Here at Hallam, we are deeply proud of our international alumni community who represent more than 130 countries around the world. Our diverse student and staff population demonstrates our commitment to continuing our long history of being an outward looking, global institution.

We are therefore delighted to announce that class of 2013 business and economics graduate, Moneeza Burney, has been named as one of the finalists of this year's Alumni Awards.

The British Council Alumni Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of UK alumni around the world 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.

In 2015 Moneeza launched a Community Service Initiative as part of Lahore Students' Union.

The initiative is a structured six week social internship programme which connects students with volunteer opportunities in non-profit organisations based in Lahore. Since its launch, the initiative has received more than 2000 applicants and has placed more than 500 individuals into various volunteer roles.

Moneeza has credited her time volunteering through Sheffield Hallam Students' Union for giving her the ideas and knowledge with which to launch Lahore Students Union Community Service Initiative: "As a Pakistani, studying in the UK was a unique experience for me. The campus life offered some great learning prospects, since the classes included students and teachers from all over the globe, the interactions helped bring together different perspectives in one place. This was particularly useful to me as I was studying business economics.

"During this time I volunteered through my Students' Union and gained creative ideas of how to inspire young people to work for a social cause through fundraising and other campaigns - which is quite rare in Pakistan. My overall experience of studying and working in the UK well equipped me to address important social issues in Pakistan."

Moneeza is one of 148 Alumni Award finalists, chosen from more than 1200 applications.

Overall winners will be announced on the 3 March 2017. We wish Moneeza the best of luck.

For more information about the British Council Alumni Awards please visit - https://www.britishcouncil.org/education-uk-awards