Generational UCL
When students arrive at UCL, they place roots that will see them flourish long after graduation. For some, those roots extend beyond their own experience, branching out into family trees.
Three families with connections to UCL that span generations tell us what has changed, what hasn’t, and how UCL continues to shape their lives.
Portico Magazine | Summer 2026
Generational UCL
When students arrive at UCL, they place roots that will see them flourish long after graduation. For some, those roots extend beyond their own experience, branching out into family trees.
Portico spoke to three families whose connection to UCL spans generations to find out what has changed, what hasn’t, and how UCL continues to shape their lives.
Portico Magazine | Summer 2026
The Tam/Yang Family
as told by Trevor and Dominica Yang
Trevor and Dominica Yang’s family connection to UCL spans more than a century, stretching across four generations and twelve family members. Yet, this common thread, Trevor thinks, is born out of coincidence rather than any formal family tradition. A desire to study in the heart of London, at a university with a global reputation for excellence, was the common draw.
The family’s UCL journey begins in 1920 with Trevor’s maternal grandfather, Thomas Tam. Arriving from Hong Kong to study laws, he lived in student digs in Hampstead. Since UCL had a strong reputation for academic distinction, and for being popular among students from Hong Kong, it was the obvious choice for Thomas who was, in Trevor’s words, “quite the Anglophile” and keen to immerse himself in London life. When he returned to Hong Kong in 1926, he was considered by locals an expert on all things English!
After Thomas Tam came Trevor’s father, Sir Ti-Liang Yang, arriving at UCL in 1950, also to study law. His path to UCL was shaped by the upheaval of the Second World War: he had been studying at the Comparative Law School in China when war broke out, and he and his siblings moved to London in 1949. Sir Ti-Liang went on to serve as the Chief Justice of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1996, making a significant impact on Hong Kong’s legal system. He was appointed Honorary Fellow of UCL in 1989 and President of the Bentham Association, the UCL Laws Alumni Association, in 1991.
Thomas Tam as an undergraduate
Thomas Tam as an undergraduate
Sir Ti-Liang Yang served as the Chief Justice of Hong Kong from 1988 to 1996
Sir Ti-Liang Yang served as the Chief Justice of Hong Kong from 1988-1996
Next was Trevor’s brother, Adrian, who came to UCL to study mathematics. The family connection was strengthened when he met his wife, Ewa, who was studying at the Bartlett at the same time.
Dominica’s side of the story begins with her arrival at UCL in 1980, when she joined the School of Slavonic and East European Studies to study Russian Language and Literature.
After leaving UCL, she enjoyed a varied career across photography, interior design, and the publication of five books, while also completing extensive charity work for charities in Hong Kong and the UK.
Meanwhile sons Jamie, beginning his studies in architecture in 2008, and Charlie, starting a psychology degree in 2011, strengthened the UCL connection by extending it to a fourth generation of the family.
When Dominica's mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she became her caregiver and began engaging with dementia research. She set up a small support group for dementia sufferers and their caregivers in Hong Kong. It was at this time that Dominica was introduced to UCL’s Nick Fox, Professor of Clinical Neurology and Director of the UCL Dementia Research Centre, who met with the support group during a visit to Hong Kong.
Dominica's book 'My Mum Called Alzheimer's', published in 2025, tells the story of the final years of her mother's life and her role as her caregiver
Dominica's book 'My Mum Called Alzheimer's', published in 2025, tells the story of the final years of her mother's life and her role as her caregiver
This sparked a relationship which has flourished into an opportunity for incredible impact. The family’s charitable foundation, the Jessie and Thomas Tam Charitable Foundation, will support Rare Dementia Support at UCL – offering specialist support services for individuals living with, or affected by, a rare dementia diagnosis – to expand its services for Hong Kong and Chinese communities in the UK and Hong Kong.
Professor Nick Fox sharing his research into dementia in Hong Kong in May 2025
Professor Nick Fox sharing his research into dementia in Hong Kong in May 2025
After leaving UCL, Dominica enjoyed a varied career across photography, interior design, and the publication of five books, while also completing extensive charity work for charities in Hong Kong and the UK.
When her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Dominica became her caregiver and began engaging with dementia research. She set up a small support group for dementia sufferers and their caregivers in Hong Kong. It was at this time that she was introduced to UCL’s Nick Fox, Professor of Clinical Neurology and Director of the UCL Dementia Research Centre, who met with the support group during a visit to Hong Kong.
Dominica's book 'My Mum Called Alzheimer's', published in 2025, tells the story of the final years of her mother's life and her role as her caregiver
Dominica's book 'My Mum Called Alzheimer's', published in 2025, tells the story of the final years of her mother's life and her role as her caregiver
This sparked a relationship which has flourished into an opportunity for incredible impact. The family’s charitable foundation, the Jessie and Thomas Tam Charitable Foundation, will support Rare Dementia Support at UCL – offering specialist support services for individuals living with, or affected by, a rare dementia diagnosis – to expand its services for Hong Kong and Chinese communities in the UK and Hong Kong.
Professor Nick Fox sharing his research into dementia in Hong Kong in May 2025
Professor Nick Fox sharing his research into dementia in Hong Kong in May 2025
With the impact of this gift, the Yang family’s connection to UCL feels as though it has come full circle.
From Thomas Tam’s arrival in London more than a hundred years ago....
... to today’s support for Rare Dementia Support, UCL has left a mark on the family, and the family has left a mark on UCL: one that will continue to be felt across further generations.
Mary Allen and family
Mary Allen arrived at UCL in 1955 to study French with German. Following in her footsteps were her daughter, Louise (UCL English BA 1983), who met her husband Richard (UCL Zoology BSc 1986) while studying, and three of her grandchildren, Elizabeth (UCL Biological Science BSc 2016), Rory (UCL LLB 2023) and Angus (UCL Art History BA 2025).
"I feel I started a dynasty!"
During her studies, Mary lived at home in Hertfordshire. Every day, she would take the Northern Line from Totteridge and Whetstone...
...to Warren Street, often running for the last Tube home in the evenings.
Mary wasted no time getting stuck into student life. “During Fresher’s Week, I joined everything!”, she says, before she spent the final term of her first year studying at the University of Strasbourg.
“I do not think my family were influenced by my choice. The reputation of the courses they chose was the deciding factor. I am of course very proud that they coincidentally followed in my footsteps," says Mary.
Rory (UCL LLB 2023) had always been vaguely aware that UCL was “the family university”, as Mary calls it. But it was only when he was completing his UCAS application, nearly sixty-five years after Mary submitted her own, that he fully considered the fact he would be continuing the family tradition.
Beginning his studies in 2020, during the Covid-19 Pandemic, Rory’s UCL experience was a unique one. Living in intercollegiate halls on Malet Street, Rory formed close bonds with his flat mates. “It was a great place to experience lockdown, surrounded by new friends,” he explains, “and it felt fitting because my grandfather had been a King’s student, and now I was living in halls with King’s students.”
Rory lived in intercollegiate halls on Malet Street during his first year
Rory lived in intercollegiate halls on Malet Street during his first year
Like Mary, Rory was keen to experience UCL life to its fullest. He became a dedicated member of UCL’s Music Society and played a role in reviving UCOpera’s annual production, an important part of UCL heritage which had been briefly lost to the pandemic.
Rory co-produced Susannah in 2023 and Angus co-produced The Crucible in 2024
Rory co-produced Susannah in 2023 and Angus co-produced The Crucible in 2024
It was a challenging, and at times chaotic, process to get things back up and running again. “With societies, institutional memory is quite short,” Rory explains, “people only study at UCL for three or four years, so after a break due to Covid, we had sort of forgotten how to do things.”
Also involved in UCOpera was Rory’s younger brother Angus (UCL Art History BA 2025). “It was great to be a part of UCL Music with Angus. We saw a lot of each other, rehearsing several times a week,” says Rory.
Rory and Angus were both important members of UCOpera and its annual production at the Bloomsbury Theatre
Rory and Angus were both important members of UCOpera and its annual production at the Bloomsbury Theatre
Although only separated by two years, Rory feels his and Angus’ experiences of UCL were quite different, due partly to the impact of Covid, but also because of the pace of change at UCL, where institutional culture is constantly evolving with new intakes of students.
“UCL feels like a very dynamic place,” says Rory. “The music society functions differently now to when I first joined. I’ve been able to see through Angus’ experience, and the fact that my flatmate is currently studying at the IOE, how different things are now compared to five years ago.”
Yet, Rory also reflects that, at its core, UCL hasn’t changed much at all. During a recent visit to his grandmother’s house, where Mary pulled out her UCL entrance exams and graduation booklets, they reflected on a shared love of Bloomsbury and the ways in which their time at UCL has shaped all their lives.
“It’s amazing to think we all studied in the same library and the same lecture halls. We’ll see if we can keep it going for future generations!”
"UCL feels like a very dynamic place"
Shujon Chowdhury and Arjun Bhaduri
Uncle and nephew Shujon and Arjun’s generational UCL story may be shorter than Mary’s or Trevor and Dominica’s, at least for the moment – Shujon and Arjun both said they would certainly persuade future family members to consider an application to UCL. Yet their stories, taking place twenty-two years apart, paint a picture of how rapidly our modern world is changing.
Shujon began his studies at UCL in 2001, starting a degree in Geology but later switching to a new course, Physical Sciences, as part of its second cohort.
Among the many projects Shujon worked on during his degree, one - which focused on the early internet and the ways it was changing how people communicate - stands out.
"I like to think [Arjun] is taking after his cool uncle!"
“In those days, the internet was new and evolving. It was clear it would change life as we knew it. That was what we were trying to map out. It feels similar to the rise of AI now, which Arjun is studying. I like to think he is taking after his cool uncle!”
Beginning his studies in 2023, Arjun is one of the first students on a new course at UCL: Robotics and Artificial Intelligence MEng. He is studying at the forefront of ever-changing technology, working on everything from tree-climbing robots to large language models that can play social deduction games. In fact, AI technology is evolving so rapidly that one of Arjun’s challenges is staying ahead of it. He is currently choosing a topic for his final project next year. “It’s difficult because there’s a good chance it’s going to be outdated by then”, says Arjun.
A key difference in the pair’s experiences is the UCL campus. While Shujon spent his time in Bloomsbury, living in Schafer House in his first year, Arjun is based at UCL East.
Schafer House pictured here in 2014
Schafer House pictured here in 2014
“Marshgate is a hub for all sorts of events like hackathons. I’ve even managed to land myself on a project outside of my course doing a research paper on multi-agenetic systems.”, says Arjun. With baseball, tennis, chess and anime societies also in Arjun’s diary, he is certainly embracing all UCL has to offer beyond academics.
Marshgate, UCL East
Marshgate, UCL East
A love of a busy schedule must run in the family, because Shujon was President of both the Krishna Conscious Society and the Gaming Society during his degree. But the extra-curricular that took up most of his time was the University of London Officer Training Corps (OTC), who he trained with for three years before eventually qualifying as an Officer.
"UCL really does encourage disruptive thinking"
Despite twenty-two years and significant change to both UCL and the wider world, there is a strong family resemblance in the UCL experience with both uncle and nephew acting as trailblazers on new courses in their respective generations while balancing a range of other commitments.
Shojun says, “The main thing I took away from my course was critical thinking. It changed the way I looked at the world, not just in an analytical, scientific sense, but in a more philosophical sense. I looked at the human-side of things differently. And I developed my social skills massively.”
Shujon's graduation in 2004
Shujon's graduation in 2004
Arjun agrees, adding, “For me, I think it’s the way UCL really does encourage disruptive thinking. It provided both of us the opportunity to work on the front lines of technology and make our mark in those areas.”
Across generations, these stories show that UCL is a place that is constantly evolving yet quietly enduring. Among changes to campus, courses and student culture, and shifts in global politics, society and technology, UCL remains a place where generations of students thrive and make lifelong memories, before going on to make lasting impact.
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Portico magazine features stories for and from the UCL community. If you have a story to tell or feedback to share, contact advancement@ucl.ac.uk
Editor: Lauren Cain
Editorial team: Ray Antwi, Rachel Henkels, Harry Latter, Chloe Lambdon, Bryony Merritt, Lucy Morrish, Alex Norton, Thrisha Sajeev
Shorthand presentation: Harpoon Productions
Additional copywriting: YBM
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