The 2023 reunion of the Dunelm Society took place at the House of Lords on November 16 and was a glittering celebration of all things Durham.

Professor Tony Fawcett has been appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education), responsible for ensuring our educational offer is high quality and innovative for all students.

The 14th series of the Great British Bake Off has reached the semi-final stage, and alumna Tasha Stones has left the tent. Her journey on the show was one filled with courage, creativity and some fabulous bakes. Our congratulations go to Tasha on reaching the semi-final!

Durham has just launched a new Alumni Angel Network in an innovative and groundbreaking venture for a UK University.

Professor Stephen Gorard and Professor Beng Huat See from our School of Education explain how their research suggests that rather than putting money into bonuses for new teachers, the government should focus on improving the overall financial rewards of teaching to increase the number of applications to teacher training.

Professor Clive Roberts has been appointed as our new Executive Dean (Science).

Shaid Mahmood, our Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion), has joined leaders from across the education sector to call for a unified funding system for English universities and further education colleges.

Durham University Chancellor, Dr Fiona Hill, met with staff, students and friends of the University as they came together to discuss the topic of regional development.

This week sees the return of Lumiere, the dazzling light art event hosted in Durham bi-annually. This year’s event includes three installations drawing on some of our ground-breaking research.

Durham University has partnered with universities in Twente (Netherlands), Barcelona (Spain) and Trieste (Italy) to form the EarthSafe Doctoral Network, which launched last month. This €2.7 million project will develop cutting-edge technology to support the transition to green energy. EarthSafe is funded by the European Commission via the Marie Sklodowska-Curie programme and UK Research and Innovation.

Professor of Astrophysics and esteemed former Durham colleague, Professor Richard Ellis CBE FRS has donated a generous prize for aspiring astronomers to assist them with their early-career ambitions.

For the first time in many years, our annual Convocation event was held in Durham on the 23 October. It proved to be a great night, combining our brilliant, multi-disciplinary research with an update on our University Strategy and an opportunity to catch up with old friends – and make new ones!