Gratitude 2024

Gratitude 2024

Wednesday 24 April 2024 18:00 - 20:15 BST

Our supporters are invited to Gratitude 2024, our annual celebration of the University of Birmingham's incredible community of donors, volunteers and legacy pledgers. We would like to say thank you for helping make a real difference here at Birmingham, however you have supported us.

Register to attend here.

This year's event will be held in the Alan Walters Building, the home of the Business School's Postgraduate Teaching Centre, which opened its doors in 2016. Sir Alan Walters was a lecturer in Econometrics here during the 1950s and 1960s, and the building was named after him following a generous gift made in his memory.

You will hear from a panel of students and researchers who have directly benefitted from the generosity of supporters like you. Afterwards, over refreshments, you can get up close and personal to exciting research and projects with the chance to visit an exhibition of stalls showcasing some of the best of Birmingham.

The panellists include:

• Raha Chowdhury, a PhD student whose PhD has been made possible thanks to the generosity of an alumnus who supports brain tumour research.
• Callum Smith, a Material Science and Engineering Master's student and founder of BindEthics, one of the UoB Elevate businesses which has received philanthropic and volunteering support from alumni.
• Salwa Ali, a Law graduate and Trainee Solicitor at Gowling, who benefitted from the Pathways to Birmingham programme and scholarship during her time at the University.

The exhibitors include:

• Dr Samantha Dobbie and Professor Jeremy Pritchard, who bring our forestry research to life in schools and the community.
• Professor Parth Narendran and Dr Lauren Quinn. They run the ELSA study, finding better ways to screen children for early signs of type 1 diabetes.
• Professor Nick Kettridge and Kerryn Little who are developing an effective, tailored UK fire danger rating system, and whose research was assisted by alumni volunteers.
• Students from UBRacing, the University's Formula student team.
• Dr Zoe Schnepp, ChemBAM project lead, who aims to enhance the experience of chemistry for school pupils throughout the UK.

• Raha Chowdhury, Ishana Rajgopal and Dr Victoria Wykes who are doing vital research into brain

• Professor Jessica Blair, Professor of Antimicrobial Resistance, who is understanding how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics and how to tackle antibiotic resistance.

• StudyStash and Natty Helmets, two of the UoB Elevate businesses who have benefitted from Start-Up Scholarships and the UoB Elevate incubator space in The Exchange. 

This event is free to attend for all supporters and their guests. You can register to attend via Eventbrite where you can also let us know of any dietary or accessibility requirements. If you have any queries, please don't hesitate to email us.

We hope you will be able to join us alongside academics, students and like-minded supporters, for a relaxed and informal evening, where we can celebrate how our community of donors and volunteers make a real difference here at Birmingham.