Celebrating Volunteers’ Week 2025

Celebrating 11,274 hours of alumni volunteering!

Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration taking place between Monday 2nd – Sunday 8th June, recognising the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering in their communities.

Each year, our incredible alumni volunteers have a huge impact on everything we do here at Cardiff University, whether that has been supporting students through mentoring schemes, guiding University strategy, taking part in an alumni Chapter, returning to Cardiff to give a careers talk to inspire the next generation of graduates, or offering internships for our students to get industry experience whilst completing their studies. 

We want to take this time to say a special thank you to all of our alumni volunteers who are instrumental in making a difference here at Cardiff University. 

Our alumni volunteers share their experiences and tell us how they’ve found volunteering to be so rewarding.

Dr Mark Davies (BEng 1994, PhD 1999)

Mark and his company hosted Cardiff University student Harvy on a seven-week summer internship, helping them to gain experience, skills, and prepare them for the world of work. Read more.

“The highlight of hosting a student on a work experience placement was having a capable and enthusiastic individual who could focus 100% on a project. This has meant the work could be advanced far more quickly than it would have otherwise. The internship was a fantastic way for us to progress an innovation project that may have otherwise fallen by the wayside due to time pressures. It has also given Harvy valuable experience and development to compliment his academic studies, that will hopefully improve his employability. Truly a win-win situation!”

Emma Young (BSc 1996)

Emma took part in our 2025 Womentoring scheme which saw 26 mentors matched with early-career mentees.

“I think some women hesitate to ask for guidance and support. I know I did. If you’re not the type to knock down doors on your way to personal or professional advancement, opportunities can easily pass you by. Schemes like Womentoring are invaluable as they offer a gentler way to say yes to opportunity and growth. Although I haven’t had a formal mentor, working with a coach has been transformative for me. And mentoring others has been just as valuable—I learn something every single time. It’s a two-way exchange of insight and support, and I truly believe I get as much out of it as the mentees do.”

Jingrui Yang (MBA 2004)

Jingrui is one of the leaders of the Cardiff University Chinese Alumni (CUCA) Chapter. Find out more about Alumni Chapters.

“For me, personally, it is my great pleasure to cooperate with all chapters and alumni together to initiate and implement our activities, turning those good ideas into reality. It is an important channel of learning. I graduated from my MBA 23 years ago and it’s a great opportunity to connect with alumni of this generation too. As the motto of Cardiff University says, truth, unity and harmony – these should also be the fundamentals of Alumni Chapters. We should think about how to make our alumni community feel involved, motivated and cared for through our volunteers’ work for their life after graduation and beyond.” 

We couldn’t do what we do without our brilliant volunteers, so if you’d like to give back, please do get involved. Find out more.