The winners of the Westminster Alumni Awards 2026 have been announced, recognising the achievements of graduates from the University of Westminster, its predecessors, the Polytechnic of Central London and Regent Street Polytechnic, and its Transnational Education partner institutions. The awards celebrate the variety of ways in which Westminster graduates make an impact across the globe.
In 2026, almost 400 submissions were received for the Westminster Alumni Awards. Colleagues from across the University helped with shortlisting, leading to four outstanding finalists being selected in each category. Almost 5,000 participants from around the world then took part in the public vote to select the seven winners.
The winner of the Contribution to the Creative Industries Award, which honours graduates who have demonstrated excellence within the field of arts and culture, is multidisciplinary creative Weifu Li. Since graduating with a Global Media Business MA in 2022, Li has gone onto build a global audience as a digital content creator, comedian and singer. With over three million followers across Xiaohongshu, Douyin, TikTok, WeChat Channels and Bilibili, Li uses storytelling across platforms to create global cultural impact through short-form content centring on female empowerment, self-expression and cross-cultural connection.
Marlena Hien, who graduated with a Public Relations MA in 2010, has won the Entrepreneurial Award. Marlena has built one of Europe's most successful D2C consumer brands, BEARS WITH BENEFITS, a female health supplement brand created by women, for women. Since its launch in 2017, the 100% female-founded business now generates €60m in annual revenue across ten countries including the US and is stocked by leading European retailers. The brand was named in the Financial Times Europe's 1000 Fastest-Growing Companies of 2025.
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognises graduates for their ongoing and significant contributions over the years, at any stage of their life, and was awarded to Filipa de Mira Godinho Grego Leal. Filipa graduated with a Media Studies (Print) BA Honours degree in 2000 and immediately began her career as a journalist in Portugal. Alongside her successful career in journalism, Filipa is considered one of the most important Portuguese poets of her generation and has published 16 books. She is also a screenwriter and her screenplay for the film Jogo de Damas won Best Screenplay Award at the Cyprus and Copenhagen Film Festival.
Dr Jeya Keerthi is the inaugural recipient of the new London Impact Award, which recognises alumni impact in Westminster’s local community. Jeya is a medical doctor and published author whose career spans emergency medicine, creative writing and social care. After completing her Creative Writing: Writing the City MA in 2024, Jeya moved into elderly social care and joined a London nursing home group as Business Development Manager, where she supported hundreds of families through complex care decisions while partnering with the NHS to ease pressure on hospital beds. Promoted within a year to the Registered Manager of an 86-bed nursing home and rehab unit, she led a team of 100 colleagues and grew the occupancy by 200%. She has since been offered a regional role overseeing multiple care homes across London.
Lanre Rotimi, a 2014 Project Management MSc graduate, has won the Outstanding Achievement Award for his work across 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, and has advised nation states and cloud service providers on cyber resilience, governance and operational continuity for more than a decade. Lanre speaks at international forums, leads webinars, publishes regularly and has trained and mentored more than 100 cybersecurity professionals.
The Recent Graduate Award went to Malek Romdhane, who graduated from the Sustainability Management and Innovation MSc course in 2022. Malek is a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Youth Negotiator working on Climate Adaptation and Action for Climate Empowerment. She has attended six COP summits, co-led the creation of the Youth Development Plan and Agenda, and presented at the UN 2023 Water Conference. As the UN Conference of Youth (COY16) Regional Coordinator for North and Central Africa, she helped draft the Global Youth Statement, which was read at the COP26 Youth Headline Event. Malek was nominated as a Young Climate Champion by Tunisia's Ministry of Environment.
Lastly, the Social Impact Award, which celebrates alumni who have made a positive contribution to others' lives, was awarded to 2010 International Liaison and Communication MA alumnus Francesca Zoppi. Francesca is an international development professional who liaises with governments and organisations to advance sustainable development, gender equality, youth empowerment, sustainable finance and strategic partnerships across the United Nations system. She is also the Founder and CEO of VEA, which advances sustainability through strategy, projects, partnerships, sustainable finance, innovation and tailored advisory services, with the vision of making it understandable, accessible and achievable in everyday life for everyone.
Find out more about the University of Westminster Alumni Awards 2026 winners and finalists.
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