2010s Re-connections - UCD Connections

Lilly Farrell

Ad Astra Scholar

Ad Astra scholar and Medicine student Lily Farrell has won the 2020 National Dom Colbert Prize in Travel Medicine, a prestigious essay competition sponsored by the Travel Medical Society of Ireland (TMSI). UCD alumnus, Dr Dom Colbert, MB BCh BAO 1957, co-founded the TMSI and presented the award to his granddaughter Lily Farrell, whose submission was entitled “Climate Change, Implications for Travel Medicine”. This is the first time this award, which is open to undergraduates in any third-level college in the Republic of Ireland, and is judged blindly and independently, has been won by a UCD student.

Srishti Khandelwal

MSc 2019

lives in India. Memories of UCD: Fruitful relationships with teachers and bonding with fellow classmates, experiential learning that has helped me interact with people from diverse backgrounds.

Zohra Keshwani

MSc 2018

lives in Ireland and works at The Irish Times. Memories of UCD: Amazing ambience and friendly staff.

Helen Rea

MB BCh BAO 2010

lives in Ireland and works at St Vincent’s University Hospital and the Charles Institute of Dermatology. Memories of UCD: The relocation of the Kevin Barry window, designed by Harry Clarke, from Earlsfort Terrace to the Belfield Campus.

Shivani Shukla

MSc Applied Economics 2018

lives in Ireland and works at UCD as a research assistant. Memories of UCD: My dorm was the hub of activity, with an everlasting supply of Jaffa Cakes and tea. Four of us have gone on to be the best of friends, and took our first international trip to India, where we attended my cousin’s wedding, and travelled around Rajasthan. All the best things in life started for me at UCD.

Mamdouh El Bakry

PhD 2011

lives and works in Spain, working in the academic field and the food industry. He recently published his first book on food science, Microstructure of Dairy Products. Memories of UCD: When I first saw the UCD campus on my first day. I was very excited and nervous but as soon as I met my supervisors and colleagues, I found out that these would be some of the best years of my life.

Cyrielle Maison

BA Politics and Spanish 2015

lives in Canada, studying at the Université du Québec à Montréal as a student and research assistant. Memories of UCD: Friendship, societies, embracing the Irish culture.

Gabriel Teng

BBS Finance 2017

lives in Singapore and is a business process analyst, involved in projects related to process improvement and robotic process automation. Memories of UCD: Guinness ...

Eveline Surbakti

MSc Data and Computational Science 2020

lives in Ireland. Memories of UCD: New experiences, multicultural friends and opportunities. Relaxing after the gym class.

Sherini Marambe

BSc 2016

lives in Sri Lanka, working at the Trauma Healing Institute, USA as a trauma counsellor. Memories of UCD: Studying at UCD was the best decision of my life. I was able to learn at my level and pace without having undue stress, while suffering from epilepsy.

John Jerry Sebigaju

MSc 2013

lives in Uganda, working at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda as senior human resource officer. Memories of UCD: The UCD Smurfit Business School, a good learning environment with exposure to real HR practices through class and research.

Sherin Varghese

MSc 2018

lives in Ireland and is a management consultant at Mazars Ireland. Memories of UCD: Amazing lectures and projects, group studies, and presentations, late night studies in the Smurfit Library/ Study Room.

Anne Cousins

MA Creative Writing 2013

lives in Ireland and is a writer. Memories of UCD: A wonderful year, one of the best years of my life. Our tutors were encouraging, the classes and course-work were exhilarating.

Pradeep Siriwardane

MSc 2014

lives in Sri Lanka and is the founder and CEO of RuniT Lanka (Pvt). Memories of UCD: The student committee, a bridge between students and the lecturer panel.

Burcu Ocal Ciftci

MEconSc 2019

lives in Ireland. Memories of UCD: Great campus, great staff! I learned a lot during my masters.

Jason Chan

MSc Aviation Finance 2019

lives in Hong Kong, working at GECAS as a portfolio strategist. Memories of UCD: The spectacular landscape at the UCD Smurfit campus in Blackrock. Great environment for studying, networking, and learning.

Ciara Kelly

BA Economics and Politics 2019

lives in Ireland and is currently studying for a Masters in Common Law at UCD; she is a student and class representative. Memories of UCD: The James Joyce Library.

Simarjot Kaur

MSc 2019

lives and works in Ireland as ChemoGel research assistant at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences at RCSI. Memories of UCD: Accessibility to all departments and opportunities.

Milind Satpute

MSc 2018

lives in Ireland and works at Dell EMC as a software engineer. Memories of UCD: The gym, swimming pool, Halloween, Science Day, the Sci-fi Society, Harry Potter Society and Indian Society.

Justine Conroy

MSc 2013

lives in Ireland and works as strategic account manager for LinkedIn Learning. Memories of UCD: Meeting UCD Smurfit classmates for the first time, loving the diversity and sense of belonging.

Emmanuel Amartey

MSc 2017

lives in the US and in the last year gained admission to an Economics PhD programme at Howard University. Memories of UCD: Hard work and fun, student club; my professors were approachable, everyday people.

Win Htein

MCh (Surgery) 2013

lives in Myanmar, and works at the Pun Hlaing Siloam Hospital as a consultant surgeon. Memories of UCD: The fondest memories and great years.

Emre Akyuz

MScAgr 2017

lives in Turkey and works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Directorate for EU Affairs. Memories of UCD: A green campus, great coffee, birdsong, swans, the field trips to rural Ireland.

Riya Gulati

BA English and History 1984, MA 1986

lives in India and works as a paralegal at the Law Offices of Caro Kinsella, a US immigration firm. Memories of UCD: I remember how, when I was given my first research essay, I sat for hours looking at the screen, with no idea how to begin. Now, I am an author of reputed international journals, newsletters, blogs and expert panels for law modules, in India.

Dudu Geng

MEngSc 2017

lives in Costa Rica and is a researcher at the United Nations Development Programme. Memories of UCD: The lake, pizza and the library.

Kyle Rosso

MA History 2016

lives in the US and is a history teacher. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in July 2019, undergoing rigorous chemotherapy treatment. As of May, he has no signs of cancer. Memories of UCD: The James Joyce Library, the Clubhouse, international friends.

Badmuss Okeen Omotayo

GradCert 2015

lives in Ireland and is CEO of Roycebard Resources International. Memories of UCD: Innovative creativity of the UCD Innovation Academy Module.

Michael Iyaji

MSc Agr 2015

lives in Nigeria, working at the Nigerian Conservation Foundation as Senior Lead of Policy and Advocacy. Memories of UCD: Excellent faculty and facilities, unrivalled social and academic life with incredible support available round the clock.

Angelina Casutt

LLM International Human Rights 2018

lives in Ireland and is a legal triage agent. Memories of UCD: Connecting with people from Ireland and abroad, developing friendships. Captivating, interdisciplinary class discussions that encouraged further research, rewarding hikes with the UCD Mountaineering Club.

James Ouyang

MSc 2014

lives and works in Singapore as a senior manager. Memories of UCD: UCD is an integral part of our lives. Whatever we have achieved, it is because we had good schooling.

Gayan Laknatha Ariyarathne

BSc Human Resource Management 2014

lives in Sri Lanka, working at Sampath Bank PLC as a credit officer. Memories of UCD: Lifelong friends, mentors and lecturers.

Camille O’Malley

BSc 2015, MSc 2018

lives in Ireland and is the cofounder and technical lead of XTremedy Medical. Memories of UCD: #SciFam friends, coffee under the library, long evenings in the lab overlooking the lake.

Mohammed Azim Ansari

MEngSc Engineering Management 2017

lives in United Arab Emirates and works at Etisalat as a project manager. Memories of UCD: Lecture halls, professors, the mixed culture, the environment of UCD.

Shizan Lucknavi

MSc Computer Science 2018

lives in Ireland and works as a data scientist. Memories of UCD: A great faculty of Computer Science, making friends from diverse nationalities and cultures, and attending many memorable Intervarsity events.

H A Danushka Premachandra

BSc Computer Science 2016

lives in Sri Lanka and works at the Prime Minister’s Office, Temple Trees, as an IT researcher.

Ying Wang

MSc Business Analytics 2017

lives in Ireland and works at Takeda Pharmaceuticals as a data scientist. Memories of UCD: Great friends and caring lecturers.

John Perry

BA History and Politics 1999, MSc Aviation Finance 2018

lives in Ireland, working at Deloitte as the business process solutions lead and is also a member of the Deloitte North South Europe BPS Executive Leadership and a member of the global firm’s Aircraft Leasing and Finance Group. Memories of UCD: A field trip to Airbus in Paris, and a flyby by two 108 Dassault Rafale aircraft at the factory.

Dinesh Selvachandra

BSc 2015

lives in Sri Lanka, working as a project manager at Jadon Software Solutions. Memories of UCD: Group studies, latenight assignements, lecturers who gave an insight to the professional life ahead.

Lisa Schultz

BA Information Studies and Sociology 2013

lives in Germany. A product owner at Quentic, she is a musician on the music scene in Berlin and released her debut single in the last year. Memories of UCD: Sir Christopher Lee coming to visit the L&H Society.