This year has been especially rewarding. Among very many successes for our students, staff and wider community, we were named The Times and Sunday Times University of the Year.
This recognition celebrates our outstanding teaching, research and student experience It also reflects on the generations who have been part of Durham’s story. Your contribution as alumni to the University’s past, present and future, continues to matter deeply.
In every profession and community, our graduates live out the values, ambition and sense of purpose that define our University. Your achievements, your continued engagement and your support inspire those who follow in your footsteps. You bring the world to Durham – and Durham to the world.
We remain firmly placed in the Top Five of all major UK league tables, and our academic standing continues to rise internationally. This year we achieved our best-ever result in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026. There are 22 subjects ranked in the world’s top 100—a remarkable milestone.
Our Chancellor, Dr Fiona Hill, continues to provide us with her expertise, insight and inspiration through engagements with our alumni, students and staff.
Earlier this year, Fiona joined a panel discussion with leading industry experts on artificial intelligence as part of our Chancellor in Conversation series. More recently, she welcomed alumni to her third Chancellor’s Circle dinner.
She continues to be a passionate advocate for the transformative power of education and supporting the next generation of students. We will welcome the first Fiona Hill scholars in September, recipients of scholarship funded by Fiona herself as a way of “giving back” to those who supported her.
Our research continues to inform and shape thinking on a global scale. Two of our geographers were awarded the Polar Medal by the King in recognition of their outstanding work. Our archaeologists have also made headlines nationally and internationally – from uncovering the extraordinary Melsonby Hoard in Yorkshire to excavating a Bronze Age city in Kazakhstan – helping us better understand our shared past.
This summer, our teams claimed ten British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) titles, across sports disciplines ranging from American football to water polo.
Our student a cappella group, Northern Lights, were crowned UK champions for the fourth year running and took second place at the International Collegiate A Cappella Final in New York. A group of students who had previously performed in Northern Lights, called the The Menagerie Club, appeared on prime-time television show Britain’s Got Talent, earning judges’ praise as being “out of this world”.
Earlier this year, I joined colleagues and members of the local community at the Durham Light Opera Group’s vibrant production of Grease at the Gala Theatre. I later attended a deeply moving performance of Verdi’s Requiem in Durham Cathedral by our University Choral and Orchestral Societies.
Two of our alumni, Dr Yang Li and Yuk Chi Chan have been named as National Winners of the British Council’s Study UK Alumni Awards. These awards celebrate international graduates who have used their UK education to make a meaningful difference in the world. A further six of our alumni have named as finalists across the categories of Business and Innovation, Culture and Creativity and Science and Sustainability.
Many of us watched with great excitement as our alumni team defeated teams from Manchester, Cambridge and Oxford on British quiz show University Challenge, to become ‘Champion of Champions’ for a second consecutive year.
Alumna and award-winning actress, Ambika Mod, took on televised baking challenges to raise money for charity, while alumnus Nick Mohammed reached the final of Celebrity Traitors. It was a pleasure to welcome Nick back to Durham at Summer Congregation, where he received an Honorary Doctor of Letters.
In sport, our alumni continue to excel at the highest levels. Among many achievements, we celebrated alumna and professional rugby player Claudia Moloney-MacDonald as part of England’s Red Roses squad, which won the Women’s Rugby Union World Cup in 2025 and followed this with victory in the Women’s Six Nations. Our alumni have also represented national teams in men’s rugby union and hockey and won medals at the Rowing World Championships.
Community and belonging remain at the heart of University life. Last year we celebrated milestone anniversaries for three of our Colleges. We are preparing to mark a further four this year as Trevelyan College reaches 60, both John Snow and Stephenson Colleges turn 25 and Josephine Butler College is 20. We very much look forward to welcoming many more alumni back to Durham to celebrate, renew connections and make some new ones.
Thank you to those who have contributed to this magazine. I hope you enjoy reading it, and I hope it reminds you – wherever you are in the world – just how much you remain part of Durham University’s story.
Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor and Warden
