The ECI community came together on Saturday evening for the annual Alumni Dinner in the historic surroundings of New College, Oxford. Past and present colleagues, students, and visitors gathered for an evening of conversation, champagne, and a shared meal.
The keynote address was given by ECI alumna Dr Meghan Bailey (MSc Environmental Change and Management 2010/11), now Head of Social Protection and Health at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre.
Among the attendees was Dr Philip Mann, Honorary Research Associate in ECI’s Energy Programme. He completed his MSc in Environmental Change and Management (ECM) in 1999, followed by a DPhil on the transition to clean cooking energy in India in 2012. Reflecting on the evening, he said: It’s always energising to link up with friends old and new in the ECM alumni group. The genuine sense of common cause is uplifting and being able to draw on the huge collective experience and wisdom is really valuable.”
Also enjoying the occasion was Lena Easton-Calabria, former MSc ECM student and now ECI DPhil studying the environmental governance of the gold supply chain from the Peruvian Amazon rainforest to Europe. Lena said:
The ECI alumni network offers a unique opportunity to stay connected with colleagues while also building connections across cohorts, enriching my experience and academic community beyond my own time at Oxford.”
It was a bittersweet evening for one long-standing alum, Dr Peter Barbrook-Johnson, Departmental Research Lecturer, who reflected on his time at the ECI and shared news of his next steps. He said:
It was a real pleasure to join the ECI Alumni Dinner this weekend. These events always embed in me a strong appreciation of the history of this institute and the ECM course (soon to be ECP!). Joining the current students to celebrate finishing the course is always fun too!
This year, I had very mixed emotions as I will be taking up a new job at UCL later in September. I am sad to leave, I have learnt so much at ECI and have enjoyed teaching here more than anywhere else. This is why I could not bring myself to fully leave! I will continue as a ‘teaching associate’ and teach my elective course once a year. I hope to continue collaborating with staff and students at ECI for many years to come.”
The dinner was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the enduring bonds of the ECI alumni network and the many ways in which the ECI community is contributing to positive change around the world.
Prof Michael Obersteiner, Director of the ECI, said:
Our alumni are at the heart of the ECI community. It is inspiring to see how the knowledge and skills gained here are carried into so many different parts of the world, shaping research, policy, and practice. The annual Alumni Dinner is a reminder of the strength of these connections and the collective impact our staff and students continue to make in addressing global environmental challenges.”
Founded as the Environmental Change Unit (ECU) in 1991, the Environmental Change Institute now has eight research programmes, two collaborative units, and an MSc in Environmental Change and Policy (ECP), formerly the MSc in Environmental Change and Management (ECM). The course name was updated in September 2025 to reflect its evolution and to build on the strengths of the original programme. The MSc in Environmental Change and Policy places strong emphasis not only on understanding environmental change but also on the policy and practice required to address it, responding to growing demand for graduates equipped to both analyse and act on environmental challenges.
Founded as the Environmental Change Unit (ECU) in 1991, the Environmental Change Institute now has eight research programmes, two collaborative units – the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and TABLE, and an MSc.
