First UCEM Associate Fellows inaugurated
Posted on: 21 June, 2019
Twelve outstanding alumni ambassadors were recognised with the inaugural awarding of UCEM Associate Fellowship today.
All recipients were invited to UCEM’s office in Reading for a celebratory luncheon with Principal, Ashley Wheaton, Deputy Principal, Jane Fawkes and Vice Chair, Dr Stephen Jackson, with certificates marking the achievement presented to the attendees.
UCEM is committed to helping students realise their potential in the Built Environment and these awards recognise a dozen of our recent graduates who have made a positive impact in the sector early in their careers.
The award of Associate Fellowship recognises those who have a close connection with UCEM and promote the institution in their workplace and at external UCEM events. The Associate Fellowship scheme was launched by UCEM’s Board of Trustees earlier this year and is designed to complement the established Honorary Fellowships which goes to those who are more senior in their careers. Becoming an Associate Fellow provides scope for later being a UCEM Honorary Fellow.
So, now we know what it’s all about, who are the first ever UCEM Associate Fellows?
Claire Brown
Claire was a highly regarded Student Representative in her time at UCEM. She did lots to engage with students on her programme as well as students across other MSc programmes and attended UCEM’s Tutor Conference once. Claire was also shortlisted for the Academic Excellence Award at the 2017 UCEM Property Awards. She now uses her MSc in Building Surveying as an Associate Building Surveyor for Savills.
Laura Collins
Laura graduated from UCEM in 2010 with a BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying and won the Alumni of the Year Award at the 2017 UCEM Property Awards. At 23, Laura was one of the world’s youngest Chartered Surveyors passing her RICS APC on her first attempt. She was also the recipient of the Best Woman Quantity Surveyor at the European Women in Construction & Engineering Awards in 2016 and was named UK Young Surveyor of the Year at the RICS Matrics Young Surveyor of the Year Awards in 2018. She is now an APC Assessor for RICS and is an Associate M&E Quantity Surveyor at Rider Levett Bucknall.
Jane Henshaw
Jane graduated from UCEM in March 2018 with an MBA in Construction and Real Estate. She was also the winner of the Academic Excellence Award at the 2018 UCEM Property Awards. Jane now works at Cadogan as Projects Director and has over 20 years’ experience in the construction sector undertaking building surveying work, project management and design services.
David Mason
David was UCEM’s first ever Student Trustee and was a Lead Student Representative. He graduated UCEM’s MSc Building Surveying programme with a Distinction in 2017. While David was Lead Student Representative, he worked to increase student engagement across UCEM and was shortlisted for the Academic Excellence Award at the 2018 UCEM Property Awards. He now works at the University of Winchester as a Project Manager.
Dritan Uka
Dritan was an Academic Board Student Rep at UCEM and graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Building Surveying in 2016. Dritan was nominated for the Alumni of the Year Award at the 2017 UCEM Property Awards. He is now Head of Strategic Asset Management at Optivo.
Lucy Winzer
Lucy was awarded her Diploma in Surveying Practice in 2009 and followed that up with the award of a BSc (Hons) in Real Estate Management in 2012 with First Class Honours. She is now Property Director at Aldi. She gave a testimonial and was featured in a previous UCEM prospectus and was on the shortlist for the Alumni of the Year Award at the 2018 UCEM Property Awards.
Deborah McGhee
Deborah was awarded an MSc Conservation of the Historic Environment and won the Academic Excellence Award at the 2016 UCEM Property Awards. She is currently Head of Building Operations at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
Elias Crang
Elias was the winner of the Academic Excellence Award at the 2017 UCEM Property Awards and graduated from the MSc Quantity Surveying programme. He is currently Assistant Quantity Surveyor for Kier.
Jonah Mastin
Jonah gained First Class Honours on the BSc (Hons) Building Surveying programme which he graduated from in 2010 and then gained a Distinction on UCEM’s MSc Construction Management programme in 2018. He was shortlisted for an Academic Excellence Award at the 2018 UCEM Property Awards and was the first winner of the Peter Goodacre Award – awarded to someone who has been an outstanding example of academic excellence. He currently works for TMCS Design Consultancy.
Nicola Dixon-Brown
Nicola gained a Distinction from the Postgraduate Diploma in Surveying in 2009 and was the winner of the Alumni of the Year Award at the 2018 UCEM Property Awards. She is now a Director at CBRE Asset Services and has been involved in the RICS Matrics scheme for several years. She also won the RICS Matrics Young Surveyor of the Year in 2017.
Sara Kelleher
Previously one of UCEM’s Student Representatives, featuring in one of our promotional publications. She left UCEM with a BSc (Hons) in Estate Management and now works as a Surveyor at JLL.
Jesse Meek
Jesse was a Student Representative and previous UCEM Alumni Ambassador. He appeared in the UCEM Prospectus in 2014 and left with a BSc in Construction Management. Jesse also featured in one of the ‘Why study with us?’ publications. He is now Head of Property Asset Management at Sovereign.
UCEM Principal, Ashley Wheaton, commented: “I was honoured to inaugurate our first ever Associate Fellows today, all of whom are familiar faces from our events over the past few years. Every one of them is deserving of this honour which is a fantastic addition to our established Honorary Fellow programme. I look forward to continuing to see our Associate Fellows at future events and deepening the link between UCEM and them all in a more formal way.
“They have all achieved so much in their short careers to date and I am sure we will hear plenty more about the impact they go on to make within the sector.”
