Past Events Archive

A selection of our past events to give you a taste of what happens at a Durham alumni gathering!

Sir Harry Evans Inspires Global Journalism Initiative

Wednesday 8 December 2021

On Wednesday 8 December, alumni and friends gathered at the Lincoln Center in New York for the prestigious launch event of the Sir Harry Evans Memorial Fund: a new partnership between Durham University and Reuters, launched with an initial $5M endowment, to inspire journalistic talent and leaders of the future. A deeply moving event included speeches from Sir Harry’s widow - Tina Brown OBE, Professor Sir Simon Schama, Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni, and Durham Inspired Campaign Chair, alumnus Rob Senior.

See the Google album for photographs of the event

DunelmOTTAWA St Patrick's Jeopardy Happy Hour

17 March 2021

The fun loving DunelmOTTAWA alumni group celebrated St Patrick’s Day with a Jeopardy extravaganza. Alumni and friends were encouraged to join the Happy Hour with a green beverage in hand and test their knowledge on a range of questions, from Durham itself, Irish culture to the meaning of Ottawa in the Algonquin language! The Jeopardy Quiz was courtesy of alumnus, Mark Burke, the intrepid quizmaster. We’re looking forward to seeing what else the the group plan and hope our alumni and friends can join next time!

Feisty 50 Fitness Challenge

Winter 2021

For the first 50 days of 2021, Durham alumni, family and friends set out to test their fitness, hang on to those New Year's resolutions, and come together in the name of health and wellbeing in a way, unlike anything we’ve ever done before. Relive achievements and find links to past workouts at the link below.

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Durham Inspired: Live in Lockdown - Covid-19 and Reporting On Your Sustainable Development Goals

July 2020

Xinwu He who is currently taking a PhD in Accounting at Durham University Business School reports on Professor Carol Adams discussion on The Sustainable Development Goals Disclosure and the responses that organisations will be making in light of Covid-19.

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Durham Inspired: Live in Lockdown - Managing Your Career During a Crisis – Alumni Perspectives

May 2020

On Thursday evening (7 May) alumni from around the world logged on to an online event, Managing Your Career During a Crisis. A panel of Durham alumni from across Europe discussed different perspectives on employment and employability during these changing times.

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Durham Inspired: Live in Lockdown - The Big Durham Quiz LIVE!

May 2020

We tested the knowledge of over 800 alumni as they joined us from around the world to take part in The Big Durham Quiz.

Watch now

Dunelm University Networking in Prague

24 February 2020

A big thank you to the Durham University Czech Republic Alumni Group for hosting a wonderful evening of networking in Prague, with special guest speaker His Excellency Nick Archer MVO, British Ambassador to the Czech Republic and alumnus.

Visit from Dr Bill Bryson

January 2020

We were thrilled to host our former Chancellor, Dr Bill Bryson, who gave a talk to an appreciative audience at the Small Island Café on his new book The Body.

This talk on Wednesday 29 January was one of the first in our Café Culture series happening on campus.

Class of 70 Reunion

January 2020

Durham University welcomed back the class of 70 for their 50th Anniversary Reunion celebration. Together with the class of 2019 they processed in the congregation ceremony, followed by afternoon tea with the Vice-Chancellor, Heads of Houses and Durham friends, sharing happy memories and their pride in being a Durham graduate.

See the Google album for photographs of the event

Malaysia - Durham Alumni International Chapter Launch

January 2020

Senior Leaders from Durham University’s Global Strategy Team joined together with our alumni in Kuala Lumpur to launch our newest International Chapter. The event was a huge success and it was great to see so many of you come together and celebrate all things Durham as well as make some new contacts and friends.

See the Google album for photographs of the event

DunelmUSA Annual Gala Dinner

5 December 2019

Thursday 5 December saw Dunelm USA hold the third Annual New York Gala event at the Prince George Ballroom in Manhattan. Over 100 guests came to catch up and celebrate all things Durham on a wonderful evening, headlined by our special guest speaker Henry Timms. Henry is the new President and CEO of the Lincoln Center and talked passionately about the difference the Performing Arts can make to students, as well as revealing that his family were the original creators of the Star-Spangled Banner!

Henry’s enthusiasm for the Performing Arts set the tone for the fundraising drive of the night itself and what he said clearly resonated; more than $80,000 was raised at the event which will all go to supporting the Performing Arts at Durham University. Thank you to all who came and helped to contribute to such an amazing total.

Thank you to all of our guests who came and made the event so enjoyable, we hope to see many of you at more events this coming year.

See the Google album for photographs of the event

Dunelm Days 2019

November

More than 500 Durham alumni and supporters took part in our global alumni celebrations throughout November with over 60 events in 33 countries to network, socialise and celebrate their connection to Durham.

See the Google album for photographs of the event

Asia Tour

September 2019

Nine days, Five cities and over 500 alumni engaged in a series of extraordinary alumni events across the country - Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

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USA Tour

September 2019

Eight days, six US cities and over 200 alumni engaged in a series of extraordinary alumni events across the country - San Francisco, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York and Boston.

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Pimm’s in the Garden

June 2019

A wonderful evening was had by all who attended the New York Summer Pimm’s in the Garden event. A special thanks go to our wonderful hosts Griff and Rob Fairbairn for welcoming everyone to their home.

Durham in Law Meetup at Ropes & Gray

June 2019

Philip Sanderson and his colleagues at Ropes & Gray hosted a fantastic evening for our Durham in Law meetup with a Q&A, followed by networking with drinks and canapes. We also had special guest appearance from former Prime Minister Tony Blair who presented student Mia Purdy with the inaugural Leo Blair prize.

While your time with us at Durham set you on the road to success, we’re here to continue to support you in continuous learning and development.

See the Google album for photographs of the event.

Seattle BBQ

May 2019

Our thanks go to our wonderful hosts Rashmi and Rajiv Misra for welcoming everyone to their home in Seattle for an afternoon BBQ.

As alumni, you know the value of being Durham inspired. That value is demonstrated by your hard-won achievements while at Durham and beyond. It lives on in the friendships and connections that began here and continue to endure, making you part of a lifelong global community of extraordinary Durham people. We love to see the lifelong friendships as well as the new connections made at these events.

Schienman Career Networking Events in the USA

May 2019

Thank you to those of you who joined us on our US tour in May for our series of Career Networking Events. In New York we hosted a fireside chat with hosts James Roscoe and Jeremy Diamond on The Art of Influence. Paul Marsden shared his valuable insights on the Energy Sector in Houston and finally Career Networking in the Tech Sector was hosted by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s SOMA in San Francisco. These events were all made hugely successful by the participation of our alumni in attendance, as well as our guest speakers.

We find it easy to be proud of the extraordinary people we have in the global Durham community. We offer the inspiration, they achieve the outstanding.

Singapore Reception

May 2019

A special thank you to our Singapore chapter leader, Michael Shearer OBE, for co-hosting the evening at The Tanglin Club, and to our guest speaker, Michael Jenkins, for giving us such thoughtful insights into his work on leadership. Your successes as alumni are an inspiration to current students and other alumni, but your time and support helps to inspire the great minds and leaders of tomorrow.

Vice-Chancellor’s Reception at the Hong Kong Club

April 2019

We joined host Mr James Riley - Group Chief Executive, Mandarin Oriental Hotels at what was a magnificent reception in Hong Kong. It was great to see over 70 alumni turn up for the event, one of our largest events on record!

See the Google album for photographs of the event.

British Ambassador and VC Reception in Tokyo

April 2019

The British Ambassador to Japan, HE Paul Madden CMG hosted us a very special reception in Tokyo amongst the cherry blossoms. It was great to see over a third of all Durham alumni in Japan turn up for the event where networks were expanded and friends caught-up with.

See the Google album for photographs of the event.

Class of 69 Reunion

January 2019

Durham University welcomed back the class of 69 for their 50th Anniversary Reunion celebration. They processed in the congregation ceremony, followed by afternoon tea with the Vice-Chancellor, Heads of Houses and Durham friends, sharing happy memories and their pride in being a Durham graduate.

See the Google album for photographs of the event

DunelmUSA Annual Gala Dinner

6 December 2018

We were delighted to welcome so many alumni and friends to the Gala who want to stay connected with Durham and to be an active part of our global family. It was a joy to see so many faces reunited and to share in the celebrations of our Durham experiences and the holiday season.

The Gala was also a huge success with benefits that will be felt for years to come by students here and, through them, around the wider world. As you know, a Durham education is unlike any other and we are immensely proud of our alumni and everything you achieve - including your support for the next generation.

See the Flickr album for photographs of the event

Dunelm Days 2018

November 2018

In total there have been over 40 Dunelm Day events taking place in 19 countries throughout November. With alumni and friends enjoying everything from tours of museums and distilleries to food and drinks in vibrant settings; gatherings at the British Embassy Prague and the British Deputy High Commission Karachi to the Scandinavian eco-friendly craze of 'plogging' in Shanghai

See the Flickr album for photographs of the event

Durham Law School "In Focus" networking event for commercial law alumni

16 October 2018

Clyde & Co hosted the first of Durham Law School's "In Focus" professional networking events. It brought together 40+ alumni working in the areas of commercial and corporate law, an area of legal research where the law school is a global leader. It was a fantastic evening of networking, summed up by alumnus Sean Sexton (Law, St Cuthbert’s Society, 1977-80) who remarked, “I rarely enjoy networking events. I endure them. Last night was exceptional. I was enthused”. We are very grateful to James Major and his colleagues at Clyde and Co for being such generous hosts.

See the Flickr album for photographs of the event

China Tour- Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing

14-21 September 2018

Thank you to those of you who joined us on our China tour in September from dinner in Shenzhen with Professor Rob Dixon to our evening reception in Beijing with Professor Stuart Corbridge and the team. These were all hugely successful events and it was great to see so many of you turn up sharing memories, making new friends and catching up on what Durham University has been up to recently.

See the Flickr album for photographs of the event

Government Networking Event in Washington DC

9 August 2018

Thank you to those of you who joined us at our first official US Careers Networking Forum event for alumni looking to network and advance their career opportunities in the arena of Government, Law, and Politics. Our thanks go to Charles Kotuby Jr. (Law, Ustinov, 2000) for kindly hosting us at the stunning Jones Day offices in Washington DC.