Engaging our business alumni
Julianne Reddin's passion for engaging and inspiring the University's Business School alumni has helped a create an active and thriving community of graduates.
My background
I’ve always been passionate about connecting and engaging others, so after leaving the University of St Andrews (where I studied English Literature) I was delighted to secure a role as PR and Policy Administrator at the Royal College of General Practitioners, the professional membership body for family doctors in the UK and overseas. This role enabled me to develop a solid background in PR, communications and policy and I was eventually promoted to a new role managing membership engagement across Scotland, leading a team which oversaw the development and delivery of national marketing communications, projects, policy campaigns and strategy.
From there I moved into the arts sector as Development Manager for the Centre for the Moving Image (which runs the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Filmhouse) where I led a team with responsibility for fundraising, partnerships and stakeholder management; a role which later expanded to include communications, audience development and external affairs. There has always been a strong link to education throughout my career and so the University of Edinburgh was a natural next step for me and I joined the Business School back in 2015.
I haven’t had a specific plan or goal in mind as I’ve navigated by career so far, though I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in really interesting and diverse roles for companies which I have felt inspired by. I’ve also enjoyed having the chance to work across a few different sectors.
I’m still extremely passionate about film and the arts, so in addition to my role at the University I’m a trustee of a charity called Screen Education Edinburgh which transforms the lives of young people and new talent through film, with a special focus on supporting those from the most disadvantaged communities.
At Edinburgh
In my role as Alumni Relations Manager for the Business School I’m responsible for work which supports our international alumni network, by ensuring that our alumni have a lifelong relationship with the School and feel supported throughout their career. In addition to working with colleagues across the School, the team works very closely with the University’s central Development and Alumni team as well as others across the institution and I’m always struck by how much the University values its alumni community and how integral this network is to everything we do.
The Business School itself has a thriving alumni network linking around 16,000 alumni in over 120 countries worldwide and we work hard to ensure that our alumni are as closely integrated with the School and our students as possible. Our alumni are involved across all School activities and in the last year alone over 150 alumni have supported our students as guest speakers, trek hosts, event panellists and more. The alumni we work with are extremely inspirational - their enthusiasm for Edinburgh and their willingness to take time out of their busy careers to connect with our students is second to none.
Something I know...
The Business School is a leading force when it comes to diversity; over 40% of our faculty is female. Our MBA programme is in the top 5 for gender balance, according to the Financial Times MBA Top 100.
Our very first business graduate, nearly 100 years ago, was a woman named Margaret Stevenson Miller, who went on to become a lecturer, researcher and women's rights campaigner. We’re entering our centenary celebrations, and excited to celebrate our heritage, but also what makes us a progressive School, in areas like gender and social impact.