Alumni

At Huddersfield New College, we are always looking for real life success stories from the most important people to us – the students who pass through our doors every year.

If you would like to tell us your story, please register as an Alumni of Huddersfield New College now.

• • Professor Bob Cryan

    

    Professor Bob Cryan took up the role of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield on the 1st January 2007. He was formerly Pro/Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Northumbria University (2002-6) and prior to that, Dean of Engineering at the University of Wales Swansea. Bob is proud to be a graduate of Huddersfield having obtained an Engineering 1st Class in 1986, a part-time PhD in 1992 and a DSc in 2000. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and a Fellow of the Leadership Foundation’s Top Management Programme.

    Bob is a member the HEFCE Strategic Advisory Committee for Enterprise and Skills and a member of the Universities UK Finance & Management Policy Committee. He is the immediate past-Chair of the Engineering Accreditation Board and of Yorkshire Universities. Internationally, Bob Chairs the Advisory Board for Kustar University, a private University in the United Arab Emirates, and is a Board Member of Raffles University System in Singapore.

    Bob believes that teaching should be informed by scholarship and he has remained an active researcher throughout his career. Bob has co-authored over 200 publications in the field of optical communications.

  • Professor Robert Cywinski

    

    Professor Robert Cywinski was a pupil of Huddersfield New College back in the days when it really was new but wasn’t yet a sixth form college. After A levels, he ventured across the Pennines to study Physics at the University of Manchester, staying to do a PhD at the University of Salford. He then continued research in the UK and Australia. In 1985 Bob was appointed as Lecturer in Physics at the University of Reading and in 1994 moved to the University of St Andrews as Professor of Natural Philosophy. In 2000, he became Professor of Physics and Dean of Research in the Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences at the University of Leeds, finally joining the University of Huddersfield as research Professor, subsequently being appointed Dean of Applied Sciences.

    Bob is an eminent figure in the world of particle physics and is at the forefront of research into how fundamental discoveries in physics can be used to enhance mankind’s expertise in fields as diverse as materials science, biology, archaeology and cancer treatment.

    Bob has played a significant role in international science programmes: he has been Chairman of the European Neutron Scattering Association (ENSA), and President of the International Society for Muon Spectroscopy. He acts as a scientific advisor to a number of national and international science facilities and institutions.

    Bob actively promotes the public understanding of science and has made a number of science movies, appearing as the Quantum Cowboy and working with Lord Robert Winston and Sir Patrick Stewart. He is currently a member of the team of Huddersfield Ambassadors.

  • Steven Hoggett

    

    Steven is founder member and Artistic Director with Frantic Assembly where recent director/choreographer credits include Beautiful Burnout, Othello (TMA Award – Best Director), Stockholm, pool (no water) and Dirty Wonderland. Steven worked as Associate Director / Choreographer on Black Watch for National Theatre Scotland (Olivier Award – Best Choreographer).

    As Choreographer, recent work includes Green Day’s American Idiot (Broadway), Peter & the Starcatcher (New York Theatre Workshop), Dalston Songs (ROH 2) Dido Queen of Carthage (Royal National Theatre), 365 and The Bacchae (National Theatre Scotland).

    In addition he has choreographed for a number of TV commercials and also music videos for artists such as Goldfrapp, Calvin Harris and Bat For Lashes. Along with Scott Graham he is also the author of The Frantic Assembly Book of Devised Theatre (Routledge).

  • Rashpal Khangura

    

    I left HNC in 1996 with 3 A-Levels and joined Aston University for a 4 year degree in Accountancy For Management. Obtained a 2.1 in 2000. The degree included a one year sandwich placement, in which I undertook as an auditor at the Audit Commission.

    I Re-joined the Audit Commission after completing my degree and started the three trainee scheme to become a qualified chartered accountant - which I became in 2003.

    In 2004 I left the Audit Commission to join KPMG - where I am now a Manager undertaking a range of assurance and advisory work.

    I got married in 2004 to my wife (Sukhi) and we have two girls called Kimran and Simreet.

  • Richard Ridings

    

    Richard attended Huddersfield New College in the 1970's.

    He is best known to those with young children, as he is the voice of Daddy Pig in the BAFTA Award winning animation series “Peppa Pig”.

    He attended the One year Postgraduate Course at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School after graduating from Bretton Hall College with a BA(Hons) in Drama and Theatre Studies. In 1984 he became part of John Godber’s award winning Hull Truck theatre Company.

    Around this time Richard began working regularly in film featuring as Angelo in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and as Thorfinn Skullsplitter in Terry Jone’s “Erik the Viking”.

    Over the last few years, he has worked as voiceover on an increasing number of computer games, including Risen, Fable 2,Viking;Battle for Asgard, Killzone,Shinobido, Kameo Elements of Power, Quake 3, and as the demonic mentor in Dungeon Keeper 1 & 2.

    (Source: Hobsons International, 2011)

  • Suki Samra

    

    I left HNC in 1991 with good A-level results and got a place to study Computer Science at the University of Cambridge. I studied at Fitzwilliam College.

    I completed my degree in 1994 and received a First Class honors degree.

    After that I went to the University of Manchester and received a Masters of Science by Research.

    Then I went to work for Avid in London working on Special FX software for the movie and animation studios. Eventually I moved to California and worked at Sony Pictures on the FX on Spiderman and Harry Potter amongst other movies. I became Chief Software Architect and then Director of Software. I eventually moved to Disney Animation Studios and ran the animation software teams for several years. I worked on several animated movies, including Chicken Little, Bolt and Tangled.

    Although animation was fun, I wanted to get back into doing more technical work. I joined AMD several years ago, which is the company that does CPU and GPU microprocessors. I am Senior Director of Software and manage a worldwide team of several hundred engineers. My team is responsible for the development of the graphics and computer drivers.

    I particularly wanted to thank Dr Calvert, my maths teacher at New College. I expect he has retired now.

    And most of all I wanted to thank my Physics teacher, Mick Callaghan. He also studied at Cambridge and he pushed me to apply. I owe him a lot and always wanted to thank him.

  • Clinton Simpson

    

    I was a former student at Huddersfield New College in the 1980's. I chose New College for 2 reasons initially, the first was geographic location and the second was that at the time they offered the best possibility for me to continue playing rugby, which was my life blood as a young man.

    I studied for A-Levels in English Language, Sociology & General Studies. After leaving New College, I decided to join the Army rather than go on to higher education, as was expected of me.

    I served for 24 years in the local Regiment ( 1st Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment now 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment ). I saw service in many countries of the world and active service in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq. I achieved the rank of warrant officer upon my retirement from the army.

    I currently work in public transport, as a quality & revenue inspector for Centrebus ( includes K-Line & Huddersfield Bus Co ) a job which I find very challenging & a long way from the military lifestyle but in some ways similar, in as much as to say that no two days are ever the same, the work involves an immense amount of interaction with the public and being able to be both objective and subjective to public transport locally.

    Since moving back to Huddersfield, I have lived in the Golcar ward and feel that I no longer wish to sit back and watch my environment but to become an active part of it. I am standing for election as a local councillor in the Golcar Ward.

  • Neil Smith

    Managing Director, Blacksmith Design Consultancy

    

    "I arrived at Huddersfield New College from Paddock Junior School in 1969 after passing the feared and soon to be abolished "eleven plus". Sport, as well as academic achievement was very important to New College in those days. Possibly in keeping with the public school pretensions that seemed to dominate the place at that time, we played cricket, rugby union, hockey, tennis and squash, as well as soccer, and endured the annual cross country.

    Under the watchful and always just eye of Headmaster Tom Crehan and his bunch of gowned eccentrics we studied Latin and Classical Heritage alongside the more normal curriculum. My English group had the pleasure of being taught Paradise Lost by Tom Crehan himself, in the headmasters study. Crehan having written the introduction to the edition we were studying. Great days.

    The transformation from traditional boys school to co ed sixth form college took place as I reached the lower sixth . The freedom we enjoyed seemed truly radical at the time .

    Clutching a handful of A levels, I moved to Huddersfield Polytechnic and achieved an equally modest degree in Business Studies. From there I took the obvious step into a career in design and advertising, working for a time at Leeds finest agency - Graham Poulter Partnership.

    Finally, in 1991, the temptation to go it alone resulted in the formation of Blacksmith Design Consultancy - the company I have run since and which now provides design services to Huddersfield University.

    Aside from work, it's fair to say that my passions are the entirely predictable pre occupations of wine, cooking, cinema, jazz, travel and, of course, a Harley Davidson."

  • John Tiffany

    

    John was born in Huddersfield and studied Classics and Theatre at the University of Glasgow, graduating with an MA Joint Honours degree. In 2008 John was awarded the Young Alumnus of the Year from the University.

    John was one of the inaugural Associate Directors of the National Theatre of Scotland and has been with the company since its inception in 2006. His directing work for the National Theatre of Scotland includes Peter Pan, The House of Bernarda Alba, Transform Caithness: Hunter, Be Near Me, Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us, The Bacchae, Black Watch, Elizabeth Gordon Quinn and Home: Glasgow. He also leads the National Theatre of Scotland’s Artistic Development Team, responsible for commissioning and developing new projects for the company.

    Previously he was the Associate Director of the new writing theatre company Paines Plough and the Literary Director of the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.

    Other directing work includes Jerusalem (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Las Chicas del Tres y Media Floppies (Granero Theatre, Mexico City and Edinburgh Festival Fringe), If Destroyed True, Mercury Fur and The Straits (Paines Plough), Gagarin Way, Abandonment, Among Unbroken Hearts, Perfect Days and Passing Places (Traverse, Edinburgh).

    His production of Black Watch has played to over a hundred thousand people across three continents and has garnered 22 awards. Most recently, the production won four Laurence Olivier Awards (including Best Director) and the National Theatre of Scotland won its first US award with the New York Drama Circle naming Black Watch Best Foreign Play. The production recently embarked on its third tour of the US having opened in Washington DC at the end of January 2011.

  • Ruby Wood

    

    My name is Ruby Wood, I’m a singer/songwriter from Huddersfield. I studied Music, Performing Arts, Media Studies and Art at Huddersfield New College and enjoyed it very much. I left HNC in 2005 and went on to complete a degree in Jazz Studies at Leeds College of Music.

    I have been a self employed musician since leaving university. Currently, I am involved in several projects including Hiphop/Soul group “Extra Curricular” – with fellow ex-New College students Rob Bradley (Jack Flash) and Noah Burton (who I also perform with as a duet) & Leeds/London based 7 piece Dubstep band “Submotion Orchestra”. I also sing in a 5 piece female accapella group in Leeds.

    Currently, both “Extra Curricular” and “Submotion Orchestra” are busy recording material due for release soon, and doing lots of gigs and festivals.

    Last year we were lucky enough to perform at The Big Chill, Latitude and many other UK Festivals.

    Recently, I had the opportunity to record a live session for Gilles Peterson’s Radio 1 show at the BBC Maida Vale Studios. This was a big milestone for me.