Autumn 2002 PW 5 - Cranfield University

14
ALUMNI EVENTS
From strength
to strength
More than 30 alumni at the 5th MDA Alumni Conference
‘Managing Defence Resources: Post-
9/11’ were able to network with
former colleagues and catch up on
the centre’s latest developments
and learning opportunities.
Held at the Vincent Centre for
Defence Management, Shrivenham,
the conference featured speakers
from academia, the military and
industry. They included Col
Michael Mahar, Air Attaché from
the US Embassy, a self-confessed
‘nuclear bomber pilot-turned
diplomat’, who gave an interesting
US perspective on ‘Future Security
Architectures – a Global Security
Strategy’. Professor Keith Hayward
from the Society of British
Aerospace Companies (SBAC)
spoke on ‘Globalisation and its Impact
on the Defence Industry’,
emphasising also the importance of
globalised manufacturing, while
Professor Chris Bellamy, Director of
Cranfield’s Securities Studies
Institute at Shrivenham, centred his
talk around types of security and
asymmetrical threats. Special guest
and dinner speaker was Jamie Shea
from NATO, who flew in to speak
on ‘NATO: Modernisation or
Marginalisation?’.
A thriving alumni group from a
thriving centre, its Academic
Course Director, Professor Ron
Matthews, said: “Our alumni, the
centre and its progress are going
from strength to strength. Next
year’s cohort is expected to be
larger than ever.
“And, we are the first course to
provide flexible, electronic learning
which we have already
introduced.”
For further information on the
MDA and Security Studies courses,
visit:
http://barrington.rmcs.cranfield.ac
.uk/directories/postgrad
Cranfield was in Greece over a
weekend in mid-April, covering
two events in Athens.
On the Friday evening, more than 60
alumni from all three campuses
attended the second Greek alumni
reunion at the Titania Hotel in Athens.
While many had already met the
previous year, for a few it was a firsttime
reunion since the early ’70s.
Two of our Greek alumni representatives,
Alexandros Skand-alakis
(SIMS) and ‘Takis’ Panagiotis Alekos
(Silsoe), were there to co-host the
evening and talk about the aims of the
alumni association in Greece. All in all, a
most enjoyable evening, with some
staying on until the small hours.
Graduation is always an excellent
opportunity for the alumni team to
meet and talk to the very newest of our
alumni – the graduates.
Manned by Dot, Loraine and Shaun,
the alumni stand always attracts a wide
variety of visitors. More than 1,000
graduates and nearly 3,000 visitors
attended the ceremonies at the
Cranfield, Silsoe and Shrivenham
campuses.
The accompanying entertainments
for graduates and their families
included lunches, dining
and dancing ’til
dawn, firework
displays, casinos,
dodgems and
exhibition stands.
L-r: Loraine, Dot and
Shaun on the alumni
stand in the marquee
on graduation day,
Cranfield campus �
www. cranfield.ac.uk/alumni
WHEN A GREAT TIME
WAS HAD BY ALL
The rest of the weekend was spent at
the British Council Education Fair for
postgraduate student recruitment in
Athens where some of the alumni came
along to help on the stand by talking
about Cranfield to potential students
and visitors. More than 80 UK
universities and a record number of
visitors attended the fair over the two
days at HELEXPO, situated close to the
planned site for the Olympic Games in
2004.
This is the second year Cranfield has
been represented there, talking to some
140 visitors and answering many
serious enquiries.
Besides Dot Hill and Shaun Hope
from the Alumni Office, Shirley Hyde
(SIMS) Prof Peri Pilidis and Cheryl
Anderson (SoE), and Ian Crawford
(Silsoe) also attended.
For further information on the Greek
alumni association, please contact
alumni@cranfield.ac.uk or visit the
website www.cranfield.ac.uk/alumni
�Theofilos Dimitriadis (left) talks to a
potential student at the British Council Fair
Attracting all the
newest recruits