Welcome
Professor Lisa Roberts FRSB FRSA, President and Vice-Chancellor.
Hello and welcome to your Alumni Magazine 2026.
Within this year’s edition, you will find stories and achievements that demonstrate the breadth of work taking place at Exeter, including research looking into rare genetic diseases in children, the impact AI is having, as well as lots of updates from our alumni community. We also feature an interview with Sir Sajid Javid, the new Chair of our Campaign Board which is well worth a read!
I have now been President and Vice-Chancellor of this wonderful University for more than five years, and like yourselves, Exeter is permanently embedded in my heart. In this time we have made huge gains in our global ambitions, partnering with fantastic institutions across continents, whilst also becoming a trusted partner and engine of economic growth in our region. Every day I am proud of our University, our students, colleagues, and alumni community.
Since the last magazine, we have made significant progress towards our goal of tackling the climate emergency and ecological crisis. This includes hosting the inaugural Exeter Climate Forum, which saw more than 1,000 academic, government and industry figures attend an exciting week of events. The Forum shaped priorities ahead of COP30, and contributed to global scientific debate, whilst also showcasing the incredible strength of environmental science research at our University.
Exeter has an ambition to transform human health and wellbeing, and every day our brilliant teams are finding new and innovative ways to combat disease. This year we took the lead on a £28.5 million Human Functional Genomics Initiative, with the aim of understanding how genomic variation influences human health, how it changes over time, and how it impacts disease.
Added to this, our Centre for Medical Mycology’s FAILSAFE project received £1.7 million to launch fifteen investigations into antimicrobial resistance, so that we can lead the global fight to develop effective drugs to treat a wide range of diseases, long into the future.
Named University of the Year 2025 at the Social Mobility Awards.
Top 10 in the UK for graduates most targeted by leading employers*.
*Exeter graduates rank 8th for most targeted by top UK employers (The Graduate Market in 2025 report by High Fliers Research).
11th
in the UK, Complete University Guide 2026.
We also have a deep commitment to forging a fairer and more inclusive society, and this year colleagues in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences have explored the barriers faced by unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to accessing Further and Higher Education. This project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, aims to shape policy and practice, to support the thousands of children left in this terrible position each year.
We’re also committed to improving opportunity here at Exeter. We were thrilled to have been named University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards, recognising our Success For All programme, a fund offering financial support for students experiencing unexpected hardship. This vital initiative would not be possible without the generosity of you, our wonderful alumni, so thank you to everybody who has contributed to this – you really have improved the lives of our students.
Globally, work is well underway for a pioneering educational partnership with Ain Shams University in Cairo, which will see us become the first Russell Group university to establish a teaching presence in Africa. Additionally, we are in the advanced stages of setting up a Joint Education Institute with Zhejiang University of Technology, which will see Exeter’s world-class education delivered in China.
Added to this, we have been heavily involved in the creation of a world-class Marine Science Research Centre at the University of Khorfakkan in Sharjah, that will see researchers working to find global solutions to ocean challenges.
Nine subjects in the world’s top 50 – the QS World University Subject Rankings 2025*.
*Archaeology, Classics and Ancient History, Mining Engineering, Earth (& Marine) Sciences, English, Environmental Science, Geography, Geology, Sports and Health Sciences.
Exeter is the first official member of the QS Responsible AI Consortium*.
*The QS Responsible AI Consortium offers universities and business schools worldwide a forum for integrating and advancing AI in higher education.
One of only four in the Russell Group with ‘Triple’ Gold*.
*Rated Gold Overall and in both Student Experience and Student Outcomes aspect ratings in the Teaching Excellence Framework 2023.
We’re also incredibly grateful for the support of the Ruler of Sharjah, His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, whose generosity towards our University has most recently seen him make a significant pledge towards the construction of the Al Qasimi Building on Streatham Campus. Recognising the longstanding friendship and significant contribution he has made to our University during four decades, last summer we were honoured to bestow upon His Highness our inaugural Chancellor’s Medal.
We have made wonderful progress this year, but we cannot deny that the UK higher education sector is facing unprecedented financial challenges. Responding to this has been our major focus for more than two years, and much work has been done to sustain our financial resilience against the headwinds, whilst also protecting and enhancing the student experience and outcomes. I want to reassure you that this is of the utmost importance to me and my senior team.
Thank you again for your ongoing support. As the pages of this magazine show, it makes all the difference to our students and our global research. We continue to be so proud of our alumni community, and I hope to meet many more of you at events in the coming year. Until that time, I hope you enjoy catching up on the latest news from your University.
Best wishes,
Professor Lisa Roberts FRSB FRSA
President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Exeter.
