How your alumni benefits can help you achieve your 2026 goals
It's a new year and with that often comes new goals and resolutions. Did you know that as a Newcastle University graduate you are entitled to benefits that could help you tick these goals off your to-do list?
19 January 2026
Discover new opportunities from your university and global alumni network that can help you get where you want to be in 2026.
As a Newcastle University graduate, you are part of a thriving 280,000-strong global alumni network of individuals. This exclusive network offers you access to a wealth of professional and personal development opportunities and connections throughout your life.
Whether you’re looking to reconnect with old classmates, learn something new, get fit and try a new challenge, or take the next big leap in your career, Newcastle University can help you succeed in your new year’s resolutions. Read on to discover the alumni benefits that can help you this year.
Reconnecting with old friends (or making new ones!)
We know how valuable friendships formed at university can be. We also know how easy it can be to lose touch. Newcastle University can help you reconnect and reunite with former friends from your university days.
Our Find A Friend service gets the ball rolling by reaching out to fellow alumni on your behalf to put you back in touch. Then our Reunions team can support your plans for reconnecting face-to-face and making your pilgrimage back to Newcastle! This includes organising campus tours with current students, recommending local activities and restaurants, and offering discounts on selected hotels across the city.
Our volunteer-ran Alumni Networks can also help you build your community and keep links with your university alive. From location-based groups to sports and hobby groups, Alumni Networks offer various events and opportunities for you to find new friends with like-minded Newcastle graduates in 2026.
Climbing the career ladder
A new year often prompts us to reflect on what we do for a living, if we’re feeling fulfilled and which direction we’d like our career path to take over the next 12 months. However you’re feeling about your job, and whenever you graduated, Newcastle University can help you get your career on track this year.
If you are a recent graduate looking to enter your dream industry, our award-winning Careers Service are on-hand for your first three years as a member of our alumni community. They can help craft your CV, prep for interviews, and source the best internships and job adverts to kickstart your career.
Don’t worry if you graduated before 2023 though. We have a range of career-focused webinars spotlighting experts from our alumni community to inspire you: from changing careers in later life to becoming a manager for the first time.
And Newcastle University’s professional development courses can develop the knowledge you need to succeed in a competitive market. Many of our CPD courses are accredited by professional bodies, and what’s even better is that as a Newcastle graduate, you’re entitled to 20% off tuition fees for further study with us!
New for 2026! In spring we're partnering with our friends at world-leading communication consultancy, Debate Mate, to offer alumni a three-part accredited online course on communicating with confidence. Join us to explore how to present with impact, navigate difficult conversations, and adapt your message to different audiences.
Learn something new
It isn’t just CPD courses you can apply our Graduate Discount too. If there’s a subject you’ve always wanted to deep-dive into, or a hobby you have a passion for that you want to formalise, check out our postgraduate programmes.
If you’re not quite ready for student life again, you can still get alumni access to our three on-campus libraries, from which you can borrow books on long-term loan, access our Special Collections and selected databases – all for an annual fee of £20!
And our regular Discover lectures provide a platform for leaders and changemakers in our alumni community to share their expertise, with previous topics including the future of the transport industry, pension essentials and protecting cultural heritage in war-torn countries.
Getting fighting fit
One of the most common new year resolutions made is to get fit and take on new endurance challenges. Our various sport-focused Alumni Networks can provide a community to motivate you in achieving these goals, and if you live close to campus, alumni are able to join our Sport and Fitness Centre!
From the gym floor, group fitness classes, friendly team games or high-level competition, our Sport and Fitness Centre membership can help you get stronger, fitter and healthier. To create an alumni associate account, just contact sport@newcastle.ac.uk.
And if you’re the type of person who needs a challenge in the diary to motivate your training, have you thought about entering the 2026 Great North Run? Newcastle University has limited charity places available for the event on 13 September, exclusive to our alumni community. With discounted entry into the world’s biggest (and best!) half marathon, and the feel-good factor of supporting the next generation of graduates on campus, it’s a win/win! Email lauren.huntington@newcastle.ac.uk to express your interest in joining Team Newcastle for 2026.
