest of the family, please let us know.

Read the latest news from the University here.

Alumni event - Celebration of Carols in London

The University is delighted to be staging its third Celebration of Carols at St Marylebone Parish Church, London on Wednesday 21 December 2016 at 7pm.

Kindly hosted by Aberdeen alumnus Canon Stephen Evans and sponsored by HSBC, this festive event will once again showcase our world-class Chamber Choir under the direction of royal composer Professor Paul Mealor, Chair in Composition.

In the company of acclaimed British actor Sir Tony Robinson, Classic FM presenter Bill Turnbull and celebrated Call the Midwife actress and Aberdeen alumna Laura Main, the event will be recorded by Classic FM and broadcast on the evening of the 23rd December.

This wonderful celebration will also provide us with an opportunity to raise funds for the University's groundbreaking research in the fight against dementia, a subject we know is close to the hearts of our Aberdeen family and for which the University has an outstanding reputation.

To book a place at this event please email us at [email protected].

1 Alumni Focus

Alumnae celebrate Burns in joint music project

This year saw the launch of a debut CD album featuring Jillian Bain Christie (B.Mus. Hons.) singing Burns songs in settings by classical composers. It also saw the launch of a new record label, Luckenbooth Music, set up by Frances Milne (MA Hons. French and German) and her brother, John Milne.

The idea behind the CD was to hear Burns songs sung by a classically trained singer, following the custom of early performances of his songs which took place in the drawing rooms of the New Town of Edinburgh. The settings of Burns songs are by classical composers, including Professor Paul Mealor, whose setting of Ae fond kiss is dedicated to Jillian. The beautiful and distinctive art work on the CD cover is by Jillian, who trained at Glasgow School of Art, before moving to study music at the .

Further information on the CD can be found here; it can also be purchased at the St Machar Cathdral shop.

Save the date: Jazz afternoon tea - Wednesday 15 February 2017

The wonderful , right in the heart of campus, will provide the venue for this event. Enjoy a delicious afternoon tea whilst the sound of jazz fills the air around you. Entertainment will be provided by current students of the University. Tickets for the event will be priced at £20 per person.

This event will provide the opportunity to highlight and raise funds for the Alumnus Association Scholarship, which is awarded to students from North East Scotland on the basis of academic merit and financial needs each year. Tickets will go on sale in the New Year.

Aberdeen alumna elected new chairman of the representative body of the BMA

University of Aberdeen graduate Anthea Mowat was elected as Chairman of the representative body of the British Medical Association in June 2016 in Belfast for a three year term culminating in June 2019.

As RB Chairman, she is one of the Association’s three Chief Officers, with responsibility for Professionalism, and Equality and Diversity within the Association. She also sits on the NHS Staff Council for England. She is only the second ever woman to have held the post.

2 Alumni chapter launched in Beijing

The University of Aberdeen launched its first alumni chapter in China on the 20th of September. The Principal, Professor Sir , welcomed 69 members of the Aberdeen family to the British Embassy in Beijing.

The evening was a great success and in addition to the chapter launch, the evening saw the debut of Porter's Gin in China. The gin, devloped by two Aberdeen alumni, uses Chinese botanicals, which accounts for its refined flavour. Photos from the chapter launch can be found here.

Winter gathering and statutory meeting of the General Council

All graduates of the University of Aberdeen are members of the General Council and are invited to take part in the annual statutory meeting of the General Council.

This year's meeting will take place on Wednesday 7 December 2016 from 5pm in the Linklater Rooms (next to Elphinstone Hall), University of Aberdeen.

The statutory meeting will include an update from Professor Sir Ian Diamond, Principal and Vice- .

The meeting is free and will start at 6pm, with festive drinks and nibbles from 5pm. Following the meeting, members of the General Council are invited to attend the University Carol Service at St Machar's Cathedral from 7.30pm. Click here to register or email us at [email protected].

Mike Will MBE elected President of YMCA Europe

University of Aberdeen Theology and School of Education graduate Mike Will has been elected to the highest office of YMCA in Europe. Mike was elected as President of YMCA Europe at a General Assembly held in Madrid, becoming the first Scot to hold this international position with the continent's largest non- uniformed organisation.

Mr Will graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 1994 with a theology degree and pursued a career in secondary education. He has since graduated twice from the University with Masters degrees in Education (2000) and Research (2016) and taught Religious, Moral & Philosophical Studies at St Machar Academy (1995-1998) prior to being appointed as Principal Teacher of the subject in Aboyne Academy. In 2003 he was appointed to his current post of Depute Head Teacher in Northfield Academy in Aberdeen City. As a Teacher Regent in school for student teachers from the university and as a member of the University's Business Committee for six years, he has been a strong supporter of his alma mater throughout his career.

Commenting on his election Mr Will said: "having joined the local YMCA as a teenager, honoured as a local loon and Scot to be elected as president of the European YMCA movement. With so much happening in Europe, politically, culturally and socially, YMCA Europe is committed to empowering young people to make a positive difference for today and the future. I am inspired to share in the leadership of this change."

3 2016 Farr Institute@Aberdeen essay prize winner announced

The winner of the 2016 Farr Institute@Aberdeen Essay Prize has been named as Emma Dorothy Mills, who graduated in July.

Emma, now a doctor at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, wrote based her essay on the use of big data in the health service and the associated privacy and security issues.

She has also been invited to present her work at the World Congress on Undergraduate Research in Doha in November.

Emma said: “None of this would have been possible without the fantastic support and encouragement I received throughout my time at Aberdeen.”

Got a story? Share it on the new alumni blog

You can find out more about what some of your fellow alumni have been up to since graduating on our brand new blog. We have members of the University of Aberdeen family across the globe and many are now industry leaders, ground-breaking researchers or have other fascinating tales to tell. If you have an interesting story you'd like to share with the wider alumni community then get in touch with us at [email protected]. Our first post is the story of Jeremy Thompson, an agriculture graduate who has ended up as a Coconut Research and Development Advisor in Vanuatu! You can find the blog here.

Well done to all our alumni on their fantastic achievements!

University Focus

Development Trust donors help reveal secrets of 800-year- old 'royal' book

Funding from generous donors to the University of Aberdeen Development Trust has helped produce digitally enhanced photography of the Aberdeen Bestiary - the jewel in the crown of the University’s holdings within the Special Collections Centre. This has enabled this lavishly illustrated medieval book, which once belonged to King Henry VIII, to be made available online in incredible detail.

The Bestiary, created in England in around 1200 and first documented in the Royal Library at Westminster Palace in 1542, is one of the finest surviving examples of a medieval illuminated manuscript and has been in the care of the University of Aberdeen for almost four centuries.

It has now been digitally enhanced and made available online for the first time in high definition - returning the precious book to its original purpose of learning and revealing details previously unseen to the naked eye. More information on the new discoveries and the new high-resolution scans of the Bestiary itself can be found here.

4 Lathallan Pipe Band to join New York Tartan Week 2017 celebrations

A pipe band from Lathallan School, a small independent co- education boarding school in Johnshaven on the North East coast of Scotland, will join University of Aberdeen alumni next year in the annual Tartan Week parade down New York's famous 6th Avenue.

The Lathallan Pipe Band have a proud 50 year history and the 20 band members and four accompanying staff are very much looking forward to playing and marching alongside members of the University of Aberdeen's New York Chapter and helping to fly the flag for both the University and the North East of Scotland.

The parade takes place on Saturday 8 April 2017. To register your interest, please email [email protected].

Opportunities for Alumni

Count down to Christmas with our virtual advent calendar!

In December we will be launching our first ever virtual advent calendar. Each day up until the 24 December, we will open a new ‘door’ on some exciting, quirky, interesting or seasonal news from your University. Find out how your wee dram of whisky could combat soil contamination. Are you buying your loved one a boxed set for Christmas? Your gift may have unintended positive consequences for your relationship. Could a robot cook your Christmas dinner? Find out more about these stories as well as other news items from the University of Aberdeen.

You’ll be able to find the calendar here from 1 December, but please look out for notifications each day from our Facebook and Twitter pages.

50% discount on new Public Affairs book by University of Aberdeen honorary research fellow

Leading public affairs and communications consultant and regular blogger for The Huffington Post, Dr Stuart Thomson, who is an honorary research fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University, is offering all University of Aberdeen alumni 50% off his new book Public Affairs - A Global Perspective.

In our highly politicized world, public affairs plays a more important role than ever not just in how each nation functions and internally but how it is presented and interacts on the global stage. With an extensive introduction to lobbying and public affairs in individual countries, the book covers the main changes in recent years including the regulatory environment, key challenges for the sector and issues of political importance as well as providing compelling conclusions on the likely changes and future direction of public affairs.

The book can be ordered here. To claim your discount enter the discount code 'public' on the checkout page. 5 Insight Programme

We are piloting the Insight Programme in China, US and Canada. This is a new initiative designed to support offer holders in preparing them for their time at the University of Aberdeen.

We are asking alumni to become alumni guides who will spend time (via webchat/email or in person) with an offer holder, providing insight into life here in Aberdeen and what the University has to offer. For further information or to sign up please visit the website.

Reunion Focus

Reunion - Geology class of 1966

Half a century after graduation, five of the six members of the Honours Geology class of 1966 met at Siccar Point near North Berwick. Stewart Murray, the sixth class member and a mature student, passed away some years ago. The classic Siccar Point unconformity was an appropriate venue for the reunion. It was here in 1788 that James Hutton, founder of modern geology, realised, from the disposition of the rocks exposed, that the age of the Earth was vastly greater than the previously held biblical view.

Robbie Anderson, Derek Bain, Bill Barclay, Jim Pirie and Neil Simpson have all had succesful careers in geology and collectively have experience of working all around the globe. In a career sidestep, Neil is now a professional musician, managing and playing in ceilidh bands world-wide. Fellow students of the 60s may remember his first band – the Neil Folk. Reunion - Agriculture class of 1966

Agricultural graduates from the class of 1966 (and some from 1967) met up in the Atholl Hotel, Aberdeen on Friday 9th September, 2016, to celebrate 50 years since they all started the agriculture degree course at Aberdeen. During the meal, each graduate was invited to summarise his career in no more than three minutes; the wide variety of career paths taken by each graduate illustrated the sound knowledge base that the University had provided to all.

The classmates in attendance were David Merrilees, Roger Bryce, Alan Lyburn, Sveinn Runolfsson, Sandy Ferguson, Hamish Stuart, Ian Smith, Stuart Carnegie, Ken Argo, Jim Conn, Robin Orr, Jack Watt, Peter Fowlie, David Scrimgeour and David Younie. 6

Reunion - Medical class of 1958

The class of Medicine 1952-58 held a reunion at the Atholl Hotel, Aberdeen on the 19th and 20th of August. The weekend included visits to the Sir Library at King’s College and the at Campus which were very much appreciated – thanks to Emma Fowlie at the Library and to Arlene Ray at Foresterhill.

Those attending were Dr. Noreen Baillie, Dr. Eurwen Innes, Dr. Sheila Patel, Dr. John and Mrs M. Coull, Dr. Gordon and Mrs. J Middleton, Dr. John Taylor, Dr. Victor Tosh and Dr. George and Mrs M. Taylor. The success of this 58th year reunion was such that another to celebrate 60 years has been proposed – fair warning!

7 Save the date! 31st March to 2nd April 2017 – Music reunion weekend

Calling all music and music education graduates. We are organising a reunion weekend – there will be the chance to take part in gamelan, steel pan, samba, electroacoustic, choral and instrumental workshops, as well as catch up with old friends and find out more about what’s happening in music at Aberdeen now.

Please register interest by dropping an email to Euan Crabb, our Music Administrator, including your name (including maiden name where appropriate) and year of graduation. More information in the next couple of months! We’re really looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Development Focus

Giving Tuesday - Support dementia research on #abdnGivingTue

Living with dementia is devastating. It robs you of your future, your present and slowly steals precious memories from your past. But together we can fight it.

On Tuesday 29th November 2016, the University of Aberdeen is celebrating Giving Tuesday – a global day of giving – to raise much needed support for our ground breaking dementia research. With your help we can achieve major scientific breakthroughs to diagnose dementia earlier and treat this cruel disease more effectively.

Please support us on Giving Tuesday and give hope to the millions of people affected by dementia. To find out more about supporting dementia research please click here.

The University of Aberdeen’s dementia research is also being supported by two University-led events in the coming months. Proceeds from the fundraising associated with the Celebration of Carols at St Marylebone Parish Church in London on the 21st of December as well as money raised by participants of RunBalmoral 17 on the 22nd and 23rd of April will hugely benefit our dementia research. More information about the Celebration of Carols can be found in this e-zine and to sign up and find out more about the amazing RunBalmoral event, held in the grounds of Her Majesty The Queen’s stunning Balmoral Castle, please contact Darren Hill on +44 (0) 1224 272938 or email [email protected]. If you would like to support our dementia research visit www.abdn.ac.uk/giving.

Waterlines artists donate work to the University

Artists Will Maclean and Marian Leven are generously supporting the University’s Special Collections Centre with the donation of two new pieces of awe-inspiring work. Will’s collaboration with poet John Burnside, A Catechism of the Laws of Storms, and Marian’s screen print, Cloud North, are both for sale through the University.

For more information, including how to purchase, click here.

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