About Us

Welcome to the UNSW Alumni Association

I hope you find the information provided on our website both interesting and helpful – and that it encourages you to take advantage of the opportunity to continue your association (or to renew it!!) with our great university.

With over 170,000 members worldwide, we have much to offer in support of UNSW, our various communities, one another and, of course, future generations of students. Overseas chapters and groups are growing, with e.g. a very successful dinner held in Beijing at the end of 2006 attended by the Vice-Chancellor. In Australia, our Victorian Chapter has established a link arrangement with Graduate House, where all graduates can take advantage of a convenient “home base” when visiting Melbourne.

With the bulk of our alumni located in Sydney and throughout NSW, your Alumni Board is seeking to develop and build on successful programs such as the very popular Brain Food lecture series and the Young Alumni Drinks program. Following its 2006 strategic planning day, the Board has set up working groups to focus on promoting and growing our awards and scholarships program; supporting and developing contact and involvement with UNSW faculties, schools, residential colleges, and other groups and associations; on seeking sponsorship for activities such as Brain Food, which in turn can help to support UNSW research; and on developing vital connections with current students from their earliest days at UNSW and even before!

We are encouraged and excited by the vision and energy of our University’s leadership, and by new and close working arrangements with the UNSW Foundation. We continue to have the active involvement of Associates, Pioneers and Volunteers, each of which will greatly welcome participation by interested alumni, staff and friends. As we benefit from the strong reputation of UNSW, so that reputation can be enhanced by the giving of interest, time, expertise (e.g. in mentoring) and the financial contribution of its alumni.

The Alumni Association will very much welcome your ideas and involvement, and please keep us up-to-date with where you are and what you are doing by contacting our Alumni office on +61 2 9385 3279 or alumni@unsw.edu.au


Ian Walker

The events and achievements of the UNSW Alumni Association in 2007 are detailed in the President's Report which was presented to the AGM on 30th April 2008.
To view the Report please click here.

The Association’s mission is to build a lifelong partnership between UNSW and its worldwide Alumni that fosters their active participation in the life of the University, advances the stature of UNSW, and brings benefit to the community at large.

The Alumni Board of Governors works in partnership with the University to co-ordinate alumni programs and to provide a broad representation of the graduate body, and a high- level network to facilitate alumni links, internationally and at the School and Faculty level. With the support of University staff, the Board strives to promote awareness of UNSW as a vibrant international community, and to identify areas through which alumni can continue to contribute to the ongoing excellence of the University. Your ideas and support are welcome, so please contact us at the address below or click here to send us an e-mail at: alumni@unsw.edu.au

Many UNSW graduates are now leaders in their field, from prominent political figures to captains of industry and community leaders. Among UNSW alumni are industry leader Wal King (BE '66 MEngSc '68 HonDSc '02), CEO of Leighton Holdings; Pat O’Shane (LLB '76 HonLLD '99), Australia’s first Indigenous magistrate and University Chancellor; Karl Kruszelnicki (BSc '68 MBiomedE '81), science commentator; George Miller (MB BS '71 HonDLitt '99), filmmaker; Peter Garrett (LLB '77 HonDLitt '99), musician and politician; and former New South Wales Premier, Bob Carr (BA ’69).

Today’s UNSW graduands will in their turn become tomorrow’s leaders, both in Australia and overseas, and many remarkable alumni will give important service, even if they don’t win fame and fortune. For information on our Alumni Award Winners, click here.

The Alumni Association embraces all graduates and diplomates of UNSW, including any award-holders from UNSW’s precedent institutions who signify their wish to be alumni of UNSW (e.g. ASTC’s of The former Sydney Technical College, the City Art Institute or any of UNSW’s former Colleges etc). Friends of UNSW who are non-graduates but wish to support the University are welcomed as Alumni Associates. Following contemporary Australian usage, ‘alumnus’ (singular) and ‘alumni’ (plural) are used without distinction as to male and female.

Over the years UNSW has changed its shape and Faculties have come and gone, been re-named, separated and merged – regardless of which Faculty you graduated from or what it’s called now, you are part of the Alumni Family and can find other members like you, old and new.

For more information on the UNSW Alumni Association Chapters, Networks,and Alumni Associates, click here.