At 8.30 on Monday 7 October, we will all be cheering on our latest Durham team on their first appearance in the BBC2 competition, University Challenge.

Our recently ennobled alumnus Baron (Graham) Brady, previously a long-serving Conservative MP, has published a memoir of his long political career

Durham graduates are some of the most sought after, offering a range of knowledge, skills and experience developed by excellent teaching, internationally rated research and a wealth of opportunities outside the traditional curriculum.

Our students, staff and alumni continue to represent Durham at international levels across the sporting spectrum this summer. From competing in the Olympic Games in Paris, the World Rowing Championships in Canada, and the Paralympic Games, our record year for sport shows no signs of slowing.

We have been shortlisted as a finalist for the Sustainability Institution of the Year category award in this year's UK & Ireland Green Gown Awards for our project entitled Turning Sustainability Ambition into Action, which recognises our continued efforts to deliver on our sustainability ambition.

Alumnus, Timpson Group CEO and newly appointed Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation, James Timpson OBE, visited Durham recently to be awarded an honorary Doctor of Science in our Summer Congregation ceremony.

We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for three Green Gown Awards that recognise exceptional sustainability initiatives in the higher and further education sector. This includes the Nature Positive category in the International Awards, and the Creating Impact category and the Sustainability Institution of the Year category in the UK & Ireland Awards.

New opportunities were forged, and long-standing relationships strengthened in a recent visit to Indonesia. A delegation, led by Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, Professor Mike Shipman, visited Indonesia in July 2024. We expanded our global network and explored opportunities to strengthen our established connections and partnerships in the region.

Durham’s annual Book Festival will return from 10 – 13 October, welcoming a host of writers from across the world and celebrating the power of the written word. We are looking forward to welcoming back Durham alumna and New York Times best-selling author Lucy Foley, to talk about her latest novel, The Guest List. Along with another alumnus Mathew Blake, who will be discussing his debut novel, Anna O.

The first phase of a long-term project to preserve and restore the Norman Chapel at Durham Castle, the oldest standing building in Durham City, has now been completed. A programme of essential work has been carried out over the past two years to preserve this important building and restore it to use.

Professor Jane Macnaughton from our Institute for Medical Humanities and Department of Anthropology has been chosen as the next Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics Governing Board.

A unique collection of family memorabilia from the Oriental Museum is being exhibited at the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura, Chiba. This special exhibition ‘Memories of the Squire Family – Mementoes of a British Engineer’, offers a glimpse into the life of a British engineering family who lived in Japan in the early 20th century.