17th Annual Univ Society London Dinner

Old Members and friends of Univ gathered for the 17th Annual Univ Society London Dinner on 12 May at the Lansdowne Club in Mayfair, hosted by The Master, Baroness Amos LG. Guest speaker was Dr Nisha Mehta (2000, History), National Clinical Director of Digital Primary Care at NHS England. For the first 18 months of the pandemic, Nisha was Clinical Advisor to Professor Sir Chris Whitty, England’s Chief Medical Officer. She was responsible for the rapid development and running of the Shielding Programme in England, which provided protection and priority vaccination to 3.8m clinically extremely vulnerable people.

“The dinner was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends from College and meet other old members of Univ for the first time. It’s always inspiring to hear about the fascinating range of things they’ve gone on to do with their lives, including the speaker, Nisha Mehta. Her insight into her work on the shielding programme during the Covid-19 pandemic was a real highlight of the evening.” – Lottie Hayton (2015, History)

“For Young Univites, the pandemic had made the transition away from College life a rather sharp cliff edge. So it was wonderful to catch up with old friends – not seen for many years – and to meet other Old Members. It really felt like the College was coming back together properly again and the nostalgia was palpable!” – Conrad Will (2016, History and Politics)

“It was inspiring to connect with Univites from across the generations who are making great contributions to society; especially hearing from Nisha Mehta, the speaker, who shared her recent experience in saving lives on a massive scale during the peak of the pandemic using science and technology.” – Adam CJ Park (2005, MChem Chemistry)

“I had a wonderful evening at the Univ society dinner. It was brilliant to catch up with old friends from the College, and also to meet new ones. I particularly enjoyed Nisha Mehta’s address. She provided a unique perspective on the events of the preceding years, and her insights provoked an engaging discussion. I’m very grateful to everyone who assisted in putting the event together; til next time!.” – Lauren Sutcliffe (2015, History and Politics)

Photography by N Matias