British Council Unveils Winners of Prestigious Study UK Alumni Awards 2023/24 at the British Embassy in Celebration of Success and Achievement.
The Study UK Alumni Awards 2023/24, a prestigious international event with distinguished academic guests, was held at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of UK alumni in the United States as well as the world-class education they received from UK universities.
On September 2023, the British Council opened a call to UK alumni and received more than 1,200+ applications from around the world. Applicants represented 129 UK universities and 98 countries worldwide. Specifically, in the USA more than 65 applications went through different shortlisting stages, resulting in 12 finalists and four winners for each category.
Each winner is a demonstrated leader in their field and has used their experience of studying at a UK university to make a positive contribution to their communities and professions.
The 2023/24 Study UK Alumni Winners are:
Adnan Iqbal
Business and Innovation Winner, University of Cambridge
Co-founder & CEO of Luma Health, a health technology company solving one of the biggest challenges in healthcare -- getting a patient to the right healthcare provider and to the best healthcare outcome quickly. The company has raised $160M+ in capital from leading investors. Adnan holds a BS in Environmental Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and graduate degrees from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge.
Dr. Emily Rickman
University of Sheffield, Science and Sustainability Winner
Astrophysicist at the Mission Operations Center for the most powerful telescope ever launched - NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. She successfully led part of the team that took the first image of an exoplanet using JWST and has discovered a multitude of planets beyond our Solar System hunting for signs of life. Dr. Rickman was selected to project manage NASA's astrophysics mission design program and is utilizing these skills to build the next NASA flagship mission to look for alien worlds.
Hein (Ray) Oo
Social Action Winner, University of Northampton
Accomplished professional dedicated to fostering global change through education, leadership, and sustainability. He currently manages the operations of The Kectil Program by MKFF in Atlanta, overseeing the operations of a youth leadership development initiative that annually engages 2000 students from over 100 developing countries. As Chief Data Manager at the YMCA, Hein spearheads the data strategy, serving the New York Department of Education, benefitting 5000 immigrant families yearly.
Raquel Villanueva
Culture and Creativity Winner, University of Westminster
TV host and journalist whose work currently focuses on science communication and space exploration. As a commentator and video producer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Raquel served as a broadcast host for the historic landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars and co-hosted and helped produce the launch broadcast of NASA’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite. Her work aims to provide a platform for engineers and scientists to communicate their work effectively with the public.
