Four international graduates celebrated at British Council’s Study UK Alumni Awards

The British Council has launched the twelfth year of a prestigious award celebrating the outstanding achievements of the UK’s international alumni around the world.   

The Study UK Alumni Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of alumni and showcase the impact and value of a UK higher education. Award winners and finalists are leaders in their fields who have used their experience of studying at a UK university to make a positive contribution to their communities, professions, and countries.

This year, we’re celebrating four members of Newcastle University’s alumni community being recognised in the Study UK Alumni Awards. Read on to meet our winners and shortlisted graduates.

Professor Kevin Tai (BA Hons English Language and Literature, 2017)

At the Hong Kong awards ceremony in April, Class of 2017 graduate Professor Tai won the Social Action award in recognition of his research on creating translanguaging spaces to advance social justice and knowledge creation.

Kevin is Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education at the Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), as well as an Editor for multiple academic journals.

His research interests include classroom discourse, content and language integrated learning, translanguaging in multilingual contexts, language education policy and qualitative research methods. Currently, Kevin is exploring how AI, integrated with translanguaging, can promote students' critical language awareness.

Dr Marco Zaki (PhD Oncology and Cancer Biology, 2019)

Dr Zaki has been recognised by the Study UK Awards for a second time, this time winning the Science and Sustainability category in the Egypt awards! He was previously shortlisted in 2022.

Marco is a Lecturer of Biochemistry and Cell Biology and Minia University in Egypt. He was inspired to begin his scientific career by the high incidence of chronic diseases in Egypt. His PhD at Newcastle was funded by the prestigious Newton foundation where his research focused on chronic liver diseases.

Mohamed Mahgoub (PhD Environmental Design, 2015)

A Science and Sustainability finalist in the UAE Awards, Mohamed is an Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering at the United Arab Emirates University, with over a decade of international experience in academia, research, and professional practice. His expertise lies at the intersection of sustainable architecture, building performance simulation, and climate-responsive design.

Holding a PhD from Newcastle University, Mohamed bridges theory and practice through award-winning research and real-world application. He has led and contributed to funded projects focused on hybrid ventilation, photovoltaics integration, and thermal envelope optimization in hot arid climates, collaborating with institutions such as London South Bank University and Applied Science University in Bahrain.

Mohamed is also a Fellow of the UK’s Higher Education Academy and an advocate of inclusive, high-impact teaching that prepares future architects to lead in sustainability and emerging technologies.

Professor Md. Moyazzem Hossain (PhD Mathematics, 2024)

Professor Hossain was a finalist in the Science and Sustainability category at this year’s Bangladesh awards, which were held on 11 December in Dhaka.

He is an applied statistician and data scientist who started his teaching career as a Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Bangladesh University of Business & Technology (BUBT) in 2008. Since 2023, he has been a Professor at Jahangirnagar University.

Besides teaching, Hossain has published several research articles in international journals such as Nature and has also served as a Member of the Editorial Board for numerous journals.