News and events

Celebrating our students' success

Published 23 July 2010

Graduating students are celebrating a host of triumphs as they collect their awards: a dream come true, a major stride forward on their career path, and in some cases, triumph over adversity.

Every success tells a story and here are just some of our tales….

Ian Mutenda – Brighton Business School

Fantasy football has reached new parts of the world through a new text message system, thanks to Ian Mutenda (Accounting and Finance BA(Hons)).

Ian Mutenda Ian runs The Big Impression, a company set up in Uganda one year ago with limited means and limited time while he was studying at Brighton.

Ian noted the huge following the English premier football league has in his home country and wanted to establish a fantasy football service similar to the plethora of competitions available in the UK over the internet.

But Uganda does not have the high-speed internet connections that the UK enjoys so Ian came up with the idea of playing the game via text messaging, hooking into the approximate 10 million mobile handsets currently in use in Uganda.

Ian, whose project won an award and £2,000 in the university's research and innovation awards, is now dedicating himself full-time to his company and he is looking to expand the service into Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda.

Judges for the 'Best Trading Entrepreneur' category said: "The fantasy football idea has fantastic commercial potential and is a worthy winner."

Ian was accepted at four universities before choosing to study at Brighton. He said: "I heard a lot of good things about the Business School which helped me make up my mind. I have learned more than I could have asked for and this has helped prepare me for what I am hoping will be a long and successful career in business."

Visit the Brighton Business School website.

Roanna Simmons – Chelsea School

Roanna played for 10 years for the Great Britain deaf women's football team and now works part-time at Fulham FC Foundation as head coach of the Disability Centre of Excellence.

Roanna Simmons Recently retired from playing for her country due to injury, Roanna is continuing her career in sport after gaining a BA(Hons) in Sports Coaching and Development.

Roanna was selected for the GB Deaf Women's team in 2000 when it was first established. The highlight of her career came in 2005 when the GB team won bronze at the Deaflympics in Melbourne. She later underwent reconstruction surgery on a knee after tearing a ligament and, after nine months of rehabilitation and training, she fought her way back to fitness.

She continued playing but has now decided to leave the international stage and is looking at taking up another sport - hockey.

Roanna was a recipient of one of the university's disability scholarships which play a key role in the development of talented athletes by providing financial, sports science and mentoring support. Roanna credits the university with helping her achieve success: "The university has been so supportive in my three years of studying – I don't know how to thank them enough."

The scholarship, supported through philanthropic donations to the university, helped her travel to GB training and fitness weekends: "But it was't just about money the university gave me. It was also about the help and support I received."

She singled out Sarah Hogg, director of sport and recreation with Sport Brighton and Dan Temple, sports science support officer: "The support they gave me after my knee surgery was tremendous."

Visit the Chelsea School website.

Suzie Kitson – Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Suzie suffered 21 fractures in a road crash and had to start medical school in a wheelchair.

Suzie Kitson Not only did she gain her medical degree with distinction but she shared the Brighton and Hove Youth Charitable Trust award for outstanding personal achievement for graduating while overcoming significant physical challenges.

Her accident happened in 2004, just months before starting her studies. She spent four months in hospital and underwent three major operations before she was able to start her course.

She says: "I worked hard on my recovery, with physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, and was walking with just one stick by the end of my first year. I had an operation every holiday during my second and third years at BSMS (Brighton and Sussex Medical School) and ended up doing my medicine rotation on crutches whilst recovering from a particularly nasty operation."

She thanks her parents: "They provided me with an amazing amount of support and I wouldn't have got through the course without them", and her friend Suzie who "has looked after me when I've needed it and helped me through."

On her achievement she says: "I feel very proud to have gained my degree with distinction considering everything that I have had to cope with along with the stress of studying medicine."

Suzie will now be working at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, and is intending to pursue a career as a GP.

Visit the Brighton and Sussex Medical School website.