A graduate of the University of Worcester has been featured in a national campaign highlighting successful people who were the first in their family to go to university.
Kiran Sahota is featured in Universities UK's new 100 Faces campaign
Kiran Sahota is an award-winning social historian and founder of the community interest company, Believe in Me, which empowers young people and women from marginalised communities through education. Just yesterday (Sunday), Kiran and Believe in Me received the King’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award given to volunteer groups across the UK.
Kiran, who graduated from the University of Worcester in 2006 and was awarded an Honorary Degree last year in recognition of her charity and education work, is featured in the Universities UK campaign, ‘100 Faces’, which launched today (Monday, April 15).
"I learnt so much during my time at the University of Worcester," she said. "Particularly the value of digging deeper, pulling harder on the thread of a thought until you can follow it somewhere really valuable, really interesting."
Over the last 10 years, Kiran has curated three national exhibitions exploring stories of how Indian men and women have contributed towards the First and Second World War. The exhibitions have been featured on BBC Women’s Hour in the House of Lords and House of Commons, HMS President, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and other national partners.
When Kiran is not curating national projects, she is also guest lectures at various universities across the UK.
In 2021, the Prime Minister awarded Kiran the Points of Light Award, recognising her research in South Asian history, Women’s history and community outreach work. In 2012, Kiran was an Olympic Torchbearer recognising her work for education and charity and in 2022, was a torchbearer for the Commonwealth Games.
The ‘100 Faces’ campaign aims to shine a spotlight on people who were the first in their family to go to university. According to Universities UK, 71% of first-generation UK graduates said that going to university opened doors for them.
The University of Worcester is widely regarded as one of the UK’s most inclusive universities, with more than 97% of its students coming from state schools. Worcester is in the top 5 in the UK for sustained employment and/or further study five years after graduation (LEO 2023) with 96.5% of its graduates in work or further study 15 months after graduating (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2023).