Our exclusive student and alumni centenary event: What you need to know

Posted on: 9 September, 2019

We are now just two days away from our Centenary Projects for Good: The Built Environment of the Future event. The event is a rare opportunity for a large number of UCEM students and alumni to meet in one place, at a stunning venue with three inspiring alumni speakers. There will also be a Projects for Good exhibition showcasing the best student and alumni projects on sustainability which were submitted for the initiative we ran in unison with the National Union of Students (NUS).

We cannot wait to welcome you to Lincoln’s Inn – just a stone’s throw away from where it all began for the institution 100 years ago! – and to help you make the most of your evening, here’s a guide to the event:

Get involved on Twitter!

We will have a big screen at Lincoln’s Inn displaying all tweets from the evening using the hashtags ‘#UCEM100’ and ‘#UCEMPFG’. So if you want to see your selfie on the big screen, get involved! Please note that there will be a time lag between the tweets being published and them appearing on the big screen, during which any unsuitable content will be deleted so you have been warned!

Admire your peers’ work on sustainability in the workplace

From 5.30pm, you will be able to look around our Projects for Good exhibition, showcasing 13 submissions from our international student and alumni community. The submissions were produced in response to the Projects for Good initiative we ran with NUS which asked participants to produce a project which would create positive change for sustainability in their workplace.

We were delighted with the efforts we received and we hope you will be impressed with what was produced to bring about positive, sustainable change in a tangible way.

Absorb your peers’ wisdom

We have lined up three superb speakers for you. Dame Alison Nimmo DBE, Michael Moir and Lucy Winzer will give their perspectives on ‘Projects for Good’ and share how they have made a positive difference to the Built Environment. All three speakers have made a huge impact in their careers and we are very proud to count them as part of our wide alumni community.

Not only will the speeches be a highlight but take a look around Lincoln’s Inn where you will be joined by hundreds of alumni and current students. The event is a fantastic opportunity to get to know your peers and extend your network of industry professionals!

Own a replica of HRH’s tie

We were delighted to welcome our Royal Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales, to our HQ in Reading earlier this year for a visit to mark our centenary year. In honour of the visit, we gave our Royal Patron an exclusive centenary tie. Only 100 such ties were produced and HRH received the first. We will be selling some of the remaining ties on Wednesday so, if you’d like to say you own the same tie as our Royal Patron, head to our merchandise stand and swoop quickly!

Other merchandise is also available

The aforementioned merchandise stand won’t only be stocking ties but we will have Oswald the Owl fluffy toys, UCEM hoodies and more from our centenary web shop if you are hoping to take home a memento from the evening.

Grab a booklet or two

Upon arrival, you will receive the event programme featuring forewords from UCEM Principal, Ashley Wheaton, and UCEM Chairman, John Gellatly, speaker biographies and a reminder of the timings for the evening. Feel free also to pick up one of the history booklets which tell you more about our first 100 years and hopefully contains a nugget of information or two which you won’t have heard about before!

Familiarise yourself with the location

By now, you should have received an email confirming your attendance which contains a map of the venue and instructions of how to access the building. To avoid any confusion on the night, we strongly advise you read through the instructions and pre-plan your route to Lincoln’s Inn so your journey is stress-free.

Enjoy yourself!

Our most important snippet of advice for the evening! Centenary years don’t come around too often (!) and this unique event is just that – unique. The event is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to congregate right next to our original home in London and celebrate with hundreds of fellow students/alumni. We urge you to take a look at the Projects for Good exhibition and listen to our speakers but don’t forget to celebrate! The one thing uniting everyone at Lincoln’s Inn, whether student, alumni or staff, is UCEM and we are quite rightly proud to have made it to our milestone year. As such, all in attendance will be part of history and we are confident UCEM’s birthday party will be an unforgettable occasion!