Four Essex graduates named finalists for the Regional British Council Alumni Awards

Four outstanding international Essex graduates have been named Regional Finalists in this year’s British Council Alumni Awards.

In February, five of our Essex graduates reached the national awards level and we are delighted to announce a further four have made it to the regionals. 

These inspirational alumni have reached the prestigious regional awards which honour candidates from regions and continents around the world.

The Essex alumni receiving recognition include a pioneer of the creative sector in Qatar, an economist now working for the European Commission, a leading academic from Saudi Arabia and an inspirational public health specialist who has helped tackle significant virus outbreaks in Nigeria.

The four Essex graduates to reach the regional finals are:

Ugonnaya Igwilo from Nigeria is a Senior Registrar at Lagos University Teaching Hospital and has been chosen as regional finalist in Africa for her outstanding contributions to public health. Ugonnaya, who completed a Masters in Public Health at Essex in 2014, has played an important role in supporting public awareness campaigns to try to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus and has also worked extensively with victims of AIDS/HIV.

Maryam Alsubaiey, an influential writer, producer and director from Qatar has been selected as a regional finalist for the Middle East and North Africa category. She completed her undergraduate degree in Political Science in 2007, broke barriers by becoming the only female manager of a national television channel and has used her experience to become a role model for ambitious young people in Qatar.

Heiko Hesse, a native of Germany and Thailand, is a Senior Economist for the European Commission in Belgium and has been shortlisted for the European Regionals. Heiko graduated from Essex in 2003 with a BA in Financial Economics and used his expertise to provide knowledge and support to advanced and developing countries facing major financial crises. He was also a former professional footballer Germany. 

Professor Turki Althubaiti from Saudi Arabia is Vice-President for Planning, Development and Continued Education at Taif University and has been named a regional finalist for the Middle East and North Africa category. He completed a Masters Degree and PhD in English Literature at Essex and joined Taif University where he has developed a new curriculum, initiated two new postgraduate masters degree programs and was responsible for launching the first CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) in Saudi Arabia.

The British Council Alumni Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of alumni and showcase the impact and value of a UK higher education. Now in its fourth year, more than 1,700 entries from 125 countries representing 140 UK higher education institutes were received for this year's awards.

Regional award winners will be announced on 19 April. Winners will then go on to compete for the prestigious Global Alumni Awards which will be announced at the end of April.

Please visit the British Council Alumni Award website to read more about this year's inspirational finalists.