Spotlight on... Jinnie Chua

What is your role and what does it involve?

I’m a Communications Officer and work closely with the Global Engagement team to raise the profile of UCL's work around the world. It involves looking after UCL Global’s various channels and working with the loveliest Senior Global Communications Manager Sophie Vinter to produce and promote content. We’ve just joined the newly formed UCL Research, Innovation and Global Engagement (RIGE) comms team so I’m excited to see what’s to come.

How long have you been at UCL and what was your previous role?

Since February 2020. I was in the office for about two months before the pandemic hit so it’s been an interesting (almost) two years! I used to work in magazines in New York before moving into HE comms – maybe not the most obvious transition but I’m really enjoying working with people who are making a real positive impact in the world.

What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?

Every two months I pull together an internal and external version of the Global Update newsletter with the latest news about UCL’s global activity and opportunities. It can be a quite a chunky piece of work and always feels like a huge sigh of relief to hit the send button. Feel free to subscribe and get in touch if you have a submission!

Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of your to-do list?

I’m part of the team working alongside Sophie Vinter and the brilliant Anne Coquin in Communications & Marketing (CAM) to refresh the regional pages on UCL Global, which has been a really big, ongoing piece of work for the past few months involving a lot of different stakeholders. There’s still more work to be done on them in the new year but we just celebrated going live last week!

What is your favourite album, film and novel?

These are always changing but I’m listening to LOONY’s album Soft Thing at the moment and really into it. My favourite film is probably Hook and novel is The Hobbit but I also love good non-fiction.

What is your favourite joke (pre-watershed)?

Donald Trump? The No 10 Christmas parties? So many choices.

Who would be your dream dinner guests?

All the friends and family I haven’t seen since pre-pandemic, including my friends in America and family back home in Malaysia.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Invest in your mental health and prioritise your peace.

What would it surprise people to know about you?

Probably just how much of my time and energy has gone towards my dog Kaya who I adopted back in April. Best thing I’ve done!

What is your favourite place?

A fun woodland walk for exploring with my dog, New York for everything else.