For Alumni and Friends

April 2012

REDISCOVER REGENT’S COLLEGE

EditorAndyHarris

Head of Alumni Relations and EventsDavid Whitaker

EditorSarahLewis

PhotographyAnna GordonEisley ConstantineRenee Fontaine

IllustrationMike Dolanagencyrush.com

ContactAlumni Relations and EventsRegent's College LondonInner CircleRegent's Park LondonNW1 4NS

Information Tel +44 (0)20 7487 7700Email alumni@regents.ac.uk Web www.regents.ac.uk

Credits

Information © Inner Circle. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any photograph, text or illustration without permission from the publisher is prohibited. Due care is taken to ensure the content of Inner Circle is fully accurate, but the publisher cannot accept liability for ommissions or errors.

This magazine can be made available in larger print or alternative formats for people with visual impairment or dyslexia. Please contact the Alumni Relations Team for further information, on 020 7487 7793 or by e-mail at alumni@regents.ac.uk

27News

2Vision

4News

6Interview:Woman to Woman

8Profile:PontinePaus

10Theatre, without Theatres

11In Pictures: Fuente Ovejuna

12Interview: Arianna Trapani

14Profile: Charysse Harper

16Interview:LisaDoodson

18Article:Human Rights: Ibrahim Sirecki

20Profile:NickMandri-Perrott

22EU Migration Project

24Interview: 9/11: Ten Years On

26Article:Regent's Lecture

28Profile:Theo Manninen

32Upcoming Events

30YourNews

2012 is an Olympic year here in London. As the capital gears up for what should prove a remarkable cultural and sporting festival, I hope many of our alumni currently based outside of the United Kingdom will take the opportunity to return and perhaps between events come and visit us here.

For those of you who will not be in London in 2012 the news from here is also good. Regent’s Clubs continue to grow, creating a ready-made network of alumni for you to connect with in major cities all over the world. The first three clubs to launch this year were Regent’s Club Oslo on 11 January, Regent’s Club Madrid on 1 February and Regent’s Club Amsterdam on 29 February. On 5 April we launch Regent’s Club New York with more coming internationally over the course of 2012. Our social media presence continues to grow. Well over 3,000 of you have joined the Regent’s College London Alumni group on LinkedIn, liked our Regent’s College Alumni Facebook page or connected with me or members of the Alumni Relations team. If you’ve not found us yet, search us out now. Find me on LinkedIn, I’m always happy to connect with alumni and friends of the College.

The global economic crisis and rising unemployment has placed a premium on networking ability and networks. Your alumni network and the careers and business relations support that the College offers to alumni can stand you in good stead so I hope you’ll get involved, wherever you are in the world. The crisis also means that we need your help and support more than ever in ensuring our current students achieve the highest competitive advantage. If you are able to join us as a Regent’s College Mentor, offer careers advice or internships, we would like to hear from you today. Your support will make a big difference.

YOUR GLOBAL NETWORK2

YOUR GLOBAL NETWORKDavid Whitaker, Head of Alumni Relations, Regent’s College London

A recent report commissioned by the British Council and Think Global identified a deficit in the ‘global outlook’ of UK students and highlighted the impact that this is likely to have on the UK economy. Three quarters of the 500 business leaders interviewed for the report expressed concern that students did not have a grasp of global issues or experience of different cultures.

Here at Regent’s College our integrative and international approach to all areas of study mark us out and put us at the forefront in educating new generations for the challenges of our globalised environment. Our alumni community, many of whom embarked upon international careers moving frequently between major centres and different cultures, are at the heart of the fight-back against our global downturn. This is true across our community, whether it be graduates of the School of Psychotherapy and Counselling Psychology addressing the new maladies of a changing world, business school alumni finding new opportunities in developing economies, global acting students bringing new cultural practices to bear on their home theatre scene or international relations alumni working with charities and NGOs to tackle new issues in global poverty, trafficking and human rights.

You’ll see this great range exhibited in the articles and profiles of our new edition of Inner Circle. And I hope you’ll also sense the entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm that energises our community.

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News

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BBC Question Time visits Regent's CollegeOn 9 February 2012, the BBC came to Regent’s College London to film Question Time, the lively, topical debate programme. The show featured Alastair Campbell, former Head of

Communications for Tony Blair’s Labour Government, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, Daily Mail journalist Ann Leslie, comedian and actor Steve Coogan and Shirley Williams, former leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords.

Before the show was broadcast, a group of students from Regent’s were given the opportunity to go behind the scenes and get a first-hand account of how Question Time is produced from its director. This included the BBC film crew asking the students to take centre stage for a mock show to demonstrate how they film the live programme.

Martin Timbrell retiresDean of the Business and Management Faculty, Martin Timbrell has taken early retirement from Regent's College. After a establishing his career at the University of Exeter and the University

of Hertfordshire, Martin moved to Regent’s College as the Dean of Business and Management in September 2007. In the past five years he has made an important contribution to the College’s vision, strategy and staff development.

The College is grateful for the contribution that Martin has made throughout this process of acquiring taught degree awarding powers and looks forward to the successful completion of this project. Martin will formally leave the College at the end of March 2012. We wish him well for the future.

Festive Alumni Comeback SessionThe December Comeback Session took a break from its usual home in Regent’s College to add some festive cheer to the regular monthly gathering. Alumni were joined by staff and students at the new Ralph Lauren Rugby store in Covent Garden for a very special event. The attendees were treated to carols sung by a live choir while they enjoyed cocktails and canapés.

The whole store was reserved for Regent’s College for the evening, giving plenty of time to catch up, enjoy the atmosphere and even indulge in a little Christmas shopping. The exclusive one-off discount offered by Ralph Lauren for the night was an added Christmas gift for all the guests.

This event is part of an on-going relationship with the luxury brand and we look forward to announcing more creative events in 2012.

The Alumni Comeback Sessions are your regular opportunity to drop in at the College to meet old friends, connect with other alumni and catch up with everyone. They are on the first Thursday of every month and you can always find out more on the events page of the alumni website www.regents.ac.uk/alumni_events

Regent’s College sports round upThis year, we set out to increase the number of students taking part in sporting activities but also to give Regent’s Lions sports teams a competitive edge. Delivering a wider range of sporting activities for students and staff has helped us to achieve this goal, with individuals taking part in a variety of sports such as basketball, netball, volleyball and even dodge ball. We have also seen some fantastic results from our sports teams.

Kicking off with the Lions Football Team and it’s been a big year for the team who remain in strong contention for the SESSA League for the third year running. With four wins and one draw under their belt, the league title is still in sight for the team with two postponed matches yet to play.

Home and awayThe team also embarked on a trip to Italy to compete in the EuroMilan Futsal tournament, which sees students from all over Europe competing in football, basketball and volleyball.

The Lions Futsal team, made up of players from the Lions Football team, were seen as one of the favourites in the competition. But, having won all five

group games, the team were eventually beaten in the first knockout round by competition winners Bratislava. And it wasn’t just the boys in action in Milan. For the first time in Regent’s history, the women’s football team took to the international stage. Despite winning their first game 3-1, the team didn’t make it through the knock out stages but fought hard in a tough group. Not bad for the team’s first international run out.

The short of itSlam dunking their way into first place in the Go Mammoth League, the Regent’s College Men’s Basketball Team has also had a season to be proud of.

The Regent’s College Lions team is one team that everyone fears playing against, even though most of the players stand at just 5ft 11. Their ability, team organisation and stern tactics from coach Kevin Badu, has led the team to victory this season with impressive wins. The MVP of the team went to Jesse Gibb for great leadership and teamwork.

The Mixed Volleyball Team has also been enjoying huge success, currently ranked second in the Go Mammoth League. The team, who, according to Go Mammoth League Administrator David Bevin, are the ‘best mixed volleyball team in the League’ is made up of a group of students who have either played at school, college or league level offering a wealth of experience on the court. We’ll be expecting big things from this team in the next year.

Sport

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According to research, women are twice as likely to suffer from depression than men yet there is a shortage of therapy services aimed specifically at women. After several years of success in their respective careers, Sabina Amiga, Trudi Seely and Anna Tierney set out to change this and came together with one goal in mind; to make therapy more accessible to women like them. We spoke to The School of Psychotherapy and Counselling Psychology (SPCP) alumnae about their journey and how their psychotherapy practice, Woman to Woman, was born.

“I wrote seven bestsellers and then got sick of being on my own,” says journalist turned novelist Trudi. “Writing books is really solitary and my world shrank. I decided I wanted to work with people again and this was my way of doing it.” Enrolling on the Foundation Year Psychology course at Regent’s College, Trudi never imagined she would one day become a psychotherapist herself. “I thought I would see what it was like. Suddenly I graduated and I was a psychotherapist. I couldn’t believe it.”

Similarly, Sabina’s curiosity in psychotherapy led her to Regent’s College. “I trained in Law and worked for several companies but decided when the children were old enough I would do something else. Like Trudi, I completed my Foundation Year at Regent’s College and got hooked!”

Having completed a psychology undergraduate degree, Anna had felt too young to go into the profession straight away so went into business. Following ten years’ running a company in the Far East and time out to begin a family, Anna decided to return to her passion. “Psychotherapy was something that I always knew I wanted to do. I came to Regent’s College to complete my training and that’s how the three of us met.”

Interview

Woman to WomanA former businesswoman, lawyer and novelist open the door to their dedicated women’s psychotherapy clinic, the first private practice of its kind in London.

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(left to right) Trudi Seely, Sabina Amiga and Anna Tierny

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Better togetherHaving completed their training together at SPCP they decided to set up their own practice. “We liked the idea of working together and decided we would set up together”, explains Trudi, who also works with psychiatric patients at Guy’s Hospital, London. “The idea for Woman to Woman came from Daniel Mirea, our Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) lecturer. He suggested we set up a website, something that set us apart from all the other therapists out there. That’s when we thought about creating a website just for women.”

Recognising the need for more suitable therapy services for women, the three realised they had much to offer. “As women of a certain age, we felt we could give something back to women who’ve had similar experiences to us. Woman to Woman is not just a gimmick, it’s something we feel very passionate about,” says Sabina, whose clients include young women in their twenties and women with new babies. “We have had a lot of enquiries from women who have never been to therapy. They have been running around trying to do everything, be a great wife, lover and businesswoman, and then they burst into tears and wonder why. That’s when they think maybe I should be talking to someone, maybe something isn’t quite alright.”

“Women have unique problems just for the fact that they are women. We have life changes and life stages – adolescent, motherhood and then menopause and empty nest - these life stages need negotiating, adds Trudi.

Stigma“Whilst much has been done to address the stigma surrounding mental health services, women can sometimes feel shame about seeking help or guilty about spending the money on their mental wellbeing”, says Anna, who helps older women facing issues such as divorce, bereavement and the pressures of having children.

“The stigma is perhaps getting less but there is still this attitude that ‘oh I’m being indulgent by spending money on therapy’ which is a very interesting take on it. People will do all sorts of thing for their appearance but somehow their mental wellbeing, which is really key to your life, is still something people find difficult to spend money on.”

Trudi believes this is something that is changing and the clinic has seen an increase in women coming forward for support. “We have been meeting and assessing a lot of ‘wonder woman’ clients in the last few months who feel relieved that they have found a place they can come and have someone to talk to about the fact that they couldn’t solve their problems on their own. And they have all seemed much more at ease that they can do this.”

More information about Woman to Woman can be found at www.womenstherapy.co.uk

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Profile

She’s in FashionHaving cut her teeth in the industry at Interview magazine in New York as a photographer’s assistant, Pontine Paus is now an artist and designer in her own right. She has created handbags for celebrities and royalty alike. We caught up with the Regent's College graduate to find out how it all began.

Pontine’s creative flair has caused something of a stir on the international stage; her designs are regularly donned by celebrities such as Kylie Minogue, Lily Donaldson, Francesca Versace and members of both the Swedish and Norwegian Royal families. Regarded by Vogue as ‘the next big thing’, Paus’ success on the international stage began with her own desire to find the perfect handbag.

“I was working for several designers in Milan and was experimenting with a lot with different chemicals,” says Pontine who was by then studying at the Domus Academy in Milan. “One of these experiments turned into a painting that would change colour depending on which angle you looked at it. That then turned into a handbag for me, which I made out of silk and plastic. One day I got stopped in the street by a buyer from Corso Como who asked me where I got my bag from. I explained I’d made it myself and they asked me to make some for them. The first ten sold out and so I was asked to make some more. And that is how it all started.”

With her handbag business picking up, Pontine recognised the need to add some commercial acumen to her skill set and so joined Webster Graduate School at Regent’s College. “In Milan, I was being asked to design for some big Italian designers, including making the plastic and silk fabric I had designed for the internationally celebrated Edra Furniture. At this point I stopped work on these projects to come to London to do my MBA, as I realised that if I didn’t do it now I would never do it,” she explains. “In order to sell things you can’t just make them look good or have an idea, you need to be able to build a business around it. You need to have the idea and the business skills to make it happen.”

Having added an MBA to her long list of credentials, Pontine was ready to launch her own label. “I approached the guys that had asked me to design for them in Milan and asked if they had a model maker that I could use to help me make some samples. They

put me in contact with a model maker in Varazze and we stayed up together until 2am for a week trying to get samples ready before the season started,” she recalls.

As most entrepreneurs discover, though, sometimes things don’t always go to plan. “When it came to production it was a disaster. All the handbags arrived and they were wrong - the buttons were popping out. But that is classic, you just scramble around trying to make the best out of a bad situation. Then you find a new manufacturer who is going to do a better job.”

Having overcome those minor early day glitches, Pontine says that whilst having an MBA behind you is extremely important, it’s only when you run your own business that you realise what is really involved. Her advice to other budding entrepreneurs is to get organised and get involved.

“When you start up on your own, you get to see what it takes to run a business - a 360 degree view. You realise that in school it is all theory, but what it actually takes is for someone to roll up their sleeves and do the work that nobody else wants to do. Being organised and having good working relationships is vital. Students theorise, but you also need to go out there and do it.”

Pontine’s willingness to get stuck in has clearly paid off. As well as launching her own handbag label, she founded the cult cosmetic product Dr Lipp, Original Nipple Balm for Lips an organic balm made from medical grade Lanolin.

“I always had very chapped lips and I used to use nipple balm to soothe them. People used to say ‘what the hell is that?’ and I noticed that whenever I said it was nipple balm they would start laughing. The product was so good I thought that people have to know about it. I love the fact that it makes so many people smile, laugh and flirt. What more could you want in life – a product that really works and makes you giggle.”

Dr Lipp too has its own celebrity following and is loved by celebrity make-up artists. Lily Cole is a big fan of the product, which Paus has sold internationally and at Space NK stores in the UK. After seven years of juggling two businesses, though, Paus decided to hang up her handbags and concentrate on her lip balm.

“My handbags were selling in boutiques in 28 different countries but I was exhausted. I was burnt out and couldn’t bear to look at another handbag,” she says. “I kept on Dr Lipp because it was an easier product to manage.”

Whilst she may have cut back on her business ventures, for this entrepreneur, there’s always something new worth exploring. “I’m working on an app for Dr Lipp. It is going to be completely separate but using the brand concept behind.”

Pontine Paus graduated from Webster Graduate School London with an MBA in 2003. She is also founder of cult cosmetic product Dr.Lipp www.drlipp.com

Article

Theatre without Theatres? Dr Valerie Kaneko-Lucas, Programme Director, Theatre and Performance Studies, explores the increasing popularity of site-based performance.

Cradled in a swaying silk cocoon, the two lovers lie in a bed of perfumed rose petals. Curious onlookers tentatively edge forward to peer in, as soft music plays. The site-based performance of Remembering Charlotte has begun. This production, in February 2011, took the paintings of Jewish artist Charlotte Saloman and poems of cultural critic John Berger as the inspiration for a site-based performance in three locations at Regent’s College. The three scenes reflected the life and work of Saloman and the themes of love and displacement in Berger’s work.

So what is site-based (sometimes called site-specific) performance, and why is it a rising phenomenon on the theatre scene? At a basic level, site-based performance is created for a specific place not normally used as a theatre. It draws upon the properties and meanings found at/on a given site, be that a landscape, a city, a building or a room. It emphasises particular images, stories, and events emerging from this physical environment.

These can be the histories, memories and stories associated with the site. Corridor’s Deep End (2005) was set in the Marshall Street Baths, just off Regent Street in London’s West End. Director Geraldine Page researched the histories of the public baths and swimming pools from its 1931 opening to the baths’ closure in 1993. She interviewed people who had reveled in the pools as children and were later clients at the mother and baby clinic. In this case, site-based performance articulates the voices of a community for a wider audience. Cultural critics refer to productions reflecting these deep-rooted concerns as site-specific, insofar as they respond to that particular locale and can only be performed at that site.

The associations with the site may also be less firmly interlinked – in which case, it is more accurate to call such performances site-based, since the performance could be repeated in other, similar locations. In Cartoon De Salvo’s The Sunflower Plot (2005), allotments in Nottingham and Farnham became the catalyst for the tale of a love triangle set amidst the cabbages and peas. The Offstage Theatre Company staged Amphibians (2011) in the Bridewell Theatre, unearthing the empty swimming pool beneath the theatre’s floor. The play, by Steve Waters, looked at the training and pressures affecting young swimmers preparing for the Olympics; it could, conceivably, be staged at other venues with an available pool.

But what makes site-based performance so popular? In two words: immersion and interaction. For some site-based performances, the audiences become participants in the overall theatrical experience, shaping the way in which we experience the performance and create meaning. In Money (2009) at the Shunt Vaults, we enter a huge, multi-level box, and – at one point – guests are offered a glass of champagne to celebrate the success of the inventor-hero. Punchdrunk’s productions such as The Masque of Red Death (2007) take over sites (in this case, Battersea Town Hall), transforming them into evocative sensory environments where the audiences is free to wander at will, as well as to follow the actors.

Here at the London School of Film, Media and Performance, we train our theatre students to become theatre-makers. Site-based performance encourages them to create work which engages the senses, as well as touches the heart.

The next site-based performance, Insight on Sites, takes place on Monday 2 April 2012. It is part of Regent’s College ArtSpace Festival, running from Monday 2 April to Thursday 5 April. Further information on the ArtSpace festival’s film, exhibition and performance programme can be found at www.regents.ac.uk/lsfmp

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Winter 2011

Tell us about Heart Home magazine – what is the vision and philosophy? Heart Home magazine is the first ‘free’ digital lifestyle magazine in the UK. Launched in September 2011, Heart Home is a quarterly publication celebrating all that is unique and good about interior decor and lifestyle. A place where we champion independent British designers and inspire readers to create their own interiors.

With the look of a glossy print magazine, it is full of inspirational features including talented home grown designers, great shopping tips, fashion, food, hotels, international features and much, much more …

What made you opt for a digital magazine rather than a printed version? I am a big believer in the digital world and always find myself online looking for inspiration. With the rise of so many digital magazines in the US and Australia, we felt there really was a gap in the market and a real craving from the British public. It simply felt the right thing to do. The digital format also

allows our magazine to be read from anywhere in the world, with just a click of a button.

Heart Home is free and the great thing about it being digital is that we are able to offer behind the scenes videos, video interviews, direct links to shopping sites featured in the magazine and direct links for our

advertisers. There’s a definite sense of interaction, which you just don’t get from print magazines.

What are your goals for the magazine? We have so many exciting plans. Not only do we want to grow as a magazine but we want to become one of the biggest magazines in the UK. With our first issue gaining over 82,000 unique visitors and three million page views we are not far behind. However we want to be more than just a magazine, we also want to have the biggest home blog in the UK with over 15 contributors writing for us. We are developing a Directory where small businesses can advertise. We want to help promote upcoming designers and also incorporate our interior design skills, so watch this space as exciting things are happening for Heart Home in 2012.

How do you see your own career developing in the future? Do you have any other burning ambitions? Heart Home is slowly taking over and is where I am most happiest! Never did I imagine that a dream could become a reality. The team and I have great ambitions for the magazine and we are striving to make it successful worldwide. We want to take Heart Home to the next level, meet new challenges and constantly improve.

What advice would you give to anyone else interested in starting a similar project from scratch? Firstly it has to come from the heart. I believe it has to be your utmost passion as this really shines through. You really work long hours, 24-7 and your mind never stops. I have given up so many things to pursue this project but for me it is all worthwhile. There are going to be tough hurdles but if you pursue your dream then the sky is the limit. Let's be honest: it's not rocket science but a passion.

You have to create your own niche, as it is a competitive industry, try and figure out what gap there is and how you would be able to fill it. I had no experience in the printing/publishing world, but a real passion in design and a strong business background, which has really helped.

Visit www.hearthomemag.co.ukWinter 2011

Interview

Arianna TrapaniArianna graduated from Regent’s Business School with a BA (Hons) International Business in 2004. Since graduating from Regent's Business School London with a BA (Hons) International Business in 2004, Arianna has been working as an Interior Decorator and Stylist and has recently launched an online interior design magazine, Heart Home.

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Profile

Charysse HarperCharysse gained an MA in Management & Leadership from Webster Graduate School in 2009. Based in Las Vegas, Charysse is currently working in Public Relations while successfully developing her passion making for documentaries.

ATREGENT'SCOLLEGE

Why did you choose to study at Webster Graduate School, Regent's College? I wanted to gain an international educational experience.

On your first day you were … Excited! After studying in Los Angeles, I was thrilled to go to a new part of the world.

What is the most important lesson you learned while at Regent’s College? Respect everyone’s culture and ideas.

Whilst at Regent's College you … I had an experience that could never be matched! Studying at an international college is something that everyone should do at some point, because you are really immersed into things that are normally cornered off from your everyday existence.

What was your most memorable moment as a student? Having guest speakers from all over the world share their experiences with us.

ATWORK

After graduation you …Worked as a manager for a Laundromat.

Your most unusual job was … Being a professional mystery shopper.

You knew you wanted to work in film production when … I made my first documentary about female professional wrestlers.

What projects are you currently working on? I’m working on an “in-depth journalistic piece” about people who work in the tourist industry in Las Vegas.

Skills you would like to most like to acquire? I’d like to improve my lighting skills.

Your next goal is … To work in another part of the world!

ATHOME

Friends would describe you as … Energetic, positive and always looking for adventure.

Your favourite way to relax is … Watching a movie, going to dance or kickboxing classes.

You’ve always wanted to learn how to … Speak Spanish fluently. I know I can achieve this if I really focus and practice a little everyday!

You would never leave home without … My lip gloss! It sounds ridiculous, but the wind and dry air always makes my lips chapped.

People would be surprised to know that … Rock is my favourite music.

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ATPLAY/PERSONAL

The favourite part of your day is … When I know that I accomplished everything on my daily “to-do” list.

The person you most admire is … Ashton Kutcher. He is an actor, producer, creator and, in my opinion, a revolutionary for the 21st century. He has a lot of great ideas and concepts and I would like to meet with him to pick his brain on how he has accomplished so much at a young age.

The last good book you read was … I actually have two, Bad As I Wanna Be (autobiography by Dennis Rodman) and My Remarkable Journey (autobiography by Larry King). I love reading autobiographies because you are able to get an in-depth look at the person behind the glamour. From both books I understood what it was like to be a basketball star in the late 80s, early 90s, as well as a journalist in the late 20th century and early 21st century. As I appreciate basketball and journalism, I really enjoyed reading both.

The best place you’ve ever travelled to was … Tobago, because everything there is so relaxed and people really take the time to learn about you. I was there during the 2006 World Cup and the atmosphere was amazing! It really proved to me that you can really live quite simply if you choose.

A hidden treasure in your hometown is … The downtown post office. This building was built around the turn of the 20th century. My hometown is Oxnard, California, and it is definitely a place to explore if you are driving along the Pacific Coast Highway (Route 1) in southern California. It is a coastal city about 60 miles north of Los Angeles.

ADVICE

The best piece of advice you received was … Live to work and not work to live.

If you could tell current students one thing … I would tell them do not simply get to know people who are from your home country. Venture and hang out with a diverse crowd. Also, you must travel. The UK is so close to everything.

STAYINGTOGETHER

The Regent’s College Alumni Network is a good thing because … You are able to connect with all the friends and classmates that you met no matter what part of the world you are in.

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Interview

Lisa DoodsonProgramme Director for PsychologyThe School of Psychotherapy and Counselling Psychology.

What attracted you to Psychology after a corporate career in marketing? After many years in the corporate world, latterly as a marketing director within the telecommunications industry, I had become frustrated and disillusioned. It had become harder and harder to feel like I was ‘making a difference’. Over the years I also began to realise that one of my main motivations was in helping individuals achieve their potential. I love the challenge of bringing people together and creating a team that both enjoy working together and deliver what’s asked of them. I really wanted to understand more about what drives and motivates people.

Initially I decided to retrain as a psychologist so that I could apply my new skills back into industry, however ten years later I still haven’t made that leap back – and don’t intend to!

Are there any skills that you developed in the corporate work that you have found particularly useful as a psychologist? Working in large corporate organisations for 15 years was a fantastic learning experience and constantly informs how I teach psychology. Whilst I can talk to students about psychological theories, such as stress, conflict, leadership or group dynamics, I can also give them relevant, real life examples from my own experiences. I know this strengthens their learning and helps them apply psychology to the real world. To me, that’s the most important aspect of any subject, being able to understand how it applies to everyday life.

Tell us more about your other projects outside Regent’s College. I am always driven to want to make a difference, to change something for the better. My work as a psychologist reflects that too. My PhD research was focused on understanding the mental well-being of individuals in step-families. One of the key findings of my research was that step-parents experience significantly lower mental wellbeing than biological parents. For example step-parents are more likely to experience higher depression and anxiety, and a lower overall quality of life. I have since developed a range of workshops and courses, based on my research, that help couples cope more effectively with issues related to step-family life. This in turn reduces their anxiety and depression and helps the step-family bond and develop.

I also work with family professionals including Relate and local authorities, to help them support step-families more effectively. This element of my work is branded under my company Happy Steps (www.happysteps.co.uk), which is designed to offer a range of support to step-families. In 2010 my book, How to be a Happy Step-mum was published by Vermilion. This was based on my research in the UK and was my first foray into the literary world! Having become a recognised expert on step-families in the UK I am now often called on by the media. This can be quite a challenge as there’s frequently no notice and the programmes are often transmitted live! It certainly focuses the mind. I hope that through Happy Steps and my research I can continue to offer support to step-families, which appeals to my strong desire to keep making a difference.

What have been your impressions of working at Regent’s College? I began working at Regent’s College in 2010 as a visiting lecturer. I was made to feel welcome by both students and staff alike and immediately felt part of the team. I was thrilled to be offered the new position of Programme Director for Psychology in May 2011 and have been extremely busy this term ensuring that our new courses (BSc and Foundation in Psychology) have started without a hitch! It’s such an exciting time for our department as we grow and develop. I’m so proud to be leading the psychology team and to be part of the wider Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences faculty team, which is always so supportive and encouraging.

What are your latest research interests? I think it’s essential that as academics we do our utmost to keep our research alive! It’s often not easy with the demands of teaching but it makes such a difference to the experiences of the students and our own credibility within our specialist area. I’m currently trying to catch my breath after a very busy first term, however I have a few ideas I’m currently developing. Research on step-families is still close to my heart. As the fastest growing family type we need to understand the issues these families face so that we can be better prepared to help them succeed and develop. I am hoping to start some research later this year based on young peoples' experiences of step-family life during their childhood. I am also working closely with colleagues here at the College on a project to measure the effectiveness of the new postgraduate teaching qualification we’re planning to offer in 2012.

Academic research is at its best when relevance to real life problems is evident. Professor Sirkeci’s research focussed on a study, carried out between 2003 and 2005, in which a research team of around 45 field researchers spent a month in war torn Iraq. Cities and towns

including Baghdad, Mosul, and Kirkuk were among the research sites. The European Parliament’s interest is well founded given that a safer and more peaceful neighbourhood is what Europe desires. Invited by German Green MEP Ms Barbara Lochbihler, Chair of the Sub-committee on Human Rights, Professor Sirkeci was asked about his research on minority human rights in Iraq and the mobility of Iraqi Turkmen. The hearing was celebrated as a landmark move by the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation and attended by MEPs, Iraqi MPs, NGO representatives and the media.

The sub-committee meeting came amid the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and ongoing human rights abuses in the country. The vast oil wealth of Kirkuk, a city where the Turkmen minority is contested with others, adds another dimension to the debate. Professor Sirkeci’s research on migration of Turkmen from Iraq was particularly welcome as it identifies the significant human resource loss which is invaluable for the recovery and reconstruction of Iraq after the invasion and conflicts. The research also revealed that such outflow of minorities is undermining the country’s historic cultural heterogeneity.

In his address Professor Sirkeci explained his theoretical model of conflict migration and human insecurity and presented evidence on the ways in which it is applicable to minorities in Iraq and elsewhere. In this approach

conflicts appear as the key driver for human mobility which is believed to be responsive to tensions and disagreements, as well as armed clashes. It would seem that the effects of the conflict stay and continue driving people out of the conflict zones even after the conflict issues are peacefully settled. In response to various conflicts Iraq has been involved in during the last three decades, Professor Sirkeci showed that minorities fled the country in large numbers relative to the dominant ethnic and religious groups.

Material as well as non-material insecurities played their part in such mass exoduses. Among these the Arabisation policies under Saddam Hussein’s regime and forced displacement of communities were important. The conflict in Iraq has significantly contributed to the world’s uprooted populations. It is estimated that the Iraqi immigrant population in developed countries has doubled since the invasion in 2003. It was also evident that ethnic minorities are more vulnerable and therefore tend to flee more often compared to their other Iraqi compatriots. Turkey and European Union countries are main destinations for Iraqi and Turkmen migrants alike. This is also another proof that Europe should be concerned about conflicts in its neighbourhood.

According to Professor Sirkeci, the long term hostilities and conflicts between ethnic and religious groups in Iraq has flourished in the political system largely based on ethnic and religious ties. This is believed to be a recipe for disaster in countries with mixed ethno-religious populations. Ethnic and religious lines may not necessarily reflect the true divisions in the society and this is the case for Turkmen in Iraq. A democratic system securing ethnic and religious rights and punishing discrimination is the only peaceful solution for Turkmen and other minorities in Iraq in the long term.

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Article

The European Parliament Human Rights: Bringing Human Insecurity in Iraq to the European ParliamentProfessor Ibrahim Sirkeci, Director of Regent’s Centre for Transnational Studies and Professor of Transnational Studies and Marketing at EBS London presented his research on human insecurity in Iraq at European Parliament Human Rights Sub-committee in December 2011.

Profile

Nick Mandri-PerrottNick graduated from EBS London in 2003 with a BA (Hons) in International Business and Management. Nick is currently living in Mexico, pursuing a career in film production.

What are your favourite memories of studying at Regent's College London? I have many fond memories of studying at Regent’s College. One that I remember particularly, because it taught me to lose my fear of public speaking, was when I was asked to give the closing speech for the John Payne Memorial Lecture. I remember feeling completely overwhelmed by the request so I asked for assistance from all my lecturers. Each one of them gave me their suggestions and the resulting speech I took rather sheepishly to Dr. Nick Bowen for revision. I felt that is was far too short for such a prestigious audience but he assured me that it would be alright and indeed I received many compliments on the day from guests and lecturers alike because I had produced something appropriate for the occasion.

I remember many of my lecturers and members of staff like Nick Bowen, Richard Mannix, Allan Sitkin, Frank Siegmund and James Barnes, all of whom contributed to expanding my vision of the world and made my stay at Regent’s College a very memorable one. However, the lecturer that had a huge impact in my life was Birgit Wildt because she set me on the course I would later follow. All the above mentioned lecturers taught us how to think outside the box but none as radically as Birgit. Her first lecture was to change my view of business drastically as it introduced the creative dimension. Her approach was so different that it was a bit of “marmite” situation; you either loved it or hated it. For those of us who were not so banking-oriented it gave us the opportunity to explore new avenues of profit generation through artistic means. Her proposal was to make the entire group work together towards a single goal which was to recuperate the £2,000 she had just spent in hiring a theatre in the West End. She stimulated us to view the entire project as a business venture in which we had to work in coordinated teams, planning, finance, marketing, creative, etc. Needless to say it was a marvellous and uplifting experience.

What ambitions did you have for your career during your time as a student? I wanted to be a serial entrepreneur! I wanted to have lots of businesses that would relate to all my life interests.

Coming from Mexico, a country rich in history but poor in education and fast losing its extraordinary traditions I dreamt of recuperating some of these through the mass media of film and television. I also dreamed of several different educational schemes using self-sustaining principles and less conventional testing techniques. And of course for any of these projects business skills are essential.

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What have you been up to since you graduated?Following graduation I started a production company with a fellow student, Gabriel Amaral, called Moving Pictures AMP, we then joined another Regent’s College alumnus Jerome Kim, to create 3C Films. Based in London, we provide production services for foreign productions and have been instrumental in producing meaningful corporate documentaries. In 2009 I felt I needed an existential change in my life, and I returned to my homeland of Mexico, lured by the commercial advertising world. I felt that this was an opportunity to get a foothold in the filming world of Mexico so I worked as an Assistant Director for many commercials. Although an educational experience I did not find it fulfilling until I moved to a company which was more in line with what I wanted to do. This is where I am now and where I have become the main producer of documentaries for television companies such as Discovery Channel and National Geographic.

What made you choose a career in film-making?I have always been interested in film-making. I’m a true believer that you can learn, teach and reach a large audience through entertainment. It is a passion that I have had since I was very young. Since almost every household now has a television or a computer the reach is enormous and the possibilities are boundless.

Which skills that you gained at Regent’s College have you found useful in your career? I acquired numerous skills during my degree that I constantly use to this day. For instance film-making and documentaries are all about business. You have to negotiate with clients, plan financial strategies, handle large budgets and coordinate huge teams of people, to name a few.

What is your next goal? Where would you like to be in five years time? My next goal is to continue expanding the present company in Mexico and to achieve a merger with the London venture, to create an international enterprise in film and television production. This in turn should help fuse an alternative entertainment approach with more substantial content. I truly feel this is a very feasible goal to try to achieve as the foundations have been set.

How has networking helped you develop your business? Networking is essential in the film-making world. You need to make contact with the people that make things happen in either financial or social spheres. For example we are currently producing a documentary about an historical event which requires reputable historians, archaeologists, funding and Federal and State entities to grant filming permissions, as well as directors and actors to recreate these events all of which need a huge amount of networking.

The School of Psychotherapy and Counselling Psychology has concluded a major European study on migrant guidance and counselling funded by the European Commission. The School’s international partners in this project represent high profile guidance and counselling organisations in Slovakia, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Greece and the Czech Republic. Each country involved in the study currently faces different levels of migration.

Of the project, Dr Maria Luca commented: “The project consortium represented countries that have known migration and regions that are traditionally more or less popular in terms of migrant destinations. These included EU countries where migration has been a new phenomenon, as well as countries who have known migration for decades and centuries. We were meeting as professionals but at the same time as human beings living and surrounded by migration ourselves. That made the exchange and sharing of knowledge and expertise authentic.”

Each partner was responsible for hosting one event during the life of the project and all partners were required to send representatives. The key players representing SPCP were Dr Greg Madison, Dr Rosalind Pearmain, Ms Elisavet Tapini and Dr Maria Luca. Doctorate students in Counselling Psychology (Konstantinos Gazis, Claire Marshall and Anastaysia Golovina) whose research focussed on migration, language and mobilities were invited to join events both at home and abroad and present their research to a mixed audience with diverse backgrounds and perspectives on migration. The feedback from the students was that it was a life-changing and life-enhancing experience to be among such a diverse cultural set. Learners appreciated the opportunity to present their research to an international, professional audience and receive ideas on making their research innovative and worthwhile.

Project outcomesThe Partnership Programme allowed for the collation

of a wealth of resources, materials and tools which are now available in two different forms: the internal resources recorded on portfolio DVDs and distributed among the project partners; and the publicly accessible resources now part of the project library, freely accessible on the internet through the websites of all project partners.

Three key lessons were identified by the project, focussing on living and working abroad: migration has always been part of human existence; quality preparation is crucial; and migration experience changes migrants’ life.

As our partnership dealt with the topic of guidance and counselling for a particular target group of migrants and returnees, all the project activities addressed the issues of cultural, ethnic and racial diversity and equality, with the aim of combating racism, intolerance, prejudice and xenophobia. The interactions between partners in this project and the motivation to learn from each other was both transforming and transformational. This was a vibrant partnership and a marvellous feast for all of us with a taste for creativity.

Article

EU Migration ProjectEU Migration Project gives international platform for SPCP staff and students.

Pictured: Dr Maria Luca, Senior Research FellowSchool of Psychotherapy & Counselling Psychology

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Interview

9/11: Ten years onYossi Mekelberg, Progamme Director, International Relations & Social Sciences, speaks to Hagai M. Segal, an award-winning academic, consultant and analyst, specialising in the Middle East and Asia, about how the world has changed.

Do you remember where you were on 9/11? I was in a computer room at the London School of Economics. The person at the desk next to me thought it was funny when it first happened, believing it was a small airplane that had gone off course. When the second one hit the mood changed and everyone got up and left; there was an instinct to just get out of there, an instinct that said ‘I’m not sure I want to be in central London right now’. I think people realised very quickly the human consequences.

Could you imagine at that time how the world would change? The question today is whether the way in which they (the terrorists) have changed the game, we have managed, in the international community, to ensure that the change is for our benefit and not theirs. I think we come out pretty positively but of course there are areas where I think there is cause for concern and a lot of soul searching still needs to be done.

What are the main changes that you have seen? One of the things Al-Qaeda forced us to do, by trying to take it away from us, was to close our own freedoms. And this I think is the essential paradigm that the West has struggled with. In order to stop them from doing what they want we have to do to it ourselves. We are forced to be less free, to be more vigilant, in a manner that we didn’t have to beforehand. Some would argue that it’s not necessarily a bad thing, that for societies to take responsibility, individuals need to play a role. The question is whether we have ended up compromising too much of who and what we are in order to achieve that aim and objective.

I think that we also made the mistake of allowing our media to become a broadcast mechanism for Al-Qaeda. The reality is that their ability to hit us has decreased profoundly. If you look at casualties over the past few years by Al-Qaeda, if you exclude Afghanistan and Iraq, their capacity to actually kill people around the world, certainly in their key western targets, has diminished profoundly. And yet they continue to make the front pages, to be a constant part of our awareness and unconsciousness.

If you had to change some of these policies, what would you change? The nature of the modern world and the nature of the societies which we seek to create; the more free they are, the more open they are to terrorist activities. If you never have security, then people can carry that axe. If you have very high security then they can’t, but that comes with consequences. The art is finding the balance. I think we made the mistake, first of all, in falling into Al-Qaeda’s game of saying it’s a culture clash of civilisations. It was all too readily accepted in many quarters that somehow they represented an entire constituency and that that constituency was fundamentally opposed to our systems and values. And that’s exactly what Al-Qaeda wanted. They wanted an ability to turn to Muslims in Britain and say you can’t be British and Muslim. You have to pick one or the other. Okay, your government has responded, you are either with us or against us. We finally recognised that and turned that around. If you look at the strategy in the UK as well as policy elsewhere, it took a long time, and it’s hardly perfect, but there has been more of a movement to recognition, ensuring that we have cohesive societies and that people within it feel a part of it.

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How do you feel about the assassination of Bin Laden? I think that the killing of Bin Laden is far more important for the West and America than it is for Al-Qaeda. The actual operational impact is not necessarily that significant. But psychologically, particularly as it came just before the tenth anniversary of 9/11, it was hugely important for the American psyche. The irony is actually that the biggest success of the operation from a counter-terrorism perspective is not the killing of Bin Laden but the treasure trove of intelligence that was captured in the compound. I don’t think it’s any coincidence (though it hasn’t yet been confirmed) that we have seen a significant number of killings and captures of Al Qaeda leaders since. I think it’s very obvious already that – in the short term – their leadership are staying very low, totally uncertain as to what the Americans found, what America knows and where America will next look. So actually the operation has had a huge impact, on America in particular, but also generally Western counter-terrorism operations.

We are preparing for the 2012 Olympics. Do you think we’re ready for it? When it comes to good old-fashioned organised counter-terrorism we’re actually superb in this country. I think the riots have demonstrated that there’s actually less traditional threats and concerns out there that we’re less able to deal with. As horrible as those events were, it gave us a real shock and a good ten months’ notice to address those issues, not only to recognise how they occurred and how they should be stopped but also to address the fundamental, underlying concerns that brought those people out. If this had happened two or three weeks before the Olympics it may have been a very embarrassing time for Britain. I think it’s been a shock, but one that will only benefit the operations and the general mood and attempt to create a celebration when this amazing event arrives in our city.

The Regent’s Lecture is an opportunity to invite alumni, students, friends and senior contacts of the College to a public open lecture and reception. Together with the JeanMonnet and the Europe in the World lectures, these lectures have brought distinguished speakers and influential audiences to the College for over twenty years.

This year was no exception and we were very pleased to welcome four well known contributors who, amidst the Eurozone crisis, debated the implications of the continuing global financial and economic crisis for UK business. John Cridland, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, fresh from its annual conference, debated the future of British business alongside John Taylor, Chief Executive of ACAS - the influential Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, established by the UK Government to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations. They were joined by Sir John Gieve, former Deputy-Governor of the Bank of England and Bev Hurley, CEO of YTKO, an award-winning company specialising in business start-up and growth, who discussed the subject from a central bank and small business perspective.

Eurozone Crisis: the impactThe panel explored the impact of the Eurozone crisis, social unrest, industrial relations, and uncertainty in the banking sector for UK businesses. They looked at the way ahead in 2012 and debated what must be done both in the UK and at a European and global level.

John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said: `Growth has stalled. European politicians have not acted quickly enough. It has been like a bushfire, and the politicians have not created a big enough firebreak, so each time the bushfire has jumped the firebreak and is now getting closer to the houses.’

Given the potential for possible industrial action, John Taylor, ACAS Chief Executive said: `While we have seen some high profile strikes, we need to keep things in perspective. The number of disputes and days lost to strikes remain at historically low levels.’ Taylor added that whilst high unemployment and public sector tensions remain, other key factors are also emerging such as the partnership approach, which came out of concessionary bargaining in the last recession as a

more pragmatic approach to employment relations.

Bev Hurley, CEO of YTKO, focused on how loosening the reins for SMEs would generate jobs. She highlighted the importance of redefining ‘SME’ to accurately reflect the distinct profiles and needs of micro, small and medium sized enterprises, pointing out that 98 per cent of all UK enterprises have fewer than 50 employees. With the emphasis on incentivising growth and ambition at the critical stages of the enterprise journey, Bev called for more refined policymaking to reap rich rewards for the UK’s economy.

John Gieve described the prospects for the EU and UK banks and economies as `between grim and catastrophic’, seeing a real chance that the Euro would collapse leading to a deep depression across the West. Even if a collapse was avoided, he fears a renewed recession would be certain in Europe, with little the UK could do to avoid it. Despite these challenges, the panel explored the importance of creativity

Article

Regent’s Lecture 2011Business at the Crossroads:UK Issues in a European and Global Economy

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Teresa Plant joins the Alumni Relations Team in new Stewardship roleThe latest addition to our team is Teresa Plant, joining us in the newly created role of Stewardship Coordinator.

Teresa brings over ten years of experience in higher education and the not-for-profit sector, joining us most recently from a fundraising role in the charity sector. Teresa is working on a range of stewardship, networking and development events, and will be the dedicated support for alumni and external volunteers for our growing range of programmes and activities. Encouraging alumni to become involved in areas such as our mentoring programme, networking and events including our Regent’s Clubs, Teresa is involved in organising a range of new lectures, seminars and discussion dinners across the College.

She brings her extensive experience of event organisation, having been involved with a range of events across her career. Teresa enjoyed studying in Moscow as part of her university degree and is very much enjoying the international culture of Regent’s College. She is always keen to meet new people from a range of backgrounds, cultures and nationalities, and to develop and strengthen the College’s networks.

Please contact Teresa if you would like to find out opportunities to get involved with our mentoring and event development programme (teresa.plant@regents.ac.uk)

and innovation in creating new jobs and opportunities. Regent’s College Student Union President Kristine Bakk closed proceedings, acknowledging the challenges ahead, but adamant that she and her classmates would face the challenges head on with optimism and determination.

The evening was chaired by John Drew, Director of the Institute of Contemporary European Studies, and Jean Monnet Professor of European Business, who closed the evening after a lively question session, inviting members of the audience to reflect on the issues over the traditional reception which provides an opportunity to meet with friends and former colleagues and make new acquaintances.

If you would like to be included on the advanced mailing list for future events, or to receive a full transcript of the debate, please contact us on lectures@regents.ac.uk

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Profile

Theo ManninenTheo graduated from EBS London in 2007,with a BA (Hons) in Business and Management, and is currently the Director and Co-Founder of Silja Manninen, a womenswear fashion label. Theo is also Head of Marketing and Events at Rose Club, an exclusive club in London's Mayfair.

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What are your favourite memories of studying at Regent's College London? From day one, Regent’s College was always plenty of fun. It has a unique mixture of students and staff, with the surroundings of Regent’s Park creating an exceptional studying experience.

Michael Gavridis, my lecturer in Global & Investment Banking, was someone that was easy to find common ground with and gave true insight to the industry. When I had my first presentation for the class, the projector was out of order and I decided to free-style and run the presentation without my PowerPoint slides. There was a sudden silence after the presentation, and after a moment, Gavridis concluded ”Theo is Goldman Sachs material.”

Another lecturer that I still remember, and have bumped into few times since graduation, is Birgit Wildt. She would spend extra time outside of the lectures and seminars to make the most out of the student/tutor relationship. The course gave students an

opportunity to face the real life business environment with a creative twist. I was the team leader for a NSPCC project where the aim was to raise funds and awareness through a variety of strategic methods. The responsibility and the way the course was created gave me a solid foundation for building relationships with variety of clients, business development with creativity, and day-to-day operational tasks that come in with any business venture. It was a really rewarding

experience that gave me a great insight. What ambitions did you have for your career during your time as a student? My main ambition was to succeed in whatever I would do, wanting to go into either the field of private equity and venture capital, especially in the eastern markets, or to get involved with something more creative and gain more responsibility from day one. Hence I started moving towards the fashion and nightlife industry. I established the groundwork for this by throwing Regent’s College parties in the most exclusive venues in Mayfair throughout my studies and simultaneously helping my sister with business development for her fashion line.

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What have you been up to since you graduated? After graduation I did a few internships, ranging from consulting in the UK markets for DAMAC (the biggest private developer in the Middle East) to B2B consulting for a boutique telecommunications company. I’m now a nightlife entrepreneur and co-founder of Silja Manninen, a woman’s wear fashion line. I’ve also done a lot of travelling to establish better networks and find new business ideas and contacts.

What have been the main challenges while setting up your own business? With Silja Manninen I have found identifying the competition, in order to know your own product more, a key challenge. Fashion in my eyes is the most fast paced, competitive industry, where there is no space for error. Pursuing the right image and holding on to it, hand picking stylists, editorials, boutiques, and shows are all very important as image plays a key role to staying on top of the competition. Creating a business plan that is marketable and getting the correct feedback from the right parties has been crucial. It is hard to measure the value of a start-up so it is crucial to meet demand for the correct customers.

What is your next goal? Where would you like to be in five years time? To make Silja Manninen a successful, global, multinational brand and be a partner of a high-end night club on a separate continent. Expansion is the name of the

game. I love to travel and hope I can integrate this more into my work itinerary. Finding different angles from different countries is like hand picking the sweetest berries on the field.

How has networking helped you develop your business? The key to networking is to find synergies between different industries and to make a win-win situation for all of the parties involved. I find that in essence, business is all about having the right product to channel with the right network of entities, while never letting growth slow down. With this formula future projects can grow.

Who have you stayed in touch with? I have kept close contact with many of my fellow Regent’s College alumni, for both business and pleasure, even though most of them are spread across the continent, we always find time to meet in different parts of the world. Even if I have not met some of them for long time, dinner over sunset in Portofino can be a setting where it feels as if we just met yesterday.

1993 DavidVindel/EBSLondon I have recently moved from my position

as Managing Director Technology at Red Consultancy to take up a position with Ketchum Pleon. As European MD of Technology at Ketchum Pleon I will be launching the technology office in London.

1994DavideDiurisi/EBSLondon After many years of hard work and continuous

specialisation, my company MITO International Business Development is now focused on introducing Italian companies to the UK, primarily working with the fashion, food and interior design industries. This year we are looking after the London opening for a prestigious client, "Collezione Automobili Lamborghini", the Lamborghini group business unit dedicated to fashion, accessories and merchandising items. and we are looking after their London opening.

1997 AlexFoyle/EBSLondon I was recently appointed Managing

Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa for Hologenix, LLC, where I will oversee an international sales force.

2000 HenrikLarsson/EBSLondon I have left SEB and the banking industry to

take up a position as Director Customer Finance at Volvo Trucks in Gothenburg, Sweden.

2001 DavidBrim/EBSLondon I am currently in the process of setting up a

new automotive company (Tomcar Pty Ltd) here in Melbourne, Australia. The vehicles are commercial off-road vehicles being produced by us here in Australia for local and export market. We are the first new car company to set up in Australia for decades.

2001 DanielStausberg/EBSLondon In October I was appointed Managing

Director and CEO of Atradius Reinsurance by shareholders in Dublin, Ireland.

2002 NicolasLeschke/EBSLondon I have recently co-founded Frisch vom

Dach, or Fresh from the Roof project, a new form of urban agriculture that aims to evolve traditional farming. We plan to create a 7,000-square-meter roof garden, complete with a fish farm, to provide Berliners with sustainable, locally-grown food.

2002 JohannesSiems/EBSLondon My fairs and event company, DIFER, has

just celebrated its sixth birthday here in Barcelona. We have recently launched our new website (www.difer.es), hoping to consolidate our international clients and also attract the attention of agencies worldwide. Hope that you are all doing well

2003 TaimurazBadtiev/RBSLondon I moved to Qatar in May 2011 and started

to work for RasGas, looking after the commercial side of LNG shipping. I will soon be studying for an Executive MBA at London Business School, mainly in Dubai but I will also travel to London, so I hope to visit lovely Regent’s College to say hello to the faculty.

2005 ThibaultRelecom/EBSLondon I got married in May 2011 and have recently

been promoted to CEO of our family business, Unibra – we produce and sell beer in Africa. I am often traveling to Africa to support our brewery and to explore new markets.

2006 InesDuartedeSousa/RBSLondon I have been living in Barcelona, and working

in Marketing for Nestlé since June 2011. I recently attended the RBS London reunion in November and had the opportunity to revisit the campus and see some colleagues and lecturers. Greetings!

Your News

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2006 NikoMichault/EBSLondon Having worked as a freelance music critic

for Orange and the BBC online, and as a tour manager for musicians I set up a music management company in 2010. We represent a growing roster of talent and most recently are working on Jack Savoretti's third album. We have many plans in the pipeline and hope 2012 will be a very exciting year.

2006 ChristianPickel/RBSLondon/EBSLondon2007

In November 2011 I started a new job as Senior Account Manager within the Corporate Reputation team at MHP Communications, focussing on Asset Management. MHP has four offices worldwide (London, Edinburgh, Brussels and Washington DC), and was formed last year by combining Mandate, Hogarth and Penrose as part of the Engine Group.

2006 SimonRakosi/EBSLondon I am currently living in Brussels and I have been

working for The Coca-Cola Company for more than 3 years. About a year a go I became the Digital Marketing Manager for BeNeLux taking care of all the brands on the 3 markets.

2009 KatieDaily/RACL After graduation I moved to Kansas

City, Missouri (USA) to manage political campaigns. I am now working at The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce as their Small Business Coordinator. My job is to bring value to small businesses through our educational and relationship building programmes, award shows and trade shows. My time at Regent's was magical and I wish I could come back everyday!

2009 IsaacGarson/RBSLondon I have got married and have relocated

to Sydney working for a large healthcare organisation called Primary Health Care. I only have fond memories of the College.

2009 PreethiNallu/WebsterGraduateSchool I am an independent journalist working on

print and broadcast stories related to SE Asia and the Middle East. I have recently published an opinion piece for Al Jazeera and a couple of short documentary films on human rights issues related to Burma and Myanmar.

2009 StefanSteiner/EBSLondon I did an exchange semester at EBS London

and am still looking back to those days. It was a fantastic time! Since December 2011 I'm now CEO of Questli in San Francisco. Questli is a clever treasure hunting game with a viral character that combines the virtual and the real world in a unique way.

2010 OlesyaOreshkina/RBSLondon I have moved to Moscow and got married!

I have also started working for the Russian Ministry of Economic Development. That is my news in brief!

2010 RobertPeveling/EBSLondon In October 2011 I started my career as

a consultant in the recruitment industry. I work for Nicoll Curtin Technology in the city with the prospect of playing an integral role in opening our Zurich office during the second half of this year. In this role I use my language skills and I expect to be promoted to associate consultant soon. I am also writing articles for German culture magazines, pursuing my painting and the entrepreneurial endeavours that I presented at the Alumni Dragons Den event in 2010.

2011 BrunoFerrari/RBSLondon After graduation I left London and moved

back to Buenos Aires, Argentina. I co-founded 123SEGURO.com, an insurance online aggregator, where I'm currently CIO. We are the leader in sales in Argentina (selling five times more than our nearest competitor) and are soon to expand to other Latin American markets. My experience in Regent's College helped to develop my entrepreneurial spirit.

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Upcoming Events

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EuropeanBusinessSchoolLondonReunion-CelebratingEBSLondongraduates2006-2011

We're delighted to invite EBS London graduates 2006 - 2011 for the third in our major series of EBS London Alumni Reunion Dinners bringing all of our EBS London alumni back to Regent's College.

We've got a very special evening planned starting with a champagne reception at 18:00 followed by a three course dinner with wine. The evening will be rounded off with some celebratory speeches before the conversation flows on into the night.

Location Regent's College London

Date Saturday 21 April 2012

Tickets £45 per person (guests welcome)

BookNow www.regents.ac.uk/ebsl-reunion

AlumniGolfTournament

The second annual tournament will be held at Highgate Golf Club, a friendly members’ club next to Hampstead Heath in North London. The 18-hole course stretches to 6,000 yards (5,400 for the ladies) and is the nearest 18-hole course to central London. Highgate really is London’s best kept golfing secret as despite being over 100 years old, the existence of the course still raises eyebrows.

The tournament will be a stableford competition with prizes on offer for the winners. A hot two-course lunch will be served in the clubhouse at approximately 14:00. Once everyone has been round the course there will be time for you to catch up and socialise in comfort.

Location Highgate Golf Club, London

Date Friday 4 May 2012

TakePart? alumni@regents.ac.uk

Regent’sClub

Regent's Club is a new network of alumni groups all over the world bringing the Regent's College alumni association to you. The clubs are based in cities all over the world and run by local alumni. We are launching new groups throughout the year so keep checking the alumni website for details of new events near you.

Events www.regents.ac.uk/alumni_events

AlumnivStudentsFootballMatch

Last September a team of sporting alumni took to the field to wrestle the Alumni v Students football trophy back from the current student team. The sun shone on the alumni team in the first half as they passed the ball neatly and went into a narrow lead. Their opponents came back strongly but thanks to some strong defending the alumni team went into half time holding a 2-1 advantage. Sadly this wasn’t to last as the students upped their game in the second half to take the lead running out comfortable winners.

We will be looking for more players to join us for the rematch this September so if you would like to play please email alumni@regents.ac.uk

The MA Creative Leadership is a participant centred programme addressing leadership from a diverse range of disciplines.

Learn how to manage complex problems more effectively and develop your own leadership method.

COURSE COMMENCES OCTOBER

CONTACT US NOW FOR A PERSONAL CONSULTATION

regents.ac.uk+44 (0)20 7487 7505exrel@regents.ac.ukThis award is currently validated by The Open University

“This has to be one of the most imaginative

and exciting approaches to leadership

training around. If you want to differentiate

yourself from other leaders, this is the

course for you.”

Sir Stephen Brown

Co-Chairman of ADRg Ambassador

& Ex British Ambassador to the Republic of Korea

Drive, Negotiate, InnovatePart-time, blended learning in Central London

I have kept close contact with many of my fellow Regent’s College alumni. Even though most of them are spread across the continent, we always find time to meet in different parts of the world.

Theo ManninenEuropean Business School London alumnusClass of 2007