Read about the Westminster Alumni Award finalists in this category and vote for who you think deserves to win. Voting closes at 11.59pm BST on Monday 20 July.
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Finalists
Dafina Halili
Diversity and the Media MA, 2014
After completing her MA, Dafina Halili returned to Prishtina and joined Kosovo 2.0, an independent media platform in Kosovo. She has since become one of Kosovo’s most recognised journalists covering human rights, social justice and communities excluded from mainstream narratives. Over the past decade, her work has combined investigative reporting, human rights journalism and narrative storytelling. Her stories are grounded in rigorous reporting, while following lived experiences, exposing institutional failures and challenging the silences, stereotypes and exclusions that shape public life. She has reported on women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, the discrimination of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, and war crimes.
She has received recognition from the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, the EU Award for Investigative Journalism and Kosovo’s prestigious Rexhai Surroi Journalism Award, which she has won twice. Her reporting on the experiences of men who survived wartime sexual violence was shortlisted for the Fetisov Journalism Awards.
Lanre Rotimi
Project Management MSc, 2014
As Cybersecurity Program Manager at Uptime Institute, Lanre Rotimi operates at the intersection between cyber resilience, critical infrastructure and economic continuity. He leads the design and deployment of cybersecurity capabilities for the data centres on which the global economy increasingly depends. In an era of profound interdependence between physical systems, IT, OT and IoT, his work centres on treating cyber risk not as a discrete technical issue, but as a question of systemic resilience, operational trust and national capability.
For more than a decade, he has advised nation states, hyperscalers and colocation providers on cyber resilience, governance and operational continuity, while supporting specialist teams across more than 120 countries. He helps boards and operators turn complex technical exposure into clear, defensible decisions grounded in recognised frameworks and real-world operating discipline.
Lanre also speaks at international forums, leads webinars, publishes regularly and has trained and mentored more than 100 cybersecurity professionals.
Mengmeng Wu
Music Business Management MA, 2015
Mengmeng Wu is the founder and General Manager of WE International Music & Arts (WEIMA), an internationally recognised cultural platform that received letters of recognition from the Office of HM The Queen and support from Arts Council England. She is a UK-based guzheng performer and cultural entrepreneur dedicated to advancing Chinese traditional music on the international stage.
Since graduating, she has built a distinctive career that bridges artistic excellence and cultural leadership. She has performed at leading venues including the UK Houses of Parliament, Blackheath Halls and major international cultural events across the UK and Europe. Notably, she was the first guzheng performer invited to perform at 10 Downing Street during the tenure of former Prime Minister Theresa May.
In 2019, she released her album The Art of Chinese Guzheng, with the track Pink Lotus being broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and receiving critical acclaim.
Pratik Sonawane
Marketing Management MSc, 2020
Since graduating, Pratik Sonwane has built a unique career that bridges high-performance sport and strategic marketing leadership. In 2022, he became the Indian National Car Racing Champion, earning three prestigious national recognitions from MRF Tyres, FMSCI and Autosport India Magazine in 2023.
Alongside his motorsport career, he has established himself as a thought leader and public speaker. He was invited to speak at TEDx Bengaluru in 2024 on The Power of Now, followed by roles as Keynote Speaker and Expert Panel Moderator at the National Games in Dehradun. In 2025, he continued this journey with a TEDx talk in Mumbai on Anitya – The Art of Uncertainty.
Professionally, he leads digital marketing for four brands within the Collective Heads Experiential Marketing group, driving growth, brand strategy and innovation across diverse verticals. In recognition of his contributions, he was honoured with the BW Marketing World 40 Under 40 – Future Masters Award in 2026.