Join a panel of alumni as they share advice and their personal experiences on building resilience and overcoming adversity. The panel, led by and including experts on resilience, will also share practical tools and approaches to managing stress, setbacks and navigating a crisis, including the challenges raised by the pandemic. The speakers will also cover topics such as:

• Resilience as a key graduate attribute: recommended skills and practices for students and recent grads
• Beyond the ‘me’ to ‘we’: Personal versus community or societal resilience
• Dangers and pitfalls of the concept of ‘resilience’ and how to guard against these
• Useful resources and where to seek help

It goes without saying that having resilience and the strength to overcome adversity, as well as our general wellbeing, are extremely important to all – now more so than ever in these unprecedented times, so please do sign up if you are interested!The speakers will answer questions during the Q&A after the panel discussion.

This event is organised in partnership with our Creative Enterprise Centre (CEC). The CEC run an award-winning programme of workshops and events to aid students, graduates and alumni to develop transferable enterprise and employability skills, and to gain practical and first-hand industry insights and networks. You can browse and book onto any of the upcoming CEC workshops and events via Engage and Eventbrite.

This event is free, but you must register your place in advance.

About the speakers

Panel chair: Justin Haroun, Senior Lecturer and Director, and Co-founder or the Centre for Resilience at the University of Westminster (MA Higher Education, 2006)

Justin is a therapist, consultant and educator specialising in embodied approaches to resilience and wellbeing. He has worked in the field for 21 years, designing and delivering training and programmes both nationally and internationally. He is the Director of the Centre for Resilience at the University of Westminster, which provides evidence-based human resilience solutions to teams and organisations.

Justin also supports students and staff across the University with resilience programmes and coaching, and leads the Centre for Education and Teaching Innovation's Wellbeing and Resilience learning community. His latest publication explores the role of compassion in higher education in the upcoming book "Towards a compassionate University" (Waddington 2021). In his spare time, you are likely to find him walking and pausing in nature.

Sarah Bennett-Nash, Founder & CEO at The Enterprise Vault (Law, Common Progression Exam Grad Diploma, 2003)

Sarah is a Managing Director in a FTSE 100 company, a public speaker and business owner. In her own words: “I believe that if you are certain you can make a difference, you will. If you focus on developing every bit of talent, every skill you have, you will start seeing how your choices can drive positive changes in the world.

“My company, The Enterprise Vault, is built on a foundation and a passion for what we believe to be possible. Our goal is to help you reach higher levels of performance and results, so that you can grow and achieve more in your life. We’re dedicated to helping you build your own toolkit, so you feel empowered to become the person you really want to be.

“It took me a long time to define my success because I didn’t have the strategies or the confidence to step into the person I really wanted to be. It held me back for years, until I had a defining moment in my life where I was forced to make some real changes to avoid falling off the cliff into bankruptcy. It was at this moment I started to focus on growing my toolkit, so I could make the necessary changes in my life and build the confidence I needed to start showing up in the world like I really wanted to.”

William Frank, Founder, XYLO Worldwide (BSc Business Computing, 2006)

William is the founder of XYLO Worldwide, a boutique creative agency for music, fashion, lifestyle, sport and culture brands. He started the company in the second year of studying at the University of Westminster in 2005, with no financial backing and no industry connections. What he did have was a natural talent in art and design and an understanding of the business world.

William was able to reinvent himself multiple times: from working as a graphic designer to becoming a creative producer/ director with an international client roster, and working with a number of exciting brands and organisations, whilst surviving both the 2008/ 2009 financial recession and the 2020 global pandemic.

Kate Fismer, Director & Founder, Revolution Resilience (BSc Health Sciences: Naturopathy, 2013)

Kate is a Naturopathic Physician MRN, specialising in stress and physiology. She is also a qualified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher, has over 10 years’ experience in the health and wellbeing field, and is a regular guest speaker at conferences and award-winning wellbeing programmes. Kate has featured in the media as an expert in her field and has several papers published in peer-reviewed journals. She helped to set up the University of Westminster’s Centre for Resilience and has worked as a consultant for them for the last six years.

Kate’s Revolution Resilience programmes help individuals and businesses spot the warning signs of exhaustion and burnout (both at work and at home) and find the solutions that are right for them. Her mission is to use evidence-based data and science to enhance resilience, performance and – most importantly – humanness. Revolution’s services aim to create healthy and thriving work environments where resilience becomes about more than the individual.

In Kate’s own words: “The biggest challenge that I've faced recently was recovering from long-Covid after contracting Covid-19 in March 2020. I'm pleased to say I'm fully recovered now after 10 months – and I can honestly say I've never had an illness like it in my life. It really took all of my knowledge, experience and support from others to get well again, but here I am, more passionate, with a stronger sense of purpose about my work than ever.”