A team of astronomers, led by Dr James Nightingale from the Department of Physics, has discovered one of the biggest black holes ever found by taking advantage of a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. 

This phenomenon occurs where a foreground galaxy bends the light from a more distant object and magnifies it. Combining this with supercomputer simulations enabled the team to identify an ultramassive black hole - over 30 billion times the mass of our Sun. 

Image courtesy of ESA/Hubble, Digitized Sky Survey, Nick Risinger, N. Bartmann 

Vice-Chancellor Professor Karen O’Brien has called for changes to the UK funding model for higher education, to support students’ financial needs and the future viability of the sector. 

Speaking as a panel member at ‘Breaking the Impasse: The Great Debate on University Funding’ on Wednesday 12 April, she highlighted that the requirement for highly skilled graduates, coupled with a demographic spike in the young population means universities are needed more than ever, despite facing severe financial sustainability challenges.  

Our time at university provides deep academic understanding, and also allows us to develop wider skills and abilities, and explore attitudes and different approaches to life. These ‘graduate attributes’ provide a foundation for our post-graduation journeys.

Durham is updating its graduate attributes and would like feedback from our global alumni community about the skills, attitudes, approaches and abilities Durham graduates should have.

A long list of attributes has been established following staff and student suggestions. We now invite alumni to share their views via a survey. This should take about 10 minutes to complete and will help the Working Group create a shortlist to recommend for University adoption from the 2023-24 academic year.  

From Saturday 10 June – Sunday 2 July, our team of student callers are reaching out again to speak to you, our alumni community. You will have the opportunity to donate to our student support Funds. Your philanthropic donations are essential in ensuring that every Durham student has the equal opportunity to succeed.

To learn more about our telephone appeal or if you would like to arrange a call, please use the button below. 

On Saturday 6 May, the University hosted the live broadcast of the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III on a big screen in a marquee directly next to Durham City Rugby Football Club. The event also included family entertainment and was well attended throughout the day by staff, students and members of the local community.  

We are proud to have awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law to His Majesty in 1998. We send our warmest congratulations to His Majesty the King on the occasion of his Coronation.

Exeter Alumni Get-together  
Thursday 18 May 2023, 7-9pm 
Join the Exeter Alumni Chapter for an informal get-together! Come along to the Monkey Suit in Exeter for an evening hosted by Alex Dudgeon (Chemistry, Collingwood College, 2010-18) and Hilary Todd (History, Trevelyan College, 1975-78). Register for your free space now. 

Brussels Alumni Gathering  
Sunday 21 May 2023, 3-6pm 
If you’re based in or near to Brussels, why not come along to an informal alumni gathering in the MELI Café? Followed by an optional visit to the Throwaway Exhibition at the House of European History. Places are free, but registration is required. 

Colombo Alumni Meet-up  
Monday 22 May 2023, 6:30-8:30pm 
Alumni based in or passing through Colombo are invited to join Durham University representative Dane Wallace (Faculty International Development Manager) and fellow alumni for an informal meet-up. Attendance is free, but registration is required.

Shakespeare's First Folio Event 
Wednesday 31 May 2023, 6-8pm
Come along to this conversation with Professor Emma Smith (Professor of Shakespeare Studies, Hertford College, Oxford University) and Gregory Doran (Artistic Director Emeritus, Royal Shakespeare Company) as they discuss their encounters with Shakespeare’s First Folio; and their thoughts on its significance on stage, in print and in wider culture. This event can be attended virtually or in person in Cosin’s Library at Durham. Use the link above to register for your free place. 

Kathmandu Alumni Meet-up  
Monday 5 June 2023, 6:30-8:30pm 
Alumni based in or passing through Kathmandu are invited to join Durham University representative Martin Pout (Faculty International Development Manager) and fellow alumni for an informal meet-up. Attendance is free, but registration is required.  

Therapy for Neurodegenerative Disease with Dr Paul Chazot, in celebration of legacies
Thursday 8 June 2023, 6-7pm 
Join Dr Paul Chazot who will showcase his research into drug and light therapy for neurodegenerative disease, which could provide options for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Motor Neurone Disease.

Durham University Delhi Alumni Chapter Cocktail Evening  
Saturday 10 June 2023, 6-8pm 
Durham alumni and their family and friends are warmly invited to a cocktail evening in Delhi. Register for your free place to get together with fellow graduates in a relaxed, fun setting. 

Durham Alumni entrepreneur network event
Thursday 6 July 2023, 7-9pm 
Join us at the Shard in London, courtesy of our friends at Mathys & Squire for an evening of networking, meeting old friends and new. The theme for this event will be angel investing, with a panel of experienced angel investors who will give their insights on what angels are really looking for in investments and advice. 

An alumni social gathering took place in London on Tuesday 18 April, where recent graduates got together for a night of quizzing. Rounds included Durham University life, classic quiz topics, word games, and of course, a Klute music round. 

This was a great way to induct some of our more recent alumni into our amazing community and meet other Durham alumni living in London. 

The pub quiz winners were very happy with their prizes.

To connect with your local alumni chapter, use the button below. 

Interested in helping attract future postgraduate students to Durham? We would love to hear from any alumni who undertook postgraduate studies.

We have various online sessions taking place with postgraduate offer holders over the coming months and would be delighted for members of our alumni community to inspire future students about where a Durham degree could take them. Read more using the button below to see if this is something you would like to be involved with.

Scroll down to read from alumna Lina, who got involved last month. 

As well as our online postgraduate offer holder sessions, we’re seeking international alumni to share written experiences of studying at Durham, and how your career has evolved since graduation. We’d look to use your stories when working with University departments, to bring available programmes to life and enable prospective students to visualise their own career pathways, following in your footsteps!

While stories from alumni in any discipline are gratefully received, we’re particularly keen to hear from Engineering and History alumni. Stories can be as long or short as you like – read on to view a recent story provided by alumnus Kushal Gautam.

Peter Hornsby (Social Sciences Combined, St Cuthbert’s Society, 2013-16) is looking to complete a Durham alumni team to compete in the forthcoming International Chess Federation World Rapid Team Championship.  

Taking place in Düsseldorf from Friday 25 – Monday 28 August 2023, teams of six players + three substitutes will compete to win a prize of €250,000.