London’s iconic Royal Festival Hall welcomes LSBU’s graduating class of 2014
More than 1,400 students proudly stood before friends and family to collect awards that mark years of hard work at LSBUThe ceremonies – held at the famous Royal Festival Hall on Monday 6 October and Tuesday 7 October – celebrated the graduation of undergraduates and postgraduates from the Faculty of Engineering, Science and The Built Environment (ESBE) and the Faculty of Business.
On Monday, awards were presented by LSBU Pro-Chancellor David Longbottom, following addresses by Vice-Chancellor David Phoenix and Executive Dean for the Faculty of Engineering, Science and the Built Environment, Rao Bhamidimarri.
"Whatever qualification you have achieved, by graduating today you have demonstrated your ability to meet the rigour of both the academic and professional demands such courses entail." said the Vice-Chancellor during the ceremony.
The ceremony saw the appointment of two honorary doctorates for engineering, the first being awarded to Patrick Clarke. An MBA alumnus and OBE, Patrick is Executive Director of Network Operations for UK Power Networks, where he is responsible for smoothly supplying power to over a third of the UK's population.
The second honorary doctorate was conferred to international business leader Abdulrahman Jawahery, who studied chemical engineering at LSBU in the 1970's. Voted as one of the most influential people on Bahrain's Power List, he is currently President of Gulf Petrochemical Industries and is a strong proponent of sustainable environmental and business practices.
An Honorary Doctorate of Science was also awarded to Peter Rees, who as Chief Planning Officer for the City of London for almost 30 years is responsible for some of the city's most iconic buildings - including the Gherkin, the Cheesegrater and the Walkie-Talkie. Peter also studied town planning part-time at LSBU.
Awards at the graduation of students from the Faculty of Business were conferred by LSBU Chancellor and former panellist on BBC's Dragon's Den, Richard Farleigh.
Acting Executive Dean for the Faculty Mike Molan told the assembly during his welcome speech: "The Faculty continues to innovate and adapt to the rapidly changing world, offering a portfolio of courses covering a full range of business and information technology specialisms, underpinned by real business relevant research, consultancy and professional development activities."
Two more graduation ceremonies for students in the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences and the Faculty of Health and Social Care will take place on Monday 20 October and Tuesday 21 October. It marks the final time that graduations will be conducted according to faculty as LSBU moves to a new school structure in autumn 2014.