Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Starter for 10: RGU to take part in University Challenge for first time in almost 30 years

RGU won their second round on University Challenge. Image: RGU
RGU won their second round on University Challenge. Image: RGU

For the second time in the show’s history, a team from Robert Gordon University will compete in University Challenge.

The team of students from RGU will appear on the BBC show on Monday at 8.30pm to face the University of Roehampton.

At 60 years old, University Challenge is the UK’s longest-running TV quiz programme and is hosted by Jeremy Paxman, who plans to step down next year after 28 years at the helm.

This is the second time RGU will take part in the quiz show since the institution’s first appearance in 1994.

The team practiced for the show by watching episodes together on Zoom, meaning the first time they all met in person was for filming the show.

Samuel Fregene, Donald Anderson, Ingrid Taylor, Emily Cullen and Faye Cooke. Image: RGU.

Emily Cullen, team captain, studied pharmacy at the university and is now a trainee pharmacist at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

She said: “I was obsessed with going on University Challenge, and all a person thinks about while the participation is still embryonic is how you, the team, the match will appear on telly.

“But I can say hand on heart that the relationships we formed as a team made these concerns seem insignificant.”

A chance to represent RGU

Team member Samuel Fregene studied a master’s in analytical science, specialising in drug analysis and toxicology. He is the first international student from Nigeria on University Challenge.

Mr Fregene took part in many competitions in Nigeria to represent his school, and is looking forward to representing RGU.

He said: “Most of the questions on the show were generally related to things that are happening in Europe and in the UK especially.

“Coming from Nigeria and being able to audition for the show and answer those questions made me really proud. But everyone in the team did a good job and really inspired me as well.”

Faye Cooke is now two months into her legal traineeship with a law firm in Edinburgh after studying for a diploma in professional legal practice and completing the accelerated LLB in 2021.

She said: “I have a two-year-old son, so studies, work and Zoom quiz practice had to fit in and around his schedule.

“It’s funny to think he might watch it back in years to come and be filled with pride, embarrassment, or, most likely, indifference.”

‘No expectation of auditioning, never mind actually getting on the show’

Donald Anderson studied accounting and finance at RGU and is now working as an auditor at KPMG.

Mr Anderson recalled getting in touch with the student union on a “whim” while watching the programme without ever expecting to audition for the show.

He said: “I kind of forgot about it for a while until I heard back and got in touch with Emily, so I had no expectation of auditioning for the show, never mind actually getting on it.

“It goes to show the importance of giving things a go. I’m really glad I did, not just because we made it on the show but also because I wouldn’t have got to know such great people otherwise.”

Finally, third-year applied biomedical science student Ingrid Taylor is the reserve team member for the group.

She watches the Alumni University Challenge with her parents every Christmas and was keen to be involved with the team.

Tune in to watch the RGU team on Monday November 28 at 8.30pm on BBC 2 or watch it later on iPlayer.

Conversation