Some of our Alumni in the Spotlight - February 2017

Sonia Flynn, BA Hons Applied Languages 1997, Coleraine

Rosamund Bennett Ulster University alumna Sonia Flynn, Vice-President of SoundCloud, the world’s largest music and audio platform, has been named as First Trust Bank/Ulster University Distinguished Graduate of the Year.

Sonia, who received the award in December, graduated from Ulster University in 1997 with a BA Hons Applied Languages. She is responsible for the global expansion of SoundCloud, which already has over 172 million monthly listeners.

Prior to her role with SoundCloud, Sonia was director for community operations for Facebook Ireland and was appointed managing director in 2011, managing Facebook’s rapid growth in Dublin to become a base for up to 1,000 employees. At the time she was one of the youngest people in Europe leading an EMEA technology headquarters.

Sonia has also spearheaded moves to stamp out online bullying and was rated one of the most influential and powerful women in business by the ‘Irish Independent’. One of the few female managing directors in the technology sector internationally, she is hailed as a role model for young women considering careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.

Nominate a Distinguished Graduate - If you know an amazing, talented and worthy Ulster University graduate, who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in their chosen field why not nominate them for this prestigious award for 2017/2018. The nomination process will be open in February and the Development and Alumni Relations Office can offer advice and guidance where needed so please contact: alumni@ulster.ac.uk or tel: 028 9536 7486.

Image: Sonia with, from left: Mark McKeown, First Trust Bank; Dr James Nesbitt, Chancellor; and Edward Friel, Director, Development and Alumni Relations

Source: Ulster University

Brendan Mooney, DSc 2013, and BSc Hons Computing Science 1989, Jordanstown

Brendan Mooney, Ulster Univeresity alumnus and chief executive of Belfast-based software firm Kainos, is officially Ireland's top entrepreneur.

The 49-year-old software engineer was named the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year for 2016 at a televised awards ceremony in Dublin attended by more than 1,500 business leaders and guests including An Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Brendan is the third outright Northern Ireland winner in the history of the awards initiative, following in the footsteps of Dr Peter Fitzgerald, managing director of Randox Laboratories in Crumlin (2004) and Brian Conlon, founder of First Derivatives in Newry (2010).

Brendan - who was also named EY International Entrepreneur Of The Year in Dublin - has more than 25 years’ of technical, business development and management experience.

He joined Kainos in 1989 as a graduate software engineer before moving into a number of technical and commercial roles and then becoming its managing director in 2001.

In addition to his role at Kainos, Brendan has been a non-executive director at Meridio, Property News, the Probation Service for Northern Ireland and, until recently, was a serving Lay Magistrate.

Following his overall EY success, he will now go on to represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Monte Carlo in June, competing against 60 other leading entrepreneurs from across the globe.

The 24 finalists in last year's EY initiative - seven of whom came from the north - represented companies which collectively employ more than 3,000 people and last year generated revenues in excess of half a billion euro.

Source: The Irish News

Sinead Dillon, MSc and PGC Computing and Information Systems 2000/1997, and BA Hons Accounting 1991, Jordanstown

Rosamund Bennett Ulster alumna Sinead Dillon, Principal Consultant at leading global ICT solutions company Fujitsu, has been recognised for outstanding professional services by Women in Business at its annual awards gala.

With over 20 years’ experience in the ICT industry, Sinead is responsible for developing and growing Fujitsu’s business in the private and public sector in Northern Ireland. As well as applauding Sinead’s contribution to corporate professional services, the judges recognised Sinead’s dedication to engaging young people in IT through educational outreach programmes which is inspiring the next generation of technology leaders.

Image: Darina Armstrong from Progressive Building Society and Roseann Kelly from Women in Business present Fujitsu’s Sinead Dillon (centre) with the Women in Business Award for Best in Professional Services, Corporate.

Source: Syncni

Colin Williams, BA Hons Design 1995, Belfast

Colin Williams, Ulster University graduate and Creative Director of Sixteen South, has won the prestigious ‘Independent Production Company of the Year’ BAFTA at the British Academy Children’s Awards. The awards ceremony which honour the very best in children’s media, was held at the Roundhouse in London in November 2016.

The Belfast-based animation company is best known for Lily’s Driftwood Bay, a mixed media animated show about a little girl who creates an imaginary world from treasures she finds washed up on the beach. It’s the first international series of its kind to be created and produced completely in Northern Ireland. It has been sold to over 130 countries and airs locally on Nick Jr, Milkshake, RTÉ2, RTÉjr and Netflix. Sixteen South is also currently working on three new productions including Claude, an adaptation of the best-selling book series by Alex T Smith which has been picked up by Disney Junior and is due to air in 50 eleven minute instalments this year.

The company recently opened a new £1million studio and currently employs over 100 people.

Colin said: “I am stunned and over the moon to win this incredibly special award. To win a BAFTA is brilliant – but to win this, the mother-of-all-BAFTAs is just phenomenal for us because it recognises the combined output of all our shows in production and in development. We were nominated alongside three wonderful studios and genuinely didn’t expect to win. This means so much – it is a huge accolade for everyone in Sixteen South but also an important statement about the quality of work coming from Northern Ireland right now.”

The Children’s BAFTA success follows on fromLily’s Driftwood Bay winning the ‘Children’s and/or Animation’ category at the Royal Television Society Awards for Northern Ireland.

Both series received funding from Northern Ireland Screen supported by Invest NI.

Colin said: “I am indebted to the commitment of the incredible team that I have around me who share my ideals to make shows with passion, heart and quality. We are also indebted to the support of Northern Ireland Screen who have backed us from day one and who continue to believe in us.”

For more about the Company follow this link: Sixteen South

Heiko Claussen, MEng Electronic Systems 2005, Jordanstown

Ulster University graduate wins Inventor of the Year 2016 award in the young talent category of Siemens.

For the young researcher, this specifically means getting additional benefits from existing data that has been collected. To this end, Heiko develops self-learning systems that process data in real time and notice immediately, for example, if a machine is no longer running as it should.

Read the full story

Source: Graduate

Suzanne Wylie, BSc Hons Environmental Health 1988, Jordanstown

Rosamund Bennett Belfast city's 'unelected first woman' has been honoured with one of this year's top business accolades.

Suzanne Wylie, Ulster University alumna and chief executive of Belfast City Council, scooped the coveted Outstanding Business Woman of the Year crown at the sixth annual Northern Ireland Women in Business Awards.

Since taking up the key administrative post in July 2014 she has steered the city council through Local Government Reform, the most significant change the organisation and the sector has experienced in decades.

The judges said "her business acumen and energy know no bounds".

She was among more than a dozen winners at the Alexander Mann Solutions-sponsored ceremony in the Ramada Plaza, a night of glitz, glamour and high entertainment attended by more than 400 people from the north's business community.

Ms Wylie is responsible for a budget in the hundreds of millions of pounds and oversees the delivery of services to more than 330,000 residents within Northern Ireland's largest local authority, which she has served for more than 25 years.

She stepped up into the top role from that of director of the council's Health and Environmental Services, and prior to that she worked in the development department as head of urban development. In addition to her onerous council work the mother-of-three sits on a number of boards including Belfast City Centre Management and The Simon Community, and she also holds an honours degree in environmental health and a masters degree in administration.

She has been front and centre of a range of initiatives to help propel Belfast into a major European force, and was in London presenting proposals to give Belfast more powers and to seek a 'City Deal'.

Image: From left, Irish News business editor Gary McDonald, Rosaleen Blair of Alexander Mann Solutions, Suzanne Wylie of Belfast City Council, former tánaiste Mary Harney, Imelda McMillen from Women in Business and Roseanne Kelly from Women in Business at the awards ceremony. Photo by Declan Roughan

Source: The Irish News

Dr Hugh Kelly, PhD Art Design and the Built Environment, 2011

Rosamund Bennett The Real Estate Institute at Lincoln Center, based at Fordham University in New York, has recently announced that Ulster University alumnus, Hugh F Kelly, will be Special Advisor to their world-class professional certificate program. Dr Kelly will be responsible for guiding the direction of academic programs, developing content, recruiting faculty and performing industry outreach.

Anthony Davidson, Dean of Fordham’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies said “The appointment of Hugh Kelly as Special Advisor further positions the Fordham Real Estate Institute as the leader in professional certificate programs in the real estate arena. He has a proven track record in business and academics, and we are pleased to have him join us as we launch this new endeavor.”

In addition to his work with the Fordham Real Estate Institute at Lincoln Center, Dr Kelly also heads his own consulting practice, Hugh F Kelly Real Estate Economics. He previously served as Clinical Professor in New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, where he taught for more than 30 years. Prior to 2001, he was chief economist for Landauer Associates, one of the USA’s most prominent commercial property consulting firms.

For more information on the Fordham Real Estate Institute at Lincoln Center visit fordham.edu/realestate

Source: Graduate

Professor Chris Nugent, PGC University Teacher 2002 Coleraine, and BEng Hons Electronic Systems 1995, Jordanstown

Alumnus, Professor Chris Nugent, received Ulster University’s Distinguished Senior Research Fellowship Award in 2016. He was appointed as a Lecturer at the University in 2000 and became a Professor of Biomedical Engineering in 2008. He established and leads the Smart Environments Research Group and has been Director of the Computer Science Research Institute since 2015.

Professor Nugent’s research focuses on intelligent data analysis for Smart Environments and the design and evaluation of pervasive and mobile solutions within the context of ambient assisted living. He has been specifically recognised for his world leading research relating to technology aids for persons with dementia. He has a very impressive research output record and has secured external funding of almost £14 million.

Professor Nugent is a highly respected academic internationally and has held Visiting Professor positions at the University of Florence and Lulea Technical University. He is currently a Visiting Professor in Information Sciences at Halmstad University, Sweden and was an international Scholar at Kyung Hee University, South Korea.

In addition to excellence in research, Professor Nugent has been mentoring undergraduate students through to their postgraduate studies and for a number throughout their academic careers. He has a strong interest and track record in research informed teaching and has developed modules related to Emerging Healthcare Technologies for both postgraduate and undergraduate courses. Professor Nugent has demonstrated substantive leadership achievements and sustained a world-leading research profile.

Source: Graduate

Gerard Carlile, BA Hons European Business Studies 2001, Coleraine

Rosamund Bennett Gerry Carlile: "For a boy from the Falls Road to end up dealing with Rangers has made an interesting journey for me"

Ulster University alumnus, West Belfast football agent and entrepreneur Gerry Carlile is fast-becoming as recognisable a face as some of the top international football stars he represents

He has rubbed shoulders with no less than Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers, former Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson and worked with Belfast boxing sensation Carl Frampton.

Starting out life on the Falls Road, in the space of a decade Gerry has gone from selling cars to top football agent, as well as running a handful of restaurants along the way.

Now, the 38-year-old is expanding into the world of public relations and growing his firm the Evolve Group. "I became the first football agent in Northern Ireland in 2007," he said."The company started to develop and grow fairly quickly."

Down the years he's worked with some of Northern Ireland's top footballers, including Niall McGinn, Kyle Lafferty, Paddy McCourt and Alan Mannus.

Gerry says his entrepreneurial spirit came from his father, also called Gerry, who is a retired teacher.

"My father was a schoolteacher and always said, he reckoned I had the ability to be an entrepreneur. I knew I was always going to work for myself," added Gerry.

Asked where he sees his business going next, Gerry said: "The football business is steady, it's doing great. I want to develop the PR business over the course of the next two years. I think there are some good PR firms in Belfast, but there's room for one more."

For full story go to: Belfast Telegraph

Robert Colhoun, AB Building Surveying 2011, Jordanstown

Rosamund Bennett Robert Colhoun, who attended the University as a mature student in 2006, has set up an online Building Directory for construction-related companies and professional individuals to advertise their business. It is a resource for people contemplating building works, whether a residential or a commercial property.

Since leaving University Robert's life has changed dramatically with the loss of both of his parents, in a few short years he has become the carer for his sister who has a learning disability. He has stayed in his job as a postman and works there on a part-time basis.

He also has turned his hand to some music although he knew he could sing he didn’t realize that he would produce his own music and that it would be available to a worldwide audience on the internet. An Akademia winner for Best Country EP in January 2016 and Finalist in the contest for Best Country EP for 2016.

For more information on the Buildling Directory visit Facebook

Source: Graduate