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Tuesday 23 July 2024

Ceremony 3 at 10am

University of Sussex Business School

• Accounting and Finance

•  Video transcript

  https://vimeo.com/988867181

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.]

   

  (A video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Greetings all. I am the chancellor of the University of Sussex. A lot of you probably already knew that, but um, I thought the beard might throw you. It's for a character I'm playing in a TV thing. It is real! If I'd been there, I would've invited you to give it a tug to check its authenticity as you cross the stage - or not. Anyway, I digress.Well, well here we are. Well, here you are. I am of course somewhere else, but here in spirit and in admiration. Apologies for gate-crashing your day, but I just couldn't help crowbarring myself into your celebration. I wanted to add the warmest of welcomes to all of you, graduands, families and friends and to those like me who may be following the ceremony remotely. Sussex graduations have become known for being a festival, a bit of a party, and it's a tradition that I hope you'll continue today.This is your day, so express your joy and positivity when you cross the stage. And friends and family, this is your day too, so take a moment to be prepared with your cameras for the moment your superstar crosses the stage and make as much noise as you can when they do.Oh, come on, they've embarrassed you enough times in the past. So this is payback time.Have a great ceremony and I'll catch you on the other side.

   

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  Distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, supporters, friends, and above all our graduands, the Sussex class of 2024. It's my great honour and enormous pleasure to welcome you to the Brighton Centre for this graduation ceremony.
  I'm Professor Sasha Roseneil, vice-chancellor and president of the University of Sussex. Graduands, as our chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar has just reminded us, today is about you. It's a day of celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved during your time at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have benefited in countless tangible and less tangible ways from the love and support of your family or guardians and carers. From the encouragement of your friends and of course from the teaching and guidance of staff at the university. You may also have had support from our alumni and donors who've generously provided scholarships that have enabled you to study at Sussex.
  So I'm now going to ask you, our graduands for some participation. Would you please stand up and turn and face the audience behind you; your friends, families, and supporters? Please stand and if you are able, would you give them a hearty cheer and a round of applause?

  
  (Graduands stand and give a big round of applause.)

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil continues:
  Thank you, please be seated again.
  As the University of Sussex, we're committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community. And that extends to our celebrations today. This is an important event, not only in the life of our graduands, but for everyone in the auditorium. Many of whom have travelled a very long way to be with us. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. You come each year from over 130 countries around the world. So people in the audience today are of many different nationalities and faiths and amongst everyone gathered here, there's a huge diversity of opinion and belief about almost every matter under the sun. And that diversity of thought and belief is a very special thing. Something that Sussex as a university seeks always to uphold and support. We have a foundational commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom and it's our job as a university to create an environment in which diversity of belief and opinion can be explored. It's our job to nurture the conditions under which our students and staff can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed. We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death, and the destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as the climate crisis and environmental degradation giving rise to enormous concern among Sussex students. Many Sussex students and their families and loved ones, I'm sure, hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I'd like to emphasise that the university supports and will always support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of humanity and diversity. That's at the heart of our university community and that binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community.
  So Sussex graduands, I'd like to thank you all for all that you've contributed to making our university a place of community inclusion and diversity, an open, warm and welcoming place. In the two years since I became vice-chancellor, I've come to realise that Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope, and possibility. Alongside your academic work, many of you have taken part and in an impressive array of other activities as members and leaders of student societies and groups and as volunteers helping and supporting other people on and off campus. Many of you are today receiving a Spirit of Sussex Award for your positive contributions to the community. From serving as campus ambassadors to fundraising for local causes and creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable. I commend your commitment to extracurricular activities. Well done on all you have done alongside your formal studies.
  Over the past two years, I've had the great privilege of meeting many Sussex alumni from the uk, from Asia, Africa and the Americas. And I've been overwhelmed by how many of them told me how much they loved their time at Sussex and how their experience at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They recalled encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transform their worldview as well as making lasting friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you, today's graduands will feel the same in the years to come. Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or are looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you're leaving a university with a global reputation. A university that has equipped you with knowledge and skills to think critically and creatively, to work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective. You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally recognised for their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of their research has directly informed your education across the disciplines and in the spaces in between. Our research focuses on the urgent concerns of our time.
  Some of you might have seen our 'Impossible until it's done' Banners around Brighton and Hove and on the buses over recent weeks. Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela, this campaign highlights the work we are doing to tackle pollution in rivers, to find new ways, to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using artificial intelligence. We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes and our ambitions with wider audiences. And Sussex has much to celebrate. For the eighth consecutive year with our campus partner, the Institute of Development Studies, we've been ranked first in the world for Development Studies. This is an outstanding achievement by our academics. Development studies seek an understanding of and progress towards global equity, social justice and sustainability, which is very much at the heart of what Sussex is about. One of the key measures of the strength and the impact of a university is the extent to which the publications of its researchers are cited by other researchers. Sussex really punches above our weight in this respect. This year in the QS World University Rankings, we have nine subjects in the top 10 in the UK for citations with History and Physics and Astronomy, each ranked first in the UK. We were also recognised as the eighth most sustainable university in the UK and Joint 26th in the world, which just shows how much we're contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. All this means that Sussex research is improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology and influencing the policies of governments as well as making a positive difference to the protection and regeneration of our natural environment.
  Now I know that many of you graduating today have had difficult life journeys so far, and all of you have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous disruption this caused to your education and social lives. Some of you have struggled with your mental health, some with your physical health. Some of you have faced loss and family disruption during your student days. Each of you has had a unique route to and through Sussex, and each of you will have had your ups and downs. But whatever your Sussex story, I hope you'll look back at your time here and feel that your studies were intellectually challenging and rigorous. That you were stretched, stimulated, and supported to achieve your best. That you're leaving with knowledge and skills and personal resources that will stand you in good stead and that you made connections and friendships that will stay with you for a long time. You are now joining our community of more than 200,000 alumni worldwide. Sussex alumni include Nobel laureates, grassroots, campaigners and activists, heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations. And those with less high-profile but no less significant lives and careers. People whose actions and relationships remake and renew the social fabric in small ways. Every day, across the globe, in more than 160 countries and in all walks of life, our alumni are sharing the benefits of their Sussex experience to make the world a better place. I know you will do that too.
  So graduands, celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree. Celebrate the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. Celebrate the belief in yourself that's made it possible and celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.
  I call upon Professor Farai Jena, Associate Dean for Education and Students in the University of Sussex Business School.

   

  (Graduands and guests applaud.)

   

  [Professor Farai Jena, Associate Dean for Education and Students in the University of Sussex Business School, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Farai Jena:
  Vice Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance...
  Joshua ABRAHAM,
  Aykut AKGUL,
  Josiah-Nathan AKINWANDE,
  Abdul Aziz AL HATTO,
  Luka AL-SAKAT,
  Tanvir ALI,
  Kevin ALVORA,
  William ANDREWS,
  Matthew ARMSTRONG,
  Lee BECHEV,
  Isabella BLUNDELL,
  Benjamin BOSWIJK,
  Dan CALLEN,
  Tabitha CARNELL,
  Emmet CARRY FENNESSY,
  Huiying CHEN,
  Yifan CHEN,
  Sergio CHICOMA RUIZ,
  Farah CHOUDHURY,
  Ajwad CHOWDHURY,
  Georgia CLARE,
  Joshua COBDEN,
  Benjamin CROSS,
  Jacob DEAN,
  Sujal DHAKAL,
  Joseph DOVE,
  Odhran DOYLE,
  Rumit GANDHI,
  Anish GAUTAM,
  Rebecca GIBSON,
  Also jointly awarded the Best Student in BSc Accounting and Finance with Highest Grand Mean and one of the recipients of the ICAEW Prize for Best Student in Financial Accounting & Analysis; Samuel GJOKA.
  Calvin GURUNG,
  Naol GUYE,
  Khaled HADDAD,
  Nicholas HADJINICOLAOU,
  Thomas HARRISON,
  Ali HASSAN,
  Mohamed HASSAN,
  Joe HOWELL,
  Abdullahi HUSSEIN,
  Torran JEFFERIES,
  Aiden JONES.
  Also jointly awarded the Best Student in BSc Accounting and Finance with Highest Grand Mean; Katie JONES,
  Karan JOUKANI JOUKANI,
  Hassan KHAN,
  Jehan KHAN,
  Joe KRIGE,
  Zhangling LAI,
  Kwan LAM,
  Joseph LANGMAID,
  Jinshu LI,
  Kam LI,
  Wenjing LIU,
  Yuchen LIU,
  Rowan MAKUWA,
  Shaun MCMANUS,
  Tom MERCER,
  Brian MGONJA,
  Owen MONACHAN,
  Hayato MURRAY,
  Pavlos NICOLAOU,
  Muhammad Anas NOUMAN,
  Xiaowen PAN,
  Daniel PENNY.
  Also one of the recipients of the ICAEW Prize for Best Student in Financial Accounting & Analysis; Mateo PEREA ARMAS,
  Mohammad RAHMAN,
  Mohammed Riazur RAHMAN,
  Ashis RAI,
  Daffa Fachrizal RAMADHANI,
  Matthew ROHRS,
  Suvam ROY,
  Khenex SABATCHI,
  Remy SACHDEV,
  Harry SCHOFIELD,
  Shiqi SHEN,
  Alexander STONE,
  Shaan TAILOR,
  Thanus THANENDRAN,
  Dominic TOTTS,
  Abbie UNDERWOOD,
  Dongjie WANG.
  Also one of the recipients of the ICAEW Prize for Best Student in Financial Accounting & Analysis; Ruotong WANG.
  Aaron WARD,
  Cerys WILLIAMS,
  Elizabeth WILLIAMSON,
  Chloe Chi Ching WONG,
  Jihan YBANEZ.

  For Accounting and Finance (with a professional placement year)...
  Sana Mansoor ASHRAF,
  Anna CONLON,
  Vanessa Hei Tung FAN,
  Jake LINTELL-SMITH,
  Fathima Azrah MANSOOR ALI,
  Melissa MUSAH,
  Ellena ROBERT,
  Rajvir SINGH,
  Tristan WALTER,
  Joshua WILLIAMS,
  Joe WINGATE,
  Joshua WYATT.

  For Accounting and Finance (with a study abroad year)…
  Lucia BOAHENE,
  Syun POONAJI.

  For Economics and Finance…
  Abhishek KANSWAL.

  For Finance…
  Turki ALOTAIBI,
  Hanya AMIN,
  Bradley BEAL,
  Tymoteusz BIELINSKI,
  Max BURNS,
  Harjit CHAHAL,
  Cristian CICCARELLI SANTOS,
  Harvey ELLIS,
  Yutong HAN,
  Cheng-Yun HO,
  Suet Ying Meris HO,
  Yueli LU,
  Louis MACARA,
  Katie-Jayne PATEK,
  Karim RADWAN,
  Daniel REES,
  Amir-Ali SAFARI,
  Tanmay SALVEKAR,
  Sumatera SARAGIH SIMARMATA,
  Philmon SOLOMON GIDEY,
  Shaurya TAWARE,
  Tian Hong WONG,
  Tong WU,
  Xuejun WU,
  Changte YAN.

  For Finance (with a professional placement year)…
  Kenny LUONG.

  For Finance and Business…
  Samuel BLAKELY,
  James CARNE,
  Jacelyn Mae-Xien CHUAH,
  Zilong DENG,
  Yasmine DIB,
  Jana EL NASHAR,
  Khaled EL SAYED,
  Hassan EZZELDIN,
  Mohammad Reza FOROOZMAND,
  Kritesh GOEL,
  Jude HAYWARD-PARRY,
  Jiani HE,
  Jiayu HE,
  Jude HIJAZIN,
  Soe San HTET AUNG,
  Jovani JOHN,
  Albi KELLICI,
  Mavis KYAW,
  Xi LUO,
  Yahya MATEEN,
  Also awarded the Prize for Best Student in BSc Finance & Business for obtaining the highest grand mean; Iain MCDONALD,
  Adam MILLARD,
  Eren MUSTAFA,
  Lucksman NERANJAKUMAR,
  Matthew NICHOL,
  Ran PENG,
  Xiaoxue REN,
  Elio ROMANELLI,
  Baraa SALKINI,
  Tobi SANNI,
  Kareem Hany SHARF,
  Karamveer SONDH,
  Jacob VANN,
  Ervin VELAJ,
  Pheth oulay VONGKHANTY,
  Thomas WAKEFIELD,
  Finley WALLACE,
  Ziyue WANG,
  Aaron WILLIAMS,
  Harry WOLSTENHOLME,
  Zetian WU,
  Zhixin YANG,
  Abolfazl ZAREAN,
  Jianjun ZHANG,
  Yichen ZHOU.

  For Finance and Business (with a professional placement year)…
  Orla-Marie BUTLER,
  Marcus CAPRANO-WINT,
  Josiah COLES,
  Eleanor DALLAIN,
  Umara FATIMA,
  Emily JAGGER,
  Nicholas WEBB,
  Erica WHITE.

  For Finance and Business (with a study abroad year)…
  Gemma CLARK.

  For Finance and Technology…
  Arturo GERLI,
  Brandon HUA.
  Also awarded the Prize for Best Research Project in Accounting and Finance for the highest dissertation mark; Julia MICALLEF.
  Frankie PARKER-TURNER,
  Rishi PATEL,
  Khonsu ZEPHERIN.

  For Finance and Technology (with a professional placement year)…
  Nneka AYOGU,
  Hussein ELKAYAR,
  Aditi MEHTA.

  For the degree of Master of Science in Banking and Finance…
  Prithvi Niranjan ARADHYA.

  For Fintech, Risk and Investment Analysis…
  Akshata Sadanand HALAGERI.

  For Sustainable Finance and Accounting…
  Ellen Brenda MUDADI

  Vice Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...

  For the thesis;
  "Patent applications and firm innovation outputs in the UK biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries"
  Hien DINH.

  Vice Chancellor, This concludes the list of graduands from the University of Sussex Business School.

   

  [Provost, Professor Michael Luck, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Michael Luck:
  Vice Chancellor, I present to you those who are unable to be presented earlier.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance...
  Nabil AWADH,
  Ruiyan CHEN,
  Tony HOXHA,
  Chengzheng MEI,
  Blessing OYINLOLA,
  Hanan WASEEM.

  For Finance…
  Jiaxin DING.

  For Finance and Business…
  Haoxiang GENG,
  Yuhan HUANG,
  Yukun LI,
  Zihui WU,

  For the degree of Master of Science in Accounting and Finance…
  Elizabeth Oluwa Bukola Lawrence AYENI.

  For Management and Finance...
  Aleena AKRAM

  For Finance...
  Turki ALOTAIBI.

  Vice Chancellor, you have now met all the graduands being presented to you at this ceremony, and the moment has come for the formal conferral of degrees of the University of Sussex. I therefore ask you to confer degrees on those presented to you and to other graduands who have indicated their wish to graduate in absentia at this ceremony.

   

  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands in the middle of the stage.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  So this is the big moment. Graduands, please will you stand again? And colleagues behind me, would you please stand?

   

  [Graduands and staff stand.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the powers invested in me by the University of Sussex, by confer degrees on all those referred to by the Provost-Chancellor.
  Congratulations, you are now graduates of the University of Sussex!

   

  (Graduates and academics/staff stand and after sustained applause, a final video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

  
  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Hello, it's me again. Congratulations graduates. Very, very well done to all of you. Traditionally, the chancellor is supposed to leave you with some parting words of wisdom. I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't instinctively already know, and your instincts that inner voice, are always right by the way. But they speak with the same vocabulary, cadence, inflexion, and grammar as your fears, anxieties, and doubts. So how to tell the difference? Your instincts always come from a place of love. So check in with yourself and make sure that you are always coming from a place of kindness towards yourself and the world around you. Being kind in every situation can be a challenge sometimes. I know it's easier said than done, but the more you practice it, the easier it gets until eventually it's just habit and a part of who you are. You have all achieved magnificently in your academic pursuit and I have no doubt you will apply that to your journey going forward. For dealing with the emotional challenges, anxiety and mental health issues that we all face in an uncertain world we need emotional intelligence. I believe that at the heart of emotional intelligence is compassion, love, and positivity. You know how when we look up at a clear night sky, we can marvel at starlight knowing that those stars may not now even exist yet we can bask in their glow. Love and compassion have the same power. We can and do feel love and kindness from people and events long since gone, and we can do that now for those who will be here when we've long since gone. An act of compassion is like dropping a pebble into a lake. The ripples affect far more and reaches way further than we ever thought or intended. Positivity is not about thinking everything is great all the time. It's being aware that things are tough, but believing and knowing that that is not permanent, that things can and will change. I've lived this experience at 32. I was unemployed, in debt and living with my parents. I could not conceive that within two years I'd be working on TV and movies and not what my business degree had planned for me. Going further, back at 18, I applied here to Sussex, my first choice for university. I didn't get in... something about my grades not being good enough... so I went elsewhere and waited until all those responsible for me not to getting in, had retired, were in prison, deported, or were just playing dead. And at the age of 46, I came back here as chancellor. So ha ha, ha ha! And going back even further, still, when I was five years old, an uncle asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, Actor -I said. My father said; "It's pronounced doctor." But 30 years later, and since I've been living and doing what I dreamed of, obviously, I'm someone who plays the long game. My point is that all of those moments have been amongst the most surprising, positive experiences of my life and have led to other extraordinary experiences including bringing me here today, thus obliterating, all of the negative ones I had before. It taught me that I have no idea exactly what's in my future, and neither do you. But you want to stay in the game until the good stuff comes around and be ready for it when it does. One of my favourite quotes is from the great American poet, Maya Angelou, who I was lucky to have met once, and she said; "People may forget what you did. People may forget what you said. People will never forget the way you made them feel." The final key to emotional intelligence, I wanna mention, is listening and talking. It's obvious, right? Listening. Really hearing what someone is saying to you is essential. People aren't always consciously saying what they're feeling, so like a detective waiting for that vital piece of information, you have to be really on it. My aunt always used to say; you have two ears and one mouth. So always listen twice as much as you talk. And talking, when we're overwhelmed by anything, fear, anger, grief, greed, even beauty and love, the thing we lose is perspective even momentarily and in those moments, we may act in haste and without the clarity that's required. The quickest way to perspective is to pause and then talk to someone. Get an alternative point of view that's not also been created in your own head. But choose wisely beforehand 'cause these will be the excellent listeners I mentioned and will not necessarily be convenient, but will tell you their honest opinion in the most compassionate way. And if you can't find someone to talk to, get yourself a sense of humour. If you can see that, that overwhelming, terrifying thing is also silly then it is no longer just a terrifying thing. Instant perspective. Mahatma Gandhi said; Be the change you want to see in the world. So if you want to see a more compassionate world, you be more compassionate. You wanna see more accountability, then you be more accountable. I hope we meet in person at some point, in which case, feel free to come up and say, I'm a Sussex graduate and you owe me a hug or a handshake or a high five! Or ignore me if you want. It's up to you. Either way, I wish you all success in everything you do next. Take your compassion, positivity, humour, and power and change your world. Someone's world. The world.

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now declare this ceremony closed.

   

  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

Download the Ceremony 3 video [MP4 2.6GB]

Ceremony 4 at 1.30pm

University of Sussex Business School

• Strategy and Marketing

•  Video transcript

  https://vimeo.com/988970854

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.]

   

  (A video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Greetings all. I am the chancellor of the University of Sussex. A lot of you probably already knew that, but um, I thought the beard might throw you. It's for a character I'm playing in a TV thing. It is real! If I'd been there, I would've invited you to give it a tug to check its authenticity as you cross the stage - or not. Anyway, I digress.Well, well here we are. Well, here you are. I am of course somewhere else, but here in spirit and in admiration. Apologies for gate-crashing your day, but I just couldn't help crowbarring myself into your celebration. I wanted to add the warmest of welcomes to all of you, graduands, families and friends and to those like me who may be following the ceremony remotely. Sussex graduations have become known for being a festival, a bit of a party, and it's a tradition that I hope you'll continue today.This is your day, so express your joy and positivity when you cross the stage. And friends and family, this is your day too, so take a moment to be prepared with your cameras for the moment your superstar crosses the stage and make as much noise as you can when they do.Oh, come on, they've embarrassed you enough times in the past. So this is payback time.Have a great ceremony and I'll catch you on the other side.

   

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  Mr. Mayor, distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, supporters, friends, and above all our graduands, the Sussex class of 2024. It's my great honour and enormous pleasure to welcome you today to the Brighton Centre for this graduation ceremony.
  I'm Professor Sasha Roseneil. I'm the Vice-chancellor and president of the university. Graduands, as our chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar has just reminded us, today is all about you. This is a day of celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved during your time at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have benefited in countless tangible and less tangible ways from the love and support of your family or guardians and carers. From the encouragement of your friends and of course from the teaching and guidance of staff at the university. You may also have had support from our alumni and donors in the form of scholarships that they've provided. So I'm now going to ask you for some participation.
  Graduands, would you mind standing up and turning and facing the audience behind you? Now that's really interesting because I was gonna ask you to cheer your audience and they're cheering you, so why don't you give them a hearty round of applause and thanks for all their support.

   

  (Graduands stand and give a big round of applause.)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil continues:
  Wonderful, please be seated again. I can see it's a fantastic mutual admiration society today.
  Now, as a University of Sussex, we are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community. And that extends to this celebration today. This is an important event, not just in the lives of our graduands, but for everyone in this auditorium, many of whom have travelled very long distances to be with us. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. You come each year from over 130 countries around the world. So we have people in the audience today of many different nationalities and faiths. And amongst everyone gathered here, there is surely a huge diversity of opinion and belief about almost every matter under the sun. And that diversity of thought and belief is a very special thing. Something that Sussex as a university seeks always to uphold and support. We have a foundational commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom. It's our job as a university to create an environment in which diversity of belief and opinion can be explored. It's our job to nurture the conditions under which our students and staff can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas, where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed. We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death, and the destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as climate crisis, as environmental degradation, giving rise to enormous concern amongst Sussex students. Many Sussex students and their families and loved ones, I'm sure, hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I would like to emphasise that the university supports and will always support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of the humanity and diversity that's at the heart of our university community. And that binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community.
  So Sussex graduands, I would like to thank you for all that you have contributed to making our university a place of community, inclusion and diversity. An open, warm and welcoming place. In the two years since I became vice-chancellor, I've come to see that Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope, and possibility. Alongside your academic work, many of you have taken part in an impressive range of other activities as members and leaders of students, societies and groups, and as volunteers, helping and supporting other people on and off campus. Many of you today are receiving a spirit of Sussex Award for your contributions to our community. From serving as campus ambassadors to fundraising for local causes and creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable. I commend your commitment to your extracurricular activities. Well done on all that you've achieved alongside your formal studies. Over the past two years, I've had the great privilege of meeting many Sussex alumni in the UK, in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. And I've been overwhelmed by how many of them told me how much they loved their student days at Sussex and how their experience of studying at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They recalled encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transformed their worldview as well as making lasting friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you, today's graduands, will feel the same in years to come. Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or are looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you are leaving a university with a global reputation. A university that has equipped you with knowledge and skills to think critically and creatively, to work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective. You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally recognised for their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of their research has directly informed your education across the disciplines and in the spaces in between. Our research focuses on the urgent concerns of our time.
  Some of you might have seen our 'Impossible until it's done' Banners around Brighton and Hove and on the buses inspired by the world of Nelson Mandela. This campaign highlights the work we are doing to tackle pollution in rivers, to find new ways, to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using AI. We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes and ambitions with wider audiences. And Sussex has much to celebrate. For the eighth consecutive years with our campus partner, the Institute of Development Studies, we've been ranked first in the world for development studies. This is an outstanding achievement by our academics and development studies, which seeks understandings of and progress towards global equity. Social justice and sustainability is very much at the heart of what Sussex is about. One of the key measures of the strength and impact of a university is the extent to which publications are cited by researchers from other universities. Sussex really does punch above our weight in this respect. This year in the QS World University's Rankings, we have nine subjects in the top 10 in the UK for citations with History and Physics and Astronomy, each ranked first in the UK. We were also recognised as the eighth most sustainable university in the UK and joined 26th in the world, which shows just how much we're doing to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. All this means that Sussex research is improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology and influencing the policies of government as well as making a difference to the protection and regeneration of our natural world. Now I know that many of you graduating today have had difficult life journeys so far, and all of you have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous disruption that this caused to your education and social lives. Some of you have struggled with your mental health, some of with your physical health. Some of you have faced loss and family disruption whilst you've been students, but each of you has had a unique route to Sussex and through your time here and each of you will have had your ups and downs. But whatever your Sussex story, I hope, when you look back at the time you've been with us, you will feel that your studies were intellectually challenging and rigorous. That you were stretched, stimulated, and supported to achieve your best. That you're leaving with knowledge, skills, and personal resources that will stand you in good stead and that you made connections and friendships that will stay with you long into the future. You will now take many different paths as you join our community of more than 200,000 alumni worldwide. Sussex alumni include Nobel laureates, grassroots campaigners and activists. Heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations. And those with less high profile but no less significant lives and careers, people whose actions and relationships remake and renew the social fabric in small positive ways. Every day, across the globe, in more than 160 countries and in all walks of life, our alumni are sharing the benefits of their Sussex experience to make the world a better place. I know you will do that too.
  So graduands, celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree. Celebrate the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. Celebrate the belief in yourself that's made it possible and celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.
  I now call upon the Head of the Department for Strategy and Marketing in the University of Sussex Business School, Professor Michael Beverland.

  
  (Graduands and guests applaud.)

   

  [Head of the Department for Strategy and Marketing in the University of Sussex Business School, Professor Michael Beverland, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Michael Beverland:
  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Arts and Economics...
  Jack CAMPBELL,

  For the degree of Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance...
  Trisha DAY,
  Kian KAZEROUNI,
  Jonathan WARMAN.

  For International Business…
  Jasmina ABDURASHIDOVA,
  All right. Uh, Trisha DAY,
  Love Anuoluwa ABE,
  Abdel ABU DIAB,
  Ahmed ALLAM,
  Megan ANDIDJAJA,
  Ethan ARMSTRONG,
  Eliott BLANC,
  Olivia BOSBERY,
  Yanwen CAO,
  Charlie COLEMAN,
  Gabriela COSTA MATOS,
  Monique DIALLO,
  Mackenzie DOWNER,
  Orla FALLON,
  Mirna FARAG.
  Also jointly awarded the Prize for Best Student in BSc International Business for obtaining the highest grand mean; Finnen FLAHERTY, Congratulations.
  Alicia GALIANA WALLACE.
  Also jointly awarded the Prize for Best Student and BSc International Business for obtaining the highest grand mean; Sofia GALLARDO CHACON,
  Luis GODINEZ,
  Harrison JAMES,
  Mahetabel JARDI MERINO,
  Hayden JOHNSON,
  Kyle KEEP,
  Oscar LAKE,
  Lewis LANDS,
  Yanbin LI,
  Cameron MATTHIAS SMITH,
  Ralph MILLS,
  James MOORE,
  Elena OKAMOTO-LUI,
  Elliot ORROCK,
  Jad RAAD,
  India RHODEN,
  Alexander ROLPH,
  Jamie ROSS,
  Alina SAMIOTAKIS,
  Christopher SAWIRIS,
  Luis SCHMITT,
  Rebecca SERRAO,
  Sarah SHAHBAZI,
  Iryna SOLONINA,
  Connor STULICH,
  Prasanya THYAGARAJAH,
  Thais TRINIAC,
  Oliver TUCKNOTT,
  Igor VIDYAEV,
  Samantha WILLIAMS,
  Hanjie ZHANG,
  Ruoyu ZHAO.

  For International Business (with a professional placement year)…
  Giulio BERTOLINI,
  Janis BORMANIS,
  Anisah CHOUDHURY,
  Ines FLUCHER MENDES,
  Jacqueline GIL,
  Ege Ozan OZYENEN,
  Christian WYNDE.

  For International Business (with a study abroad year)…
  Mayara DE OLIVEIRA,
  Andrew HADJI MICHAEL,
  Constance HICKMAN,
  Michele LODETTI,
  Marie TOTSIS.

  For Marketing and Management…
  Saleh ABDELKARIM,
  Maya AL-KILANY,
  Yasmin ALHARBI,
  Abdlrhman ALQMATI,
  Anna ATAMAS,
  Shanice AYTON,
  Dia AZIZ.
  Also jointly awarded the Prize for Best Student in BSc Marketing and Management with highest grand mean; Carly BAILEY,
  Brandon BARRON,
  James BESWETHERICK,
  Danyal BILAL,
  Nicholas BOWER,
  Karmal BUTT,
  James CADDICK,
  Jiahui CHEN,
  Rosa CHIANG,
  Eva CLARKE,
  Simon COHEN,
  Natalie COLMAN,
  Chloe COYNE,
  Jade CUSHING,
  Madeline DORE,
  Zena ELSEBAAY,
  Saim FARAZ,
  George FIELDER,
  Daniel FLOUTY,
  Joseph GHOLAM,
  Sabrina GHULOOM,
  Lucheng GONG,
  Ricardo GUTIERREZ LEAL,
  Oliver HART,
  Bryony HAWKINS,
  Merlin HEAD,
  Harriet HEAVEN,
  Stephanie HILL,
  Fiona HINDLE,
  Francis HOGHTON,
  Miroslaw HOLISZ,
  Armin HORZYK,
  Bradley HUDSON,
  Finn JAMES,
  Ishwari JAMNADAS,
  Taniya JOAD,
  Harvey KING,
  Katie KING,
  Zachry Hirokazu KOBAYASHI,
  Piotr KONDRAK,
  Lila KORPELA,
  Riana KRISHNA,
  LAU Pui Yui Edda,
  Jonathan LAST,
  Nathan WAI HIN LEE,
  Isabella LINN,
  Beatrice LOMBARDERO PRESTON,
  Daisy MCGRAIL,
  Billy MHINDURWA,
  Kira MOGHADAS,
  Jazmin NAGY,
  Yue NGEW,
  Tommy PHUNG,
  Isabella PLATTS,
  Anzhela POLISHKO,
  Kacper PREJS,
  Andreea RAHOVEAN,
  Henry RICHARDS,
  William ROBERTS,
  Oliver ROUSE-ROBERTS,
  Mona SALEM
  Matthew Alben SANGKILAWANG,
  Isabella SEATON,
  George SMALLBONE,
  Chloe-Ann SMITH,
  Martha SOLIMAN,
  Jack TANNER,
  Leo TOTRAKU,
  Gursimran VAID,
  Evan WALSH,
  Ziyang WEI,
  Harry WHITE,
  Tyanne WILLIAMS,
  Alexander WOODERS,
  Kohei YAMAGUCHI,
  Xinying ZHANG,
  Yinyi ZHU.

  For Marketing and Management (with a professional placement year)…
  Samuel AYLING.
  Also jointly awarded the Prize for Best Student in BSc Marketing and Management with highest grand mean; Matthew BARNETT, Congratulations, well done.
  Sofia BIGGS,
  Breanna DEEN,
  Grace HO,
  Adil IQBAL,
  Yasmin JANJEVA,
  Comfort KARIM,
  Manaal QUAZI,
  Niah SANDERSON,
  James STAFFORD,
  Katy STRACHAN,
  Leonardo TAO,
  Alfred YOUNG.

  For Marketing and Management (with a study abroad year)…
  Hannah MCGOVERN.

  For Marketing and Management with Psychology…
  Ahmed BAMAGIN,
  Sofia BLAZQUEZ,
  Rachel BOKWALA,
  Mia BUCKINGHAM,
  Chelsea CHONG.
  Also jointly awarded the Prize for Best Student in BSc Marketing and Management with Psychology with highest grand mean; Kara DALLAS, well done.
  Ella DEVINE,
  Henry FARRANT,
  Theodore FREEMAN,
  Zainab HUSAIN,
  Emily JOHNSON,
  Janavi Manoj KHATAN,
  Catherine LIM,
  Nicole MAGRONE,
  Elloise MONGEY,
  Rudro MUKHERJEE,
  Caitlin PADMORE.
  Also jointly awarded the Prize for Best Student in BSc Marketing and Management with Psychology with highest grand mean; Nefeli PAPAIOANNOU.
  Savannah PATON,
  Jodie PREECE,
  Julia PYTER,
  Rami RAYES,
  Mariana RODRIGUEZ VIVEROS,
  Flora ROZGONYI,
  Maisie SINNETT,
  Jasmine SLADE.
  Also awarded the Prize for Best Research Project in Strategy & Marketing with highest dissertation mark; Saffron SNOOK.
  Rollo SQUIRE,
  Benya SUMNER,
  Man TSANG,
  Cydney WILSON,
  Finn WILSON,
  Jude YOUNG.

  For Marketing and Management with Psychology (with a professional placement year)…
  Saskia ALFONSO,
  Georgia BOLTON,
  Alice GUDMUNDS,
  Taylor HUDSON,
  Fabian NEZA,
  Danya Sunil SUBHAS,
  Olivia TRACE.

  For Marketing and Management with Psychology (with a study abroad year)…
  Lola HART,
  Valentina WANG.

  For the Postgraduate Diploma in International Management…
  Ramtin FATOORECHI.

  For the degree of Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation…
  Saima AKHTER,
  Sasiwimon TESPITAK.

  For International Management…
  Ogenna Darling CHUKWU.

  For International Marketing…
  Fatima AL-EMADI,
  Ahmad AL-HADID,
  Gamila ALDAKNY,
  Olga BEDRINA,
  Victoria BELLO,
  Nefeli BOUTI,
  Tina DIPROSE,
  Roseanne DYBLE,
  Jessica FOOKS,
  Clara GOMEZ SANCHEZ,
  Anthea KORINTH,
  Josette MAMO,
  Phachaya METHAKITTIWORAKUN,
  Aldrine SANCHEZ,
  Carola SCHULZ,
  Ana ZORIA.

  For Marketing and Consumer Psychology…
  Susmera Pradeep CHOLAYIL,
  Xin Yar CHUA,
  Zainab THANAWALA,
  Mariana ZIOULI.

  For Strategic Marketing…
  Ifeoma Maureen OKORIE - IMANCHE,
  Atlese Larita ROBINSON Richi SINGH,

  Vice-Chancellor this concludes the list of graduands from the University of Sussex Business School.

  
  [Provost, Professor Michael Luck, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Michael Luck:
  Vice Chancellor, I present to you those who were unable to be presented earlier.

  For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Psychology...
  For the thesis;
  "Making headspace a health behaviour perspective"
  Charlotte DUNKELD.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Arts in International Business...
  Teo BAINBRIDGE,
  Zhenyu ZOU.

  For the degree of Marketing and Management…
  Muqtasid AHMED,
  Pui Yui Lau EDDA,
  Yue SHENG.

  For Marketing and Management (with a professional placement year)...
  Oliver PLATTS.

  For Marketing and Management with Psychology (with a professional placement year)...
  Johann BULTZE,
  Lucas Mandic-Tyler.

  Vice Chancellor, You have now met all the graduands being presented to you at of this ceremony and the moment has come for the formal conferral of degrees of the University of Sussex.
  I therefore ask you to confer degrees on those presented to you and to the other graduands who have indicated their wish to graduate in absentia at this ceremony.

  
  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands in the middle of the stage.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  So, this is the big moment.
  Graduands, please, would you stand again? And colleagues behind me, would you stand?

  
  [Graduands and staff stand.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the powers invested in me by the University of Sussex, I confer degrees on all those referred to by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor.
  Congratulations, you are now graduates of the University of Sussex!

   

  (Graduates and academics/staff stand and after sustained applause, a final video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  
  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Hello, it's me again. Congratulations graduates. Very, very well done to all of you. Traditionally, the chancellor is supposed to leave you with some parting words of wisdom. I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't instinctively already know, and your instincts that inner voice, are always right by the way. But they speak with the same vocabulary, cadence, inflexion, and grammar as your fears, anxieties, and doubts. So how to tell the difference? Your instincts always come from a place of love. So check in with yourself and make sure that you are always coming from a place of kindness towards yourself and the world around you. Being kind in every situation can be a challenge sometimes. I know it's easier said than done, but the more you practice it, the easier it gets until eventually it's just habit and a part of who you are. You have all achieved magnificently in your academic pursuit and I have no doubt you will apply that to your journey going forward. For dealing with the emotional challenges, anxiety and mental health issues that we all face in an uncertain world we need emotional intelligence. I believe that at the heart of emotional intelligence is compassion, love, and positivity. You know how when we look up at a clear night sky, we can marvel at starlight knowing that those stars may not now even exist yet we can bask in their glow. Love and compassion have the same power. We can and do feel love and kindness from people and events long since gone, and we can do that now for those who will be here when we've long since gone. An act of compassion is like dropping a pebble into a lake. The ripples affect far more and reaches way further than we ever thought or intended. Positivity is not about thinking everything is great all the time. It's being aware that things are tough, but believing and knowing that that is not permanent, that things can and will change. I've lived this experience at 32. I was unemployed, in debt and living with my parents. I could not conceive that within two years I'd be working on TV and movies and not what my business degree had planned for me. Going further, back at 18, I applied here to Sussex, my first choice for university. I didn't get in... something about my grades not being good enough... so I went elsewhere and waited until all those responsible for me not to getting in, had retired, were in prison, deported, or were just playing dead. And at the age of 46, I came back here as chancellor. So ha ha, ha ha! And going back even further, still, when I was five years old, an uncle asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, Actor -I said. My father said; "It's pronounced doctor." But 30 years later, and since I've been living and doing what I dreamed of, obviously, I'm someone who plays the long game. My point is that all of those moments have been amongst the most surprising, positive experiences of my life and have led to other extraordinary experiences including bringing me here today, thus obliterating, all of the negative ones I had before. It taught me that I have no idea exactly what's in my future, and neither do you. But you want to stay in the game until the good stuff comes around and be ready for it when it does. One of my favourite quotes is from the great American poet, Maya Angelou, who I was lucky to have met once, and she said; "People may forget what you did. People may forget what you said. People will never forget the way you made them feel." The final key to emotional intelligence, I wanna mention, is listening and talking. It's obvious, right? Listening. Really hearing what someone is saying to you is essential. People aren't always consciously saying what they're feeling, so like a detective waiting for that vital piece of information, you have to be really on it. My aunt always used to say; you have two ears and one mouth. So always listen twice as much as you talk. And talking, when we're overwhelmed by anything, fear, anger, grief, greed, even beauty and love, the thing we lose is perspective even momentarily and in those moments, we may act in haste and without the clarity that's required. The quickest way to perspective is to pause and then talk to someone. Get an alternative point of view that's not also been created in your own head. But choose wisely beforehand 'cause these will be the excellent listeners I mentioned and will not necessarily be convenient, but will tell you their honest opinion in the most compassionate way. And if you can't find someone to talk to, get yourself a sense of humour. If you can see that, that overwhelming, terrifying thing is also silly then it is no longer just a terrifying thing. Instant perspective. Mahatma Gandhi said; Be the change you want to see in the world. So if you want to see a more compassionate world, you be more compassionate. You wanna see more accountability, then you be more accountable. I hope we meet in person at some point, in which case, feel free to come up and say, I'm a Sussex graduate and you owe me a hug or a handshake or a high five! Or ignore me if you want. It's up to you. Either way, I wish you all success in everything you do next. Take your compassion, positivity, humour, and power and change your world. Someone's world. The world.

   

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now declare this ceremony closed.

   

  
  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

Download the Ceremony 4 video [MP4 2.8GB]

Ceremony 5 at 4.30pm

University of Sussex Business School

• Management
• Roffey Park Institute

•  Video transcript

  https://vimeo.com/989404254

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.]

   

  (A video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Greetings all. I am the chancellor of the University of Sussex. A lot of you probably already knew that, but um, I thought the beard might throw you. It's for a character I'm playing in a TV thing. It is real! If I'd been there, I would've invited you to give it a tug to check its authenticity as you cross the stage - or not. Anyway, I digress.Well, well here we are. Well, here you are. I am of course somewhere else, but here in spirit and in admiration. Apologies for gate-crashing your day, but I just couldn't help crowbarring myself into your celebration. I wanted to add the warmest of welcomes to all of you, graduands, families and friends and to those like me who may be following the ceremony remotely. Sussex graduations have become known for being a festival, a bit of a party, and it's a tradition that I hope you'll continue today.This is your day, so express your joy and positivity when you cross the stage. And friends and family, this is your day too, so take a moment to be prepared with your cameras for the moment your superstar crosses the stage and make as much noise as you can when they do.Oh, come on, they've embarrassed you enough times in the past. So this is payback time.Have a great ceremony and I'll catch you on the other side.

   

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  Mr. Mayor, distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, supporters, friends, and above all, graduands, the Sussex class of 2024. It's my great honour and enormous pleasure to welcome you to the Brighton Centre for this graduation ceremony. I'm Professor Sasha Roseneil and I'm the vice-chancellor and president of the University.
  Graduands, as our chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar has just reminded us, today is all about you. This is the day of celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved during your time at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have benefited in countless tangible and intangible ways from the love and support of your family or guardians and carers, and from the encouragement of your friends and of course from the teaching and guidance of staff at the university. You may also have had support from our alumni and donors who've generously provided scholarships that have enabled you to study at Sussex. So now I'm going to ask for some participation from you. Our graduands, if you are able, could you please stand up and turn to face the audience, your friends and loved ones, and offer your thanks with a big hearty cheer and a round of applause?

   

  (Graduands stand and give a big round of applause.)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil continues:
  So please be seated again. It's lively this afternoon.
  As a university, we at Sussex are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community. And that extends to our celebration today. This is an important event not only in the lives of our graduands, but for everyone in the auditorium. Some of whom have travelled a very long way to be with us. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. You come each year from over 130 countries around the world. So we have people in the audience today of many different nationalities and faiths and amongst everyone gathered here, there is a huge diversity of opinion and belief about almost every matter under the sun. And that diversity of thought and belief is a very special thing. Something that Sussex as a university seeks always to uphold and support. We have a foundational commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom. It's our job as a university to create an environment in which diversity of belief and opinions can be explored. It's our job to nurture the conditions under which our students and staff can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed.
  We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death and the destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as the climate crisis and environmental degradation, giving rise to enormous concern among Sussex students. Many Sussex students and their families and loved ones, I'm sure, hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I would like to emphasise that the university supports and will always support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of humanity and diversity. That's at the heart of our university community and that binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community.
  So Sussex graduands, I would like to thank you all for all that you've contributed to make our university a place of community inclusion and diversity, an open, warm and welcoming place. In the two years since I became vice-chancellor, I've come to realise that Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope, and possibility. Alongside your academic work, many of you have taken part in an impressive range of other activities as members and leaders of student societies and groups and as volunteers helping and supporting other people on and off campus. Many of you are today receiving a Spirit of Sussex Award for your contributions to our community. From serving as campus ambassadors to raising funds for local causes and creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable. I commend your commitment to your extracurricular activities. Well done on all that you've achieved alongside your formal studies.
  Also, over the past two years, I've had the great privilege of meeting many Sussex alumni from the UK, in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. And I've been overwhelmed by how many of them told me how much they loved their days at Sussex and how the experience of studying at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They recalled encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transformed their worldview as well as making lasting friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you, today's graduands, will feel the same in the years to come.
  Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you're leaving a university with a global reputation. A university that has equipped you with knowledge and skills to think critically and creatively, work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective. You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally recognised for their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of their research has directly informed your education across the disciplines and the spaces in between. Their research focuses on the urgent concerns of our time.
  Some of you may have seen the 'Impossible until it's done' banners around Brighton and Hove and on the buses at the moment. Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela, this campaign highlights the work we are doing to tackle pollution in rivers, to find new ways, to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using artificial intelligence. We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes and our ambitions with wider audiences. And Sussex has much to celebrate. For the eighth consecutive year, we've been ranked first in the world with our partner, the Institute of Development Studies for Development Studies. This is an outstanding achievement by our academics. Development Studies seek an understanding and progress towards global equity, social justice and sustainability, and it's very much at the heart of what Sussex is about. One of the key measures of the strength and impact of a university is the extent to which its publications are cited by other researchers from other universities. Sussex really does punch above our weight in this respect. This year in the QS World University Rankings, we have nine subjects in the top 10 in the UK for citations with History and Physics and Astronomy, each ranked first in the UK. We were also recognised as the eighth most sustainable university in the UK and joint 26 in the world overall for sustainability. This means that Sussex research is improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology and influencing the policies of governments as well as making a positive difference to the protection and regeneration of our natural environment.
  Now I know that many of you graduating today have had difficult life journeys so far, and you've all lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous disruption that this caused to your education and social lives. Some of you have struggled with your mental health, some with your physical health. Some of you have faced loss and family disruption during your student time. Each of you has had a unique route to Sussex and through your time at Sussex, and each of you will have had ups and downs. But whatever your Sussex story, I hope when you look back over your time here, you feel that your studies were intellectually challenging and rigorous, that you were stretched, stimulated, and supported to achieve your best. That you are leaving with knowledge, skills, and personal resources that will stand you in good stead and that you've made connections and friendships that will stay with you long into the future.
  You'll now take many different paths as you join our community of more than 200,000 alumni. Sussex alumni include Nobel laureates, grassroots campaigners and activists, heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations. And those with less publicly high-profile but no less significant lives and careers. People whose actions and relationships remake and renew the complex social fabric in small positive ways. Every day, across the globe, in more than 160 countries and in all walks of life, our alumni are sharing the benefits of their Sussex experience to make the world a better place. I know you will do that too.
  So celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree. Celebrate the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. Celebrate the belief in yourself that made it possible and celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.
  I call upon the Dean of the University of Sussex Business School, Professor Debbie Keeling.

  
  (Graduands and guests applaud.)

  [Dean of the University of Sussex Business School, Professor Debbie Keeling, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Debbie Keeling:
  Vice Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business and Management studies...
  Abdelrahman ABDELAZIZ,
  Khadija ABDELGAYED,
  Anna-Bianca ADAMS,
  Awais AFRIDI,
  Muhammad Ismail AFZAL,
  Thisuka Imeth ALAWATHTHA KANKANAMAGE,
  Omar ALDHSHAN,
  Lucy ALLEN,
  Mulikat ALLI,
  Louis AMROLIWALA,
  Karina AREHTOVA,
  Lucas ASH,
  Waleed ASHOUR,
  Drew ASHWORTH,
  Sebastian ATIENZA,
  Farida ATTIA,
  Lina ATTIA,
  Shahmeer AWAIS,
  Amir Shoukry Kamal AZIZ,
  Leila AZMI,
  Karine BADRAN,
  Rebecca BAIN,
  Ashwin BANGHARD,
  Toby BASS,
  Rohan BAWA,
  Max BAYLIS,
  Ekaterina BESSONNAYA,
  Nusrat BHUIYAN,
  Jarrell-James BOBO,
  Reuben Peter Montague BOWTELL,
  Maisie BUTLER,
  Zain BUTT,
  Abigail BUXTON,
  Francis CANLAS,
  Andre Lorenzo CANTURINI SALGUERO,
  Leo CASE,
  Charlotte CASSANO,
  Brian Lester CASTILLO MENDOZA,
  James CASTRO,
  Milan CHAMBISSE,
  Siu Nam CHAN,
  Simran Ketan CHAPHEKAR,
  Hing CHOI,
  Thomas COLLINS,
  Isabel COMBI,
  Jordan COOK,
  Harry COOPER,
  Harvey CREWE,
  Joshua CROUDACE,
  Tara CUBITT,
  Yassin DABAA,
  Hamza DABBAGH,
  Maliaka DATHORNE,
  Thomas DAVIES,
  Ethan DAY,
  Sophie DESLANDES,
  Rowan DORAN,
  Rory DRUMMOND,
  Felix DUMPHIE,
  Emilia EADE,
  Jordan EDWARDS-HUNTER,
  Sara Hesham Abdelmoneim Khalil ELBEIH,
  Marwan ELGANAINY,
  Ahmed ELGHANDOUR,
  Essameldin ELHALABY,
  Sebastian ELLIS,
  Jonathan EVANS,
  Daniella FALCK,
  David FAWOLE,
  Faaris FAYYAZ,
  Askalech FEKADU,
  Ana FERNANDES NUNES,
  Sorry, I'll start again.
  W Busabaduge Mahendra Virash FERNANDO,
  Josh FLORENCE,
  Aaron FOWLER,
  Henry FREELAND,
  Hongtao FU,
  Todd GAUTHIER,
  Daniel GEEAR,
  Oliver GILLHAM,
  Evangelos GKARELIS,
  Lydia GLANVILLE,
  Kit GODDARD,
  Roisin GOOD,
  Hamish GRAY,
  Kristina GUBAREVA,
  Emily GUNKEL,
  Helen HALLETT,
  Serena HANNIBAL,
  Olivia HARRISON,
  Raza-E-Ali HASSAN,
  Jessica Grace HOLLERAN,
  Alexander HOLLYHEAD,
  Linxin HOU,
  Lucy HU,
  George HUGHES,
  Henry HUNT,
  Ziad Emad Fouad Taha IBRAHIM,
  Zyad Tamer Adel Mabrouk IBRAHIM,
  Morgan JACKSON,
  Joshua JONES,
  Pranav KALAVALA,
  Jake Can KAYA,
  Adam KELLY,
  Clara KELLY,
  Yousef KENAWY,
  Mekaiel KHAN,
  Thomas KING,
  Miryeong KWAK,
  Francis KWAKYE,
  Michael LAMB,
  John LANITIS,
  Elysia LAY,
  Gabin LE DIOURIS,
  Isaac LEE,
  Jack LEE,
  Tsung-Yu LEE,
  Daryl LEWIS LEE XAN YEN,
  Phone Myat LINN,
  Yuchen LIU,
  Joshua MAGNUS,
  Georgia MCCULLOCH,
  Casey MCQUILLAN,
  Rohan MENGI,
  Grace MILLINGTON,
  Khia MISTRY,
  Mehi Eddin MOHAMAD,
  Omar MOHAMED,
  Harriet MOORE,
  Eleanor MORRELL-SWAIN,
  Falak MOSTAFA,
  Maria MULRINE,
  Stacey MUTAMBIRANWA,
  Ahmad NADEEM,
  Hannah NAYLOR,
  Tsz Lok NG,
  Nora Toremo NØKLEBERG,
  Fraser NORRIS,
  Katie NUDING,
  Isabelle OLIVER,
  Reuben OPOKU,
  Jack OWEN,
  Mohammed Taofeeq OYEWUMI,
  Freddie PANETTA,
  Alexia PARASCHIV,
  James PARNELL,
  Gregory PAYNE,
  Federica PETESE,
  Seth PLUMRIDGE,
  Jaelyl RAMSEY,
  Faizan RASOOL,
  Arthur RAVAN,
  Cristina REDFERN-TONGS,
  Jasmine REYNELL,
  Thomas RICHARDS,
  Barnaby RIVETT,
  Turab RIZVI,
  Harley ROBERTSON,
  James ROWE,
  Lucy ROWSELL,
  Chelsea RUTTER,
  Marwan SAFWAT,
  Zaid SAUD,
  Federico SCOPELLITI,
  Segyonh SELVENDRAN,
  Mann SHAH,
  Omar SHAKER,
  Hamza SHEIKH,
  William SHEPPARD,
  Jinlong SHI,
  Will SIMS,
  George SOUTHGATE,
  Toby STAFF,
  Patrick STURROCK,
  SAMARTH SURYA,
  Marcus Christian De La Cruz TAN,
  Aisha TANIMU,
  Darius TATA,
  Mateu TORRES ROBERTSON,
  Tamzin TRAYNER Dasha TRUNCE,
  Yu-Chun TSENG,
  Sabrina TUMI,
  Jirat UDOMSILP,
  Gregorio URBINATI,
  Teagan VAN NIEKERK,
  Joseph WALKER,
  Max WALTERS,
  Yining WANG,
  Nathan WARD,
  Harry WHITNEY,
  Olivia WHITWORTH,
  Jimi WILD,
  Ben WILLIAMS,
  Kakay WU,
  Yu XI,
  Shiqi XING,
  Tianyi XU,
  Franchesca YIRENKYI,
  Jiachen ZHANG,
  Weixuan ZHANG.

  For Business and Management Studies with a professional placement year)…
  Kirsty BOULTON,
  Alex BRAKE,
  Oliver CAIROLI HINKLY.
  Also jointly awarded the Prize for Best Research Project in Management with highest dissertation mark; Nils CEDERIN.
  Alfie CRANE,
  Isabella DE SPAEY,
  Chloe DOVE.
  Also jointly awarded the Prize for Best Research Project in Management with highest dissertation mark; Lauren DUGGAN.
  Emma FOSTER.
  Also awarded the Prize for Best Student in BSc Business and Management Studies for obtaining the highest grand mean; Maisie FREEBORN.
  Lucas FRIDD,
  Charles FRYER,
  Jai GOLAR,
  Sara HAJI MOLLA ALI KANDI,
  James HONAN,
  Niamh HOWE,
  Kierrer JARMAN,
  Adam JONES,
  Shayan LATIF,
  James LINDSAY,
  Connor O'NEILL,
  Lucie PRYOR,
  Sudit ROY,
  Poppy RUSHEN,
  Jad SALMAN,
  Yehia SHETA,
  Laura STARR,
  Anastha STEVENSON,
  Hannah SWADDLE,
  Francesca TURNER,
  Emma WALSH.

  For Business and Management Studies (with a study abroad year)…
  James GORDON,
  Shay PATEL,
  Imogen RAUCH.

  For Economics with Finance…
  Trisha DAY.

  For Marketing and Management…
  Under GULZAR.

  For the degree of Master of Business Administration…
  Tolulope ARIYIBI OKE,
  Angela Patricia GONZALEZ OVIEDO,
  Kh Rafiqul HAQUE,
  Rachel OBIDA.

  For the degree of Master of Science in Global Supply Chain and Logistics Management… Shravan Kumar MURALIDHAR.

  For Human Resource Management…
  Emily Osade IRORERE,
  Yingyi MAO,
  Naphatson SATITCHAIJAROEN.

  For Management… we'll go back.

  One more for Human Resource Management…
  Abimbola Olubunmi OLADEJO.

  For Management…
  Tong BI,
  Tung-Yu CHANG,
  Wichayarat CHANTAWICHAYASUIT,
  Kaihao LIU,
  Olutola Kafilat OYELOLA.

  For Occupational and Organizational Psychology…
  Aastha CHARAN,
  Allen Jose KOZHIMANNIL SAJI,
  Tanya SAINI.

  For Project Management…
  Jialiang CHONG.

  Vice-Chancellor, I will now to present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...
  For the thesis;
  "An investigation on the impact of gender diversity in purchasing and supply management on supply chain social sustainability in the oil and gas industry"
  Shaima Abdullah Salim AL HARTHY.

  Today is a day for celebrating what's been achieved and looking forward to further success and happiness. And against this background, it is particularly poignant to think of those no longer with us and important to mark their achievements. While we mourn their loss deeply, We also celebrate the mark they left on Sussex and acknowledge what it means to us that they were part of our community.
  Vice-chancellor, We have one final award to make to George Stephens, who sadly passed away before completing his undergraduate program.
  His loss deeply affected everyone who knew him.

  
  [Photographs of George Stephens are being displayed on the large screens above the auditorium]

  
  George joined Sussex, looking forward to a new and exciting phase of life. He's fondly remembered by his friends, fellow students and members of staff as an energetic, enthusiastic and committed student popular among his peers. His lecturers recall George as a steadfast student who persevered through the challenges of studying during the COVID-19 pandemic, showing much promise in his business modules. Despite the challenges he faced, George showed determination and passion for his studies. His journey, though tragically cut short, was marked by significant accomplishments and the strong relationships he built in our community, which was so difficult for all during COVID-19.
  Vice-Chancellor, today we honour George's enthusiasm and achievements by awarding him the degree of Bachelor of Science in Management and Economics.
  George's family are here today to receive George's Award.
  [George's family members shake hands with Professor Debbie Keeling and the Vice-Chancellor then walk to the other side of the stage and collect the certificate from the marshal.]

  
  Professor Debbie Keeling:
  Vice Chancellor, this concludes the list of graduands from the University of Sussex Business School.

  
  [Applause]

   

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I call upon Professor Kate O'Riordan to present Dame Denise Holt.

   

  
  [ Head of the School of Life Sciences, Professor Kate O'Riordan, goes to Dame Denise Holt seat. Professor O'Riordan bows to Dame Denise Holt. They shake hands, and both move to the centre of the platform. Professor Kate O'Riordan goes to the lectern to deliver her oration.]

   

  
  Professor Kate O'Riordan:
  The University of Sussex Council is the senior governing body of the university. It's members are volunteers from both inside and outside of the university.
  The council approves the university's strategy and monitors our performance. It holds responsibility for ensuring that the university meets its legal, regulatory, and ethical obligations to students and staff here now, and what it is planning ahead to ensure that the university will flourish in the future. It holds the university's executive leadership to account. It also appoints the vice-chancellor and president of the University.
  Dame Denise Holt was chair of the University of Sussex Council from 2018 until 2023, then she was succeeded by our current chair, Rosemary Martin.
  Our vice-chancellor and president, Professor Sasha Roseneil was appointed under Dame Denise's leadership. I'm currently a member of the executive myself, but I was previously a staff member of the university council and I've had the pleasure of working directly with Dame Denise through much of her tenure as chair.
  Dame Denise steered Sussex through many major challenges and changes, including the COVID-19 pandemic and was held in high regard for her cool-headed leadership and support of the institution, its students and staff. In her work across the university on the council with the executive and other groups, Dean Denise has brought the sharpness of her intellect, the crispness of her analysis and the warmth of her personality. It has been a privilege for all of us to work with her. She has provided brilliant support for the institution, steering us through leadership transitions, and in bringing Professor Sasha Roseneil to Sussex and supporting RVC in her first year of office.
  Dame Denise is receiving an honorary degree today, both because of what she has given to the university and because of her many achievements in her professional life. Prior to her service at Sussex, Denise was involved in the creation, implementation and oversight of the current and just ending five-year strategic framework; Sussex 2025, which involved adopting the university's values and implementing improvements at Sussex, including the Slope residences, the introduction of a clear focus on sustainability and reviewing and turbocharging our approach to student support and welfare. These changes have made a huge difference to the life of our university and to the experience of our students and the legacy of those changes will continue to positively shape our future.
  Denise brought to her role a wealth of experience gained from a longer distinguished career in the foreign and commonwealth office.
  Truly a global citizen. Denise was born in Vienna, the daughter of a diplomat, and she spent her early years in Moscow. She then moved to Japan and subsequently to Lebanon from where she was evacuated When the Civil War broke out in 1958.
  Denise's exposure to diverse people's cultures, languages and highly charged political situations were deeply formative. After studying Modern Languages and Politics at the University of Bristol, working for the foreign office seemed like a natural progression. She began as a research analyst in Spain and Portugal, subsequently taking on roles across the globe, including in Dublin, Central America and Brazil, and becoming the British ambassador in Mexico and later Spain.
  In 2009, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in recognition of her extraordinary service to the nation. She's also served as a non-executive director in banking, HSBC and M&S Bank, Renewable Energy, Scottish Power and Health, NHS, Pay Review Body and Nuffield Health.
  Denise once said in an interview that she had made a point in her career of never doing a job that she was politically or in conscience in any way uncomfortable about. And that sounds like extremely valuable advice. We have been so incredibly fortunate at Sussex to have benefited from Denise's wisdom, experience, integrity, and her exceptional ability to cut through the noise and provide clarity in complex situations. She has given enormous service to Sussex. An extraordinary amount of time, energy, and care is offered by all of our council members, but above all, by the chair of the council. But I'm glad and relieved even to know that Denise has said that she has gained from us too on her retirement as chair of the council. She said that for her, Sussex had been a place of learning and reflection and that she had come to love the way our beautiful campus can be both calming and energising at the same time. Those words resonate for me as I'm sure they do for many of you graduating today.
  So, Professor Sasha Roseneil, vice-chancellor and President, I present to you for the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Dame Denise Holt.

   

  
  [Applause]

  
  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands and shakes hands with Dame Denise Holt.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the authority of the Senate of the University, I confer on you the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

   

  
  [Doctor of Laws, honoris causa Dame Denise Holt goes to the lectern to deliver her speech.]

   

  Doctor of Laws, Isabella Tree:
  It's amazing, Vice-Chancellor, colleagues and graduands and families.
  First of all, thank you so much for this honour. I can't easily express how much it means, but really, Sussex does get into your heart as well as your mind and actually everything. And I very, very much appreciate that you've thought of me. Even though I'm now well past my sell-by date, chairing council, Sussex's governing body was an extraordinary privilege to witness firsthand the investment in the next generations. The ideas, the challenges that are put before brilliant people like the graduands today and as well as being a privilege, I can say, it was a totally immersive experience. I felt as though for a couple of years I was submerged into the waters of Sussex out of which I've now reappeared in real life. But it was wonderful. And like my colleagues on the council both then and now, I really care very deeply about the well-being of this university. But I would add that at times, a crystal ball would've helped as we sought to navigate the tricky, unpredictable political, economic, social and pandemic waters. And I'm sure all my colleagues on the dire today will understand the feeling of pressures and changes that affect all your working lives.
  I think it's interesting to reflect that in its relatively short life and Sussex University is younger than me, which of course isn't saying very much, but it is still a relatively new university. But it has established a tremendous worldwide reputation for engagement with the world, for asking difficult questions and answering them with challenging new perspectives. I pay tribute to you, vice-chancellor and to all the amazing academic and professional staff for your commitment to student success matched only in my experience by the passion for this university that I've encountered whenever I've met an alum from Sussex University and today we celebrate the academic achievement of the next generation of this generation of graduands. Well done for perseverance.
  I don't think any generation in, well in recent history, let's say the last 500 years can have lived through a global pandemic and the many other challenges that you have as a glass-half-full person. I think it have prepared you wonderfully for the turbulent challenges that are bound to come your way in the future. Nothing can throw you off course.
  Today is not the time for political speech, but as a recent chair of the council, I think it's fair to express my hope that the new government will adopt a more positive approach to universities. There is so much more to us than culture wars. As a former diplomat, I know the high international standing enjoyed by British universities. They are real soft power and the University of Sussex has played a particularly important role in welcoming and supporting foreign students, sometimes refugees, some of whom go on to lead their own countries or major industries or civil service, whatever it might be. I also want to emphasise that - this is not despite what some media might have made you believe - this is not at the expense of home students. Indeed, it's well known that home students' fees are to varying degrees subsidised by foreign students.
  As a former home secretary, the new minister for higher education will know all about the domestic political issues surrounding foreign students. She will also, however, need to factor in as she comes to terms with her new role that the risk posed by growing competition on price and on quality from other countries, a challenging agenda for her.
  On a different note, as a Hispanic, I want to share with you a mantra that has served me well for over half a century. It comes from a Spanish poem by a great poet of the 19th century Anton Machado and in Spanish it is the line that moves me. - in English, that means walker. "There is no path to follow. We make our own path by walking." And this short phrase reminds me over and over again that life is shaped not just by big decisions, but by everyday choices and that the path others are following may not be right for me.
  The pace of change is hotter than ever. Things now happen at warp speed. Computers watch out for us, correct our spelling, remind us of commitments, even offer to write speeches for us... Great, but also they pile on the pressure to act immediately, to have something to say and their algorithms try to fit us into boxes. All these interactions leave footprints shaping your future, shaping your path. The incessant barrage of online noise is a form of peer pressure. Unimaginable 54 years ago when I graduated, but however frenetic the world is or becomes. Remember to give yourselves time to think the world is complicated. The vice-chancellor spoke very movingly on that front and the outlook can feel gloomy. But I beg you don't let negativity define you. Both individually and as a generation you can and I know you will choose your own paths. And personally I take heart and courage in the knowledge that with your customary positivity, imagination, and belief in a better world, the 2024 generation of Sussex, graduands will play a key role in finding solutions to domestic and international problems of the 21st century.
  One last word. I can't see him. He's somewhere up there. But I want to thank my dear husband, David for his love and unfailing support over the recent years. I owe everything to him.
  Thank you, vice-chancellor.

   

  [Applause]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I call upon the Head of Research, Thought Leadership and Academic Delivery in the Roffey Park Institute, Dr Janice Moorhouse.

   

  
  [Head of Research, Thought Leadership and Academic Delivery in the Roffey Park Institute, Dr Janice Moorhouse, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Dr Janice Moorhouse:
  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Master of Science in People and Organisational Development...
  Wendy BATES,
  Rachel COOK,
  Wendy Maria DE KONING, Thank you.
  Rachel HIGGINS,
  David Steven HODGES,
  Yolanda MORLEY-MCKAY,
  Joseph RAISHBROOK.

  Vice-Chancellor, This concludes the list of graduands from Roffey Park Institute.

   

  [Provost, Professor Michael Luck, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Michael Luck:
  Vice-Chancellor, I present to you those who were unable to be presented earlier.
  For the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business and Management Studies...
  Melissa COLES,
  Luima DOMINGOS,
  Wing Yi KWONG.

  For International Business…
  Sidharth RAO.

  Vice-Chancellor, you have now met all the graduands of this ceremony, and the moment has come for the formal conferral of the degrees of the University of Sussex. I, therefore, ask you to confer degrees on those presented to you and to the other graduands who have indicated their wish to graduate in absentia at this ceremony.

   

  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands in the middle of the stage.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  So this is the big moment. Graduands, please can you stand again?
  And colleagues behind me, will you stand, please?

   

  [Graduates and staff stand]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the powers invested in me by the University of Sussex, I confer degrees on all those referred to by the Provost-Chancellor.
  Congratulations, You are now graduates of the University of Sussex.

   

  (Graduates and academics/staff stand and after sustained applause, a final video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Hello, it's me again. Congratulations graduates. Very, very well done to all of you. Traditionally, the chancellor is supposed to leave you with some parting words of wisdom. I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't instinctively already know, and your instincts that inner voice, are always right by the way. But they speak with the same vocabulary, cadence, inflexion, and grammar as your fears, anxieties, and doubts. So how to tell the difference? Your instincts always come from a place of love. So check in with yourself and make sure that you are always coming from a place of kindness towards yourself and the world around you. Being kind in every situation can be a challenge sometimes. I know it's easier said than done, but the more you practice it, the easier it gets until eventually it's just habit and a part of who you are. You have all achieved magnificently in your academic pursuit and I have no doubt you will apply that to your journey going forward. For dealing with the emotional challenges, anxiety and mental health issues that we all face in an uncertain world we need emotional intelligence. I believe that at the heart of emotional intelligence is compassion, love, and positivity. You know how when we look up at a clear night sky, we can marvel at starlight knowing that those stars may not now even exist yet we can bask in their glow. Love and compassion have the same power. We can and do feel love and kindness from people and events long since gone, and we can do that now for those who will be here when we've long since gone. An act of compassion is like dropping a pebble into a lake. The ripples affect far more and reaches way further than we ever thought or intended. Positivity is not about thinking everything is great all the time. It's being aware that things are tough, but believing and knowing that that is not permanent, that things can and will change. I've lived this experience at 32. I was unemployed, in debt and living with my parents. I could not conceive that within two years I'd be working on TV and movies and not what my business degree had planned for me. Going further, back at 18, I applied here to Sussex, my first choice for university. I didn't get in... something about my grades not being good enough... so I went elsewhere and waited until all those responsible for me not to getting in, had retired, were in prison, deported, or were just playing dead. And at the age of 46, I came back here as chancellor. So ha ha, ha ha! And going back even further, still, when I was five years old, an uncle asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, Actor -I said. My father said; "It's pronounced doctor." But 30 years later, and since I've been living and doing what I dreamed of, obviously, I'm someone who plays the long game. My point is that all of those moments have been amongst the most surprising, positive experiences of my life and have led to other extraordinary experiences including bringing me here today, thus obliterating, all of the negative ones I had before. It taught me that I have no idea exactly what's in my future, and neither do you. But you want to stay in the game until the good stuff comes around and be ready for it when it does. One of my favourite quotes is from the great American poet, Maya Angelou, who I was lucky to have met once, and she said; "People may forget what you did. People may forget what you said. People will never forget the way you made them feel." The final key to emotional intelligence, I wanna mention, is listening and talking. It's obvious, right? Listening. Really hearing what someone is saying to you is essential. People aren't always consciously saying what they're feeling, so like a detective waiting for that vital piece of information, you have to be really on it. My aunt always used to say; you have two ears and one mouth. So always listen twice as much as you talk. And talking, when we're overwhelmed by anything, fear, anger, grief, greed, even beauty and love, the thing we lose is perspective even momentarily and in those moments, we may act in haste and without the clarity that's required. The quickest way to perspective is to pause and then talk to someone. Get an alternative point of view that's not also been created in your own head. But choose wisely beforehand 'cause these will be the excellent listeners I mentioned and will not necessarily be convenient, but will tell you their honest opinion in the most compassionate way. And if you can't find someone to talk to, get yourself a sense of humour. If you can see that, that overwhelming, terrifying thing is also silly then it is no longer just a terrifying thing. Instant perspective. Mahatma Gandhi said; Be the change you want to see in the world. So if you want to see a more compassionate world, you be more compassionate. You wanna see more accountability, then you be more accountable. I hope we meet in person at some point, in which case, feel free to come up and say, I'm a Sussex graduate and you owe me a hug or a handshake or a high five! Or ignore me if you want. It's up to you. Either way, I wish you all success in everything you do next. Take your compassion, positivity, humour, and power and change your world. Someone's world. The world.

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now declare this ceremony closed.

   

  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

Download the Ceremony 5 video [MP4 3.7GB]

Wednesday 24 July 2024

Ceremony 6 at 10am

Global Studies

Institute of Development Studies

•  Video transcript

  https://vimeo.com/989552001

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.]

   

  (A video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Greetings all. I am the chancellor of the University of Sussex. A lot of you probably already knew that, but um, I thought the beard might throw you. It's for a character I'm playing in a TV thing. It is real! If I'd been there, I would've invited you to give it a tug to check its authenticity as you cross the stage - or not. Anyway, I digress.Well, well here we are. Well, here you are. I am of course somewhere else, but here in spirit and in admiration. Apologies for gate-crashing your day, but I just couldn't help crowbarring myself into your celebration. I wanted to add the warmest of welcomes to all of you, graduands, families and friends and to those like me who may be following the ceremony remotely. Sussex graduations have become known for being a festival, a bit of a party, and it's a tradition that I hope you'll continue today.This is your day, so express your joy and positivity when you cross the stage. And friends and family, this is your day too, so take a moment to be prepared with your cameras for the moment your superstar crosses the stage and make as much noise as you can when they do.Oh, come on, they've embarrassed you enough times in the past. So this is payback time.Have a great ceremony and I'll catch you on the other side.

   

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  Mr. Mayor, distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, supporters, friends, and above all, our graduands, the Sussex class of 2024. It's my great honour and enormous pleasure to welcome you to the Brighton Centre for this graduation ceremony. I'm Professor Sasha Roseneil and I'm the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Sussex.
  Graduands, as our Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar has just reminded us, today is all about you. It's a day of celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved during your time at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have benefited in countless tangible and less tangible ways from the love and support of your family or guardians and carers, from the encouragement of your friends and of course, from the teaching and guidance of staff at the university and in IDS. You may also have had support from our alumni and donors who have generously supported scholarships that have enabled some of you to study at Sussex.
  So I'm now going to ask for some participation from you.
  Graduands, if you are able, would you please stand up and turn face the audience; your friends and loved ones behind you and offer your thanks with a big hearty cheer and a round of applause?

   

  (Graduands stand and give a big round of applause.)

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil continues:
  Thank you. Please be seated again.
  As a university, we at Sussex are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community. And that extends to our celebrations today. This is an important event, not just in the lives of our graduands, but for everyone in this auditorium, some of whom have travelled a very long way to be with us. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. You come each year from over 130 countries around the world and so, we have people in the audience today of many different nationalities and faiths. Almost everyone gathered here represents diversity of belief and opinion about almost every matter under the sun. And that diversity of thought is a very special thing, something that Sussex as a university seeks always to uphold and support.
  We have a foundational commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom. It's our job as a university to create an environment in which diversity of belief and opinion can be explored. It's our job to nurture the conditions under which our students and staff can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas, where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed. We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death and the destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as the climate crisis and environmental degradation giving rise to enormous concern about Sussex students. Many Sussex students and their families and loved ones, I'm sure, hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I would like to emphasise that the university supports and will always support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of the humanity and diversity that's at the heart of our university community. And that binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community.
  So Sussex graduands, I would like to thank you for all that you've contributed to making our university a place of community, inclusion and diversity. An open, warm and welcoming place. In the two years since I became vice-chancellor, I've come to realise Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope and possibility. Alongside your academic work, many of you have taken part in an impressive range of other activities as members and leaders of student societies and groups, and as volunteers helping and supporting other people on and off campus. Many of you are today receiving a Spirit of Sussex Award for your positive contributions to the community. From serving as campus ambassadors to raising funds for local causes and creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable. I commend your commitment to your extracurricular activities. Well done on all that you've achieved alongside your formal studies.
  Over the past two years, I've had the great privilege of meeting many Sussex alumni from the UK, from Asia, Africa and the Americas and I've been overwhelmed by how many of them told me how much they loved their student days at Sussex and how the experience of studying at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They recalled encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transformed their worldview as well as making lasting friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you, today's graduands will feel the same in the years to come. Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or are looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you're leaving a university with a global reputation, a university that has equipped you with the knowledge and skills to think creatively and critically, to work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective. You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally known for the quality of their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of their research has directly informed your education across the disciplines and in the spaces in between. Our research focuses on the urgent concerns of the time.
  Some of you may have seen the 'Impossible until it's done' banners around Brighton and Hove. Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela, This campaign highlights the work we're doing to tackle pollution in rivers, to find new ways to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using AI. We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes and ambitions with wider audiences. And Sussex has much to celebrate. For the eighth consecutive year, Sussex together with our campus partner, the Institute of Development Studies, has been ranked first in the world for Development Studies. This is an outstanding achievement. There aren't that many British universities that can lay claim to being first in the world for a subject area and development studies which seeks understanding of progress towards global equality. Social justice and sustainability is very much at the heart of what Sussex is about. One of the key measures of the strength and impact of a university is the extent to which the publications of its researchers are cited by researchers from other universities. And Sussex really punches above its weight in this respect. This year in the QS World University Rankings, we have nine subjects in the top 10 in the UK for citations with History and Physics and Astronomy. Each ranked first in the UK. We were also recognised as the eighth most sustainable university in the UK, joint 26 in the world overall for sustainability and 16th in the world for our work on equality. All this means that Sussex research is improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology and influencing the policies of governments as well as making a real difference to the protection and regeneration of our natural environment.
  Now, I know that many of you graduating today have had difficult life journeys so far, and all of you have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous upheaval this caused to your education and social lives. Some of you have struggled with your mental health, some with your physical health. Some of you have faced loss and family disruption during your student days. Each of you has had a unique route to Sussex and through your time here and each of you will have had your ups and downs. But whatever your Sussex story, I hope when you look back at your time here, you feel that your studies were intellectually challenging and rigorous, that you were stretched, stimulated, and supported to achieve your best. That you're leaving with knowledge, skills, and personal resources that will stand you in good stead and that you make connections and friendships that will stay with you long into the future. You'll now take many different paths as you join our community of more than 200,000 alumni around the world. Sussex alumni include Nobel laureates, grassroots, campaigners and activists, heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations. And those with less high-profile but no less significant lives and careers. People whose actions and relationships remake and renew the social fabric in small positive ways.
  Every day, across the globe, in more than 160 countries and in all walks of life, our alumni are sharing the benefits of their Sussex experience to make the world a better place. I know you will do that too.
  So graduands, celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree. Celebrate the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. Celebrate the belief in yourself that made it possible and celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.

   

  (Graduands and guests applaud.)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now call upon the head of the School of Global Studies, Professor Geert De Neve.

   

  [Head of the School of Global Studies, Professor Geert De Neve, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Geert De Neve:
  Vice-Chancellor,
  I will now present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology...
  Amera BADAWY,
  Ellie COCKCROFT,
  Francesca CULY,
  Netta HAKAK,
  Oskar LEITH,
  Melody LIVINGSTON,
  Isabella RHYS-JONES HERNANDEZ,
  Greer MCDONALD,
  Caius ROYLE,
  Bhavana SARATH,
  Megan Mckenzie SHEARER,
  Elena SOUTHARD,
  Matthew STREET,
  Poppy TEMPLE-MORRIS.
  Also jointly awarded the David Pocock Prize for highest final-year dissertation mark in anthropology; Bertram WALKER.
  Anna WHELAN.

  For Anthropology (with a study abroad year)…
  Sophie PIT,
  Rachael VOWDEN,
  Amy WARREN.

  For Anthropology and History…
  Lisa BURTON,
  Alexander CAMPBELL,
  Jessica TURRELL.

  For Anthropology and History (with a study abroad year)…
  Zoe KHURSHID-MADSEN.

  For Anthropology and International Development…
  Luna ALLEN-BUDIASA,
  Aisha CAMPBELL,
  Mia DIAZ.
  Also jointly awarded the David Pocock Prize for the highest final-year dissertation mark in Anthropology and the Anthropology prize for the best performance over two years; Maisie FARNHAM.
  Isadora GOULD,
  Oliwia KACZMARA,
  Katherine LEVY,
  Ben MEADHURST,
  Flora MEREDITH,
  Maya MUSISI,
  Inesa SLEZEVICIUTE,
  Sophie SMITH,
  Caragh VAILE,
  Anna VAN DEN BOS.

  For Anthropology and International Development (with a professional placement year)…
  Isobel FORD.

  For Anthropology and International Development (with a study abroad year)…
  Samuel LACK,
  Gabriella SHAW,
  Eve STUCKI.

  For Anthropology with Japanese (with a study abroad year)…
  Natasha JENKS.

  For Anthropology with Spanish…
  Emily MORENO-SHADBOLT.

  For Anthropology with Spanish (with a study abroad year)…
  Sophia KONTOMISIOS.

  For Economics and International Development…
  Ethan BELL

  For Geography…
  Sean BONNEY,
  Erin CAMERON,
  Jude CLOTWORTHY,
  Jessica EAVES,
  Lara FORD,
  Felix FRY,
  Bridget GANNON,
  Phoebe HANIFAN,
  Alfie HATTON,
  Isabelle HOLMWOOD,
  Eleanor HOPEWELL,
  Joshua HORLESTON,
  Archie LAIDLAW,
  Abbye LAWRENCE,
  Katie MEHEW,
  Thomas MILLER,
  George MITCHELL,
  Nuriya Sadaf MOIN,
  Jack MORRELL,
  Lily PORTLOCK,
  Rebecca PUGH,
  Hannah RICHARDS,
  Jake ROAST,
  Martha SEABER,
  Nasim SHARIATMADARI,
  Amy SRIVALSAN-JONES,
  Alice STUCKEY,
  Jack TAYLOR.
  Also awarded the Bachelor of Science Geography Thesis Prize and Joint best undergraduate thesis demonstrating excellence in the field of individual and original empirical research in Physical Geography; Mia THOMSON,
  Freya WATTAM,
  Tobias WRIGHT.

  For Geography (with a study abroad year)…
  Henry COLLINS,
  Maia SHAW.
  Also awarded the best undergraduate thesis award for excellence in individual and original empirical research in Human Geography; Benjamin SIMANOWITZ.
  Also awarded the Geography Prize for outstanding performance in an undergraduate degree programme and the MacQuitty Prize for being the highest ranking student in Arts and Humanities; Maighsi WALKER,

  For Geography and Anthropology…
  Abby RIX.

  For Geography and International Development…
  Cecily BINGHAM,
  Imogen BROWN,
  William BUNCE,
  Sophie CLASON,
  Isabelle COOK,
  Hanna FINCH,
  Francesca GALLIMORE,
  Lauren GOWER,
  Joshua GRANT,
  William HARLEY,
  Elsie HESLOP,
  Adam ICKINGER,
  Emir JONES,
  Katie MACKIE,
  Nancy MATON,
  Marco MAZZA,
  Aisha NEWTON-REDMOND,
  Cecily PARSONS,
  Emilie TAYLOR,
  Robert WALKER,
  Lucy WHITTLE,
  Olivia WOOD.

  For Geography and International Relations…
  Henry BERRIDGE,
  George CRANSWICK,
  Mohammed DOWLET,
  Geeteya KEER CHISINO,
  James MULLINEUX,
  Callum PAPWORTH,
  Benedict PEACHELL,
  Finley TOOKEY,
  Hannah WESTON.

  For Geography and International Relations (with a study abroad year)…
  Osian AHIR,
  Shaan ALI.

  For Geography with French…
  Jago BAYLEY.

  For Geography with Spanish…
  Yau MAK.

  For International Development…
  Mia ADNETT.
  Ardeshir ALEXANDER-SEFRE,
  Danae Noel ARCHULETA,
  Billy BARNBY,
  Zoe BERMAN,
  Jasmine CORY,
  Danielle D'SOUZA,
  Luis GOMEZ,
  Anna GRAY,
  Silvia JASENECOVA,
  Salomi JOHN,
  Ed JUSTICE,
  Tess Eva Sofia Sara KESTER,
  Yunbok LEE,
  Milana MALYAN,
  Lucy MARTIN-PATRICK,
  Anna MCPHERSON,
  Riya MISTRY,
  Lisa NOK,
  Ivy ONYECHERE,
  Benjamin PALING,
  Kiran PANDYA,
  Muhammad PARACHA.
  Also awarded the Pramit Chaudhuri Prize for the best performance in International Development; Louis SAUNDERS,
  Rosa SHARKEY,
  Elizabeth SHEPHERD,
  Thihanuha SIVABALAN,
  Poppy SKINNER,
  Jamila SODE-WOODHEAD,
  Sophie STEVENS,
  Holly TAYLOR,
  Isabella WALTON,
  Zara WALTON,
  Siriol WHOMSLEY,
  Chloe WILLIAMS,
  Adele ZOLEZZI.

  For International Development (with a professional placement year)…
  Yashwi RATHOD.

  For International Development (with a study abroad year)…
  Lucy ATTERBURY,
  Anna DONEGAN-CROSS,
  Ruby ELLIOTT,
  Emma FORSTER,
  Harriet O'LOONEY.

  For International Development with Arabic…
  Alysia BOADI,
  Lara FIRETTI,
  Elizabeth Renee THOMPSON.

  For International Development with French (with a study abroad year)…
  Ellen CORMACK.

  For International Development with Spanish…
  Emily BULLER,
  Hannah HAWES,
  Emily SMITH.

  For International Development with Spanish (with a professional placement year)…
  Ella Mita MAKIN.

  For International Development with Spanish (with a study abroad year)…
  Jacob OMONDI,
  Darcy Ruby Wills WOOD.

  For International Relations…
  Naif ALOTAIBI,
  Selina BASHIRI,
  Kabir BHARDWAJ,
  Rebecca CORR,
  Maya DAVISON-KUNHARDT,
  Kaine DOLLING,
  Thomas FITZPATRICK,
  Clara GORIANZ.
  Also jointly awarded the Norman Angell prize for the best essay in International Relations;
  Juliette HUDSON,
  Rishika JAIN,
  Ting Zhen Vivian LAI,
  Spencer LEWIS,
  Amelia Rose MCMAHAN,
  Nadia MOHAMED,
  Kahumburu MUTAHI,
  Alexandru Giorgio NITICA,
  Joseph O’FLYNN,
  Andy Kyei OBENG,
  Adorable ODUKOMAIYA,
  Anastasiia PROKOPENKO,
  Islom PULATOV,
  Niamh SAUNDERS,
  Lewis SCALES.
  Also awarded the International Relations Department prize for the highest scoring dissertation; Thomas SCOTT,
  Ellamae TAYLOR,
  Katie WAINWRIGHT,
  Isabella WAITE,
  Anton ZAITSEV.

  For International Relations (with a study abroad year)…
  William BRIGGS,
  Max DOUGHTY.
  Also jointly awarded the Norman Angell prize for the best essay in International Relations; Jessica HAKE.
  Max PETYT.

  For International Relations and Anthropology…
  Louise KNOWLES,
  Max Niyazi QUINN-YUMUSAK,
  Jasper Iden RASSMUSON FLINT,
  Teddy SHANAHAN.

  For International Relations and Anthropology (with a study abroad year)…
  Esme RAINEY.

  For International Relations and Development…
  Ayesha Abdulla Darwish Ahmad ALZAROONI,
  Devantara AZOF,
  Abubakar BATURE,
  Mohammad Abdulla BINJERAIS,
  Mia BRAMBILLA-HIGGINS,
  Ming Hou CHAN,
  Ho Chung CHENG,
  Elian CHURCH,
  Lara CIN,
  Amina DANIEL,
  Sheenajane FERNANDEZ.
  Also awarded the Val McNaughton prize for achieving the highest academic performance in the field of International Relations; Joseph FISHER,
  Kazuri GICHIGI HANSSON,
  Amelia HALL,
  Cerys HILL,
  Hon Lam HO,
  Cassia JACKSON,
  Anna KAPON,
  Yeongdoo KWON,
  Maya LEE,
  Georgia MILLWARD,
  Kaho MURAKAMI,
  Admir MURATAJ,
  Risa NAGANO,
  Camille NICOT,
  Rodrigo PATRICIO FRASQUILHO,
  Naima PITTS,
  Joshua RAWKINS,
  Hyojeong SEO,
  Ned ST JOHNSTON WINTON,
  Matthew TANNER,
  Kaviya UDAYAKUMAR,
  Mako YOSHIDA,
  Nicholas YOUNG,
  Xinyan ZHOU.

  For International Relations and Development (with a professional placement year)…
  Naila TOMLINSON.

  For International Relations and Development (with a study abroad year)…
  Diogo DA SILVA VALENTE,
  Miriam GOMEZ HEREDERO,
  Isabelle JARDINE.

  For International Relations and Sociology…
  Hannah GRIFFITHS,
  Elsa HARVEY-BOUD,
  Francesca POVER.

  For International Relations with French…
  Ram Eirik GLOMSETH,
  Dominic SZEJDA,
  Lauren JEFFS,
  Ruby WATSON.

  For International Relations with Italian (with a study abroad year)…
  Zoe PHOENIX.

  For International Relations with Mandarin Chinese…
  Angelle GALLIMORE,
  Chie-Elizabeth LATAGAN.

  For International Relations with Spanish…
  Thomas BRAITHWAITE,
  Marimo BRENNAN,
  Rose PRESTON,
  Sofia RACCIO.

  For International Relations with Spanish (with a professional placement year)…
  Louis AUSTIN.

  For International Relations with Spanish (with a study abroad year)…
  Emma FLANAGAN.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Science in Geography…
  Abia AHMED,
  Daniel ALLEN,
  Ava BRODIE,
  Yasmeen BUTT,
  Eleanor DAVIS,
  Holly GRIMWADE,
  Layla KURT,
  Mollie LAY,
  Daphne LEAL,
  Lewis MELROSE,
  Martha Rose NEVILLE,
  Emily PAGETT,
  Lauren PRETTYJOHNS,
  Damilola REID,
  Ritika THAKUR,
  Owen VARDY,
  Alicia WHITE.
  Also awarded the Bachelor of Science Geography Thesis Prize and one of the recipients of the Josie Jolley award for making a significant positive contribution to life within the School of Global Studies; Adam WRIGHT,
  Polly YOUNG.

  For Geography (with a study abroad year)…
  Isabella ELLIS,
  Solomon SILVER.

  For the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology of Development and Social Transformation…
  Maria KOJIMA.

  For Conflict, Security and Development…
  Suleekha ABDILLE,
  Georgia ESSEX,
  Shahed HAMDAN RASHED AL SHDAIFAT,
  Gyeonggin LEE.

  For the MA Environment, Development and Policy…
  Natasha TISMINIESZKY,

  For the MA Food and Development…
  Bethany Alice CLARE,
  Lucy NOON,
  Katherine WHITFIELD.

  For the MA Gender, Violence and Conflict…
  Oluwatosin ADENUGA,
  Jasmine Alaya ALBAN,
  Georgia CRISP-MILLS,
  Holly Marie DODDS,
  Georgina FIELD GRAHAM,
  Krista FINNBJORNSDOTTIR,
  Natalie GILLETT,
  Maya KUMAR,
  Luchia LEIGH,
  Lisa Hantaniaina Helene RABENORO,
  Heather TURNBULL,
  Elisabeth WOOLLARD.

  For the MA Global Political Economy…
  Jacopo Maria MAGURNO.

  For the MA Human Rights…
  Alice HARDSTONE.

  For International Political Economy…
  Van Luan PHAN,
  Roisin VINCENT.

  For the MA, International Relations...
  Janet Olaitan ADENIJI,
  Noureen Hassan BANGASH,
  Ayhan Batu CANGOZ,
  Olusegun IZEGAEGBE,
  Giles KERR,
  Cresline Calistus NETTO,
  Johnson Emeka NWOGE,
  Mahnoor Moghal SADDIQ,
  Simarpreet Kaur WADHWA,

  For the MA, International Security...
  Alexander WHEATLEY.

  For the MA, Migration and Global Development...
  PEARLY Luthfun

  For the MA, Social Anthropology...
  Jessica Mary Barbara COLEMAN.

  For the MA Social Development...
  Megan FRIGHT,
  Aiman KHAN,
  Hazel KOCH.

  For the MSc in Climate Change, Development and Policy...
  Abiola Oyeronke ADEBAYO.
  Also the recipient of the Aziz Foundation Scholarship; Sayyidah SALAM.

  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...
  For the thesis;
  "The ambiguity of (re)making lives: an intersectional matrix on Bangladeshi migrant women in the UK"
  Nasreen AKHTER.

  For the thesis;
  "Neither inside nor out: Asylum seekers, uncertainty and the condition of limbo"
  Catherine DONALDSON.

  For the thesis;
  “High life in a high rise: An ethnography of home and everyday life in a relocation housing project in Colombo, Sri Lanka"
  Avanka FERNANDO.

  For the thesis;
  "Constituting Nigerian identities through fashion: the practices, networks and fashion spaces of Lagos and London"
  Harriet HUGHES.

  For the thesis;
  "Becoming and staying irregular: Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia"
  Nova Fransisca SILITONGA.

  For the thesis;
  "A place of no return? Javanese migrant domestic workers' home-(un)making and belonging during the migration cycle"
  Chu Chun YU.

  Vice-Chancellor, this concludes the presentations from the School of Global Studies.

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I call upon Martin Evans, Professor of Modern European History, to deliver the presentation for Len Garrison.

   

  [Martin Evans, Professor of Modern European History, goes to Marie's (Len Garrison’s widow) seat. Professor Martin Evans bows to Marie and her son, Tunde. They shake hands, and move to the centre of the platform. Professor Martin Evans goes to the lectern to deliver his oration.]

   

  Professor Martin Evans:
  Vice-Chancellor,
  Today I am presenting to you the remarkable achievements of Len Kwesi Garrison. He is one of Sussex's own. A history student specialising in African and Caribbean History between 1973 and 1976 in the School of African and Asian studies, the precursor of the present global studies.
  Len Garrison died sadly in 2003, but was very privileged to have his widow Marie, a talented teacher and activist in her own right and his son, Tunde to accept the award.
  A talented historian, a gifted poet, but above all, a brilliant educationist. His work in the 1970s created classroom materials based on the experiences of African and Caribbean pupils, thus giving a major impetus to the development of a multicultural curriculum. In this sense, he is a pivotal figure, in the history of multicultural education and a pivotal figure in the history of multicultural Britain.
  Born in St. Thomas, Jamaica in 1943. His father and mother migrated to London in the early 1950s where he joined them in 1954. During his teenage years at Kingsley Grammar School, Chelsea, he developed a passion for photography. He wanted to create images that overcame marginalisation and put black people at the centre of the narrative. So whenever there was a demonstration, Len Garrison was there with camera in hand, with a notebook, collecting flyers and posters, creating his own grassroots black history archive. This activism went hand in hand with a strong sense of self-improvement. In 1971, he took a Development Studies Diploma at Ruskin College, Oxford and in 1992 gained an MA in Local History at the University of Leicester. In between, he came to Sussex as a mature student, age 30. At Sussex. One of his most remarkable achievements was his work on the African and Asian Review. The Afraz Review, a magazine that put race front and centre of the debate with articles on structural racism, the legacies of colonialism and slavery, as well as black resistance cultures contained in poetry, novels and music.
  Now, it would be tempting to say that this review embodied the best of the Sussex interdisciplinary tradition. However, I want to flip the narrative. Perhaps it's better to think of Len Garrison bringing a radical, interdisciplinary black, tradition to Sussex, one that began long before Sussex. After all, from the 1920s onwards. The great Caribbean historian C. L. R James, an inspiration for Len, wrote about the Haitian Revolution, not just in terms of Pathbreaking history books, 1938, the Black Jacobins, but also through novels, plays, and journalism. Len's. most important and lasting achievement is his co-founding of the Black Cultural Archives located in Brixton in 1981. For him, such an archive was crucial because to quote Lane Garrison "Collecting and structuring the fragmented evidence of the black past in Britain as well as parts of the Caribbean and Africa is a pillar for a fully multicultural British society". At the heart of the Black Cultural Archives is a question; What is the role of history in creating belonging? Inspired by Len Garrison, the Blackett Sussex Project was launched at the BCA in Brixton by Sasha in September, 2022. An unsettling project. A disruptive project. Because it asked the question about Sussex; Has it created belonging for black students and black members of staff of the last 62 years? Len died in 2003, very suddenly at the age of just 59, but a remarkable life and an incredible legacy. Certainly one of the most important history students to have graduated from this university. We often talk about legacy as a finished entity. But with Len Garrison's legacy, this is not the case. His is an unfinished legacy, that through the Black Sussex project, must become part of the fabric of the Sussex University.
  Chancellor, I present to you for the degree of Doctor of of the University, Honoris Causa, Len Garrison, awarded posthumously.

   

  [Applause]

  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands and shakes hands with Marie and Tunde.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the authority of the Senate of the university, I confer the degree Doctor of the University, honoris causa on Len Garrison awarded posthumously.

   

  [Applause]

  [Marie and Tunde go to the lectern. Marie will deliver speech about her late husband, honoris causa, Len Kwesi Garrison]

   

  Marie:
  It is very emotional, so forgive me if I shed a tear or two.
  Vice Chancellor, Professor Sasha Rosneil, graduands, good morning all.
  I'm deeply honoured and grateful to be receiving this posthumous honorary degree that has been conferred on behalf of my late husband, Len Kwesi Garrison, the co-founder of the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton, London.
  Len graduated from the university on the 13th of July, 1976 with a BA in African and Asian Studies. Many of you here will be aware that this institution has produced five Nobel Prize winners. Famous alumni such as Michael McMillan, British playwright, Clive Myrie, BBC journalist, Thabo Mbeki, former president of the Republic of South Africa, and the late Len Kwesi Garrison, founder and chair of the Black Culture Archives is among them.
  In the months leading up to today's ceremony, I have been looking back at Len's Journey and how he established the Black Cultural Archives. Len was a professional photographer, but his passion was collecting African cultural objects with his historical connections to Britain. Being a keen historian, he was aware of the African presence in Britain from as early as the Romans, and he was concerned that so little was known about this fact or the presence of black people in modern times in this country. Also, there was no building or museum dedicated to the history and culture of black people in Britain.
  Len was a serious collector of African cultural objects and his office and our home was filled with his collections. On a trip to New York, many years ago, he visited a Schomburg Center in Harlem and was inspired by the Centre's work, which was devoted to the research, preservation and exhibition of materials focused on African-American, African diaspora, and African experiences. After his New York trip, Len widened the range of his collection. We were still some way from the reality of a dedicated building in Britain for Black Cultural Archives and our home. Every room was bursting with books, artworks, musical instruments, and other black cultural items. I recalled one discussion with Len in our sitting room, as I looked around, the enormous space taken up by his collection, I said to him -not in the bedroom.
  I think he would be pleased, presently surprised by today's honour and would accept it graciously. I know that he would be proud to have been at the start of the history-making that is now Black Cultural Archives. Not only the beautiful Georgian building in which it is housed, but his strategic partnership and focus as the home of Black British History.
  Len's time at Sussex played an important part in shaping his life's dream, and I'm hoping that you too, as graduands, will reflect positively on the time you spent here.
  Today is a combination of three or four years of learning, and I congratulate you, your parents, friends and tutors who are here to celebrate your success.
  I will conclude with a few lines from Poem by Len, which I will read with my son Tunde. I think this poem explains the purpose of Black Cultural Archives from Len's perspective and perhaps expresses his dream. The poem is entitled.

  Tunde and Marie:
  ”Where are our Monuments?
  Where are the monuments to mark our departure into the New World?
  Surgeon, where are the pillars to mark our arrival to face the living hell?
  Where are the legacies? Which mark the centuries of sacrifices and servitude?
  Where are the proud songs for the heroes who fought with courage to free their people?
  Where are our Oscars? For those who are stars in the daily life, they die decay unrecognised.
  Their claims to fame, brutally denied their presence and existence is unacknowledged.
  Death. Define deed, go unnoticed.
  Living sacrifices remain unseen.
  Soaring thoughts remain unspoken.
  Where are these accolades for our children to inherit?
  We are the living monument of the uprooted people travelling on the road to eternal Africa.
  Our blood is the blood of the warriors.
  Our body, the body of countless heroes who fought in the name of freedom and humanity.
  It is time we let the whole world know we are proud of our heritage and we stand as living monuments for those who are afraid of who they must be;
  Arbour slaves in a trans."

  Marie:
  Today is the day of serendipity. By sheer coincidence, the Black Cultural Archives was officially opened to the public on the 24th of July, 2014. Today, 10 years later, the University of Sussex is awarding a past alumni, Len Kwesi Garrison, a posthumous honorary degree.
  I would like to invite you all to come to the Black Cultural Archives. You will be welcomed. It's your history. Our history.
  I would like in closing to thank the University of Sussex for this posthumous honorary degree offered to Len for his work in championing Black Cultural Archives. To my family and friends who are here to celebrate with us, to the staff and members of the Board of Trustees of the Black Cultural Archives. A special thank you to Dr. Margaret Andrews and George Kelly.
  I wish the university success in all its future developments. And finally, best wishes to the graduands, alumni, staff, and current students of the university.
  Thank you.

   

  [Marie and Tunde accept the award, shake hands with Vice-Chancellor, Sasha Rosneil]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  That was a wonderful speech. Thank you. The certificate. Beautifully read, very moving.

   

  [Applause]

   

  Professor Sasha Rosneil:
  A call now upon the director of the Institute of Development Studies, Professor Peter Taylor.

   

  [Director of the Institute of Development Studies, Professor Peter Taylor, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Peter Taylor:
  Vice Chancellor,
  I will now present to you for the degree of Master of Arts in Development Studies...
  Sung Jun JANG,
  Chelsea Deja Shandell MUNGAL,
  Mahnoor SHEIKH.

  For the MA, Gender and Development…
  Manal Baheyeldin Mohamed HASSAN,
  Naliyes MOSES.

  For the MA in Globalisation, Business and Development...
  Maxim KRISHNARAYAN.

  For the MA in Governance, Development and Public Policy…
  Karim ALWANI,
  Yandula CHIPETA,
  Raquel CORONA ROLDAN,
  Maysouly DOUANGMANITH,
  Mohammad Qasim MIRZAYE,
  Ria Riezl OCTAVIO,
  Eva Luna VARGAS DIAZ.

  For the MA in Poverty and Development...
  Fortune Michael ASRESSAHEGN,
  Camille Chantal GAUTHIER-FRIGON.

  For the MA in Power, Participation and Social Change...
  Josephine Kamara.

  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...

  For the thesis;
  "The Bodo Community versus Shell: The shifting politics of oil and the social contract in the Niger Delta"
  Stella Ichechineke ODIASE.

  For the thesis;
  "Infrastructure alternatives in an incomplete modernity: A case study on the re-emergence of rainwater harvesting in Mexico City"
  Jorge ORTIZ MORENO.

  For the thesis;
  "How can participation contribute to stronger democracies and sustainable development?"
  Diane WARBURTON, congratulations.

  For the thesis;
  "Local bosses and shadow players; a network analysis of change in the multi-tiered governance of security in Nepal"
  Mireille WIDMER.

  Vice-Chancellor, this concludes the list of graduands from the Institute of Development Studies.

   

  [Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global and Civic Engagement stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Robin Banerjee:
  Vice Chancellor,
  I present to you those who were unable to be presented earlier.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Art in International Relations...
  Yufei ZHAO.

  For the degree of Master of Arts in Gender, Violence and Conflict...
  Adeshola Abiodun KAZEEM.

  Vice-Chancellor, you have now met all the graduands being presented to you at this ceremony, and the moment has come for the formal conferral of degrees of the University of Sussex. I, therefore, ask you to confer degrees on those presented to you and to the other graduands who have indicated their wish to graduate in absentia at this ceremony.

   

  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands in the middle of the stage.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  So this is the big moment. Graduands, would you please stand? And colleagues behind me, would you please stand?

   

  [Graduands and staff stand]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the powers invested in me by the University of Sussex, I confer degrees on all those referred to by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor.
  Congratulations, You're all now graduates of the University of Sussex!

   

  (Graduates and academics/staff stand and after sustained applause, a final video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Hello, it's me again. Congratulations graduates. Very, very well done to all of you. Traditionally, the chancellor is supposed to leave you with some parting words of wisdom. I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't instinctively already know, and your instincts that inner voice, are always right by the way. But they speak with the same vocabulary, cadence, inflexion, and grammar as your fears, anxieties, and doubts. So how to tell the difference? Your instincts always come from a place of love. So check in with yourself and make sure that you are always coming from a place of kindness towards yourself and the world around you. Being kind in every situation can be a challenge sometimes. I know it's easier said than done, but the more you practice it, the easier it gets until eventually it's just habit and a part of who you are. You have all achieved magnificently in your academic pursuit and I have no doubt you will apply that to your journey going forward. For dealing with the emotional challenges, anxiety and mental health issues that we all face in an uncertain world we need emotional intelligence. I believe that at the heart of emotional intelligence is compassion, love, and positivity. You know how when we look up at a clear night sky, we can marvel at starlight knowing that those stars may not now even exist yet we can bask in their glow. Love and compassion have the same power. We can and do feel love and kindness from people and events long since gone, and we can do that now for those who will be here when we've long since gone. An act of compassion is like dropping a pebble into a lake. The ripples affect far more and reaches way further than we ever thought or intended. Positivity is not about thinking everything is great all the time. It's being aware that things are tough, but believing and knowing that that is not permanent, that things can and will change. I've lived this experience at 32. I was unemployed, in debt and living with my parents. I could not conceive that within two years I'd be working on TV and movies and not what my business degree had planned for me. Going further, back at 18, I applied here to Sussex, my first choice for university. I didn't get in... something about my grades not being good enough... so I went elsewhere and waited until all those responsible for me not to getting in, had retired, were in prison, deported, or were just playing dead. And at the age of 46, I came back here as chancellor. So ha ha, ha ha! And going back even further, still, when I was five years old, an uncle asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, Actor -I said. My father said; "It's pronounced doctor." But 30 years later, and since I've been living and doing what I dreamed of, obviously, I'm someone who plays the long game. My point is that all of those moments have been amongst the most surprising, positive experiences of my life and have led to other extraordinary experiences including bringing me here today, thus obliterating, all of the negative ones I had before. It taught me that I have no idea exactly what's in my future, and neither do you. But you want to stay in the game until the good stuff comes around and be ready for it when it does. One of my favourite quotes is from the great American poet, Maya Angelou, who I was lucky to have met once, and she said; "People may forget what you did. People may forget what you said. People will never forget the way you made them feel." The final key to emotional intelligence, I wanna mention, is listening and talking. It's obvious, right? Listening. Really hearing what someone is saying to you is essential. People aren't always consciously saying what they're feeling, so like a detective waiting for that vital piece of information, you have to be really on it. My aunt always used to say; you have two ears and one mouth. So always listen twice as much as you talk. And talking, when we're overwhelmed by anything, fear, anger, grief, greed, even beauty and love, the thing we lose is perspective even momentarily and in those moments, we may act in haste and without the clarity that's required. The quickest way to perspective is to pause and then talk to someone. Get an alternative point of view that's not also been created in your own head. But choose wisely beforehand 'cause these will be the excellent listeners I mentioned and will not necessarily be convenient, but will tell you their honest opinion in the most compassionate way. And if you can't find someone to talk to, get yourself a sense of humour. If you can see that, that overwhelming, terrifying thing is also silly then it is no longer just a terrifying thing. Instant perspective. Mahatma Gandhi said; Be the change you want to see in the world. So if you want to see a more compassionate world, you be more compassionate. You wanna see more accountability, then you be more accountable. I hope we meet in person at some point, in which case, feel free to come up and say, I'm a Sussex graduate and you owe me a hug or a handshake or a high five! Or ignore me if you want. It's up to you. Either way, I wish you all success in everything you do next. Take your compassion, positivity, humour, and power and change your world. Someone's world. The world.

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now declare this ceremony closed.

   

  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

Download the Ceremony 6 video [MP4 4.6GB]

Ceremony 7 at 1.30pm

Law, Politics and Sociology

• Law

•  Video transcript

  https://vimeo.com/989629537

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.]

   

  (A video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Greetings all. I am the chancellor of the University of Sussex. A lot of you probably already knew that, but um, I thought the beard might throw you. It's for a character I'm playing in a TV thing. It is real! If I'd been there, I would've invited you to give it a tug to check its authenticity as you cross the stage - or not. Anyway, I digress.Well, well here we are. Well, here you are. I am of course somewhere else, but here in spirit and in admiration. Apologies for gate-crashing your day, but I just couldn't help crowbarring myself into your celebration. I wanted to add the warmest of welcomes to all of you, graduands, families and friends and to those like me who may be following the ceremony remotely. Sussex graduations have become known for being a festival, a bit of a party, and it's a tradition that I hope you'll continue today.This is your day, so express your joy and positivity when you cross the stage. And friends and family, this is your day too, so take a moment to be prepared with your cameras for the moment your superstar crosses the stage and make as much noise as you can when they do.Oh, come on, they've embarrassed you enough times in the past. So this is payback time.Have a great ceremony and I'll catch you on the other side.

   

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  Mr. Mayor, distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, supporters, friends, and above all graduands, the Sussex class of 2024.
  It's my great honour and enormous pleasure to welcome you to the Brighton Centre for this graduation ceremony. I'm Professor Sasha Roseneil l and I'm the Vice-Chancellor and president of the University of Sussex.
  Graduands, as our Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar has just said, today is all about you. This is a day of celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved during your time at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have benefited in countless, tangible and less tangible ways from the love and support of your family or guardians and carers, from the encouragement of your friends and of course from the teaching and guidance of staff at the university. You may also have had support from our alumni and donors who've generously provided scholarships that have enabled some of you to study at Sussex.
  So I'm now going to ask for some participation from you. Graduands, if you are able, would you please stand up and turn to face the audience, your loved ones and family and friends behind you, and offer your thanks to them?

   

  (Graduands stand and give a big round of applause.)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil continues:
  Wonderful. Quite a mutual admiration society. Please be seated.
  As a university at Sussex, we are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community. And that extends to our celebrations today. This is an important event not only in the lives of our graduands, but also for everyone in the auditorium, some of whom have traveled a long way to be here. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities.
  You come each year from over 130 countries around the world, so we have people in the audience today of many different nationalities and faiths and amongst everyone gathered here, there is a huge diversity of opinion and belief about almost every matter under the sun. And that diversity of thought is a very special thing, something that Sussex as a university seeks always to uphold and support. We have a foundational commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom. It's our job as a university to create an environment in which diversity of belief and opinion can be explored. It's our job to nurture the conditions under which our students and staff can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas, where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed. We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death and destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as the climate crisis and environmental degradation, giving rise to enormous concern among Sussex students. Many Sussex students and their families and loved ones, I'm sure hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I would like to emphasise that the university supports and will always support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of humanity and diversity. That's at the heart of our university community and that binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community. So Sussex graduands, I would like to thank you for all that you have done to make our university a place of community, inclusion and diversity, a warm, open and welcoming place.
  In the two years since I became Vice-Chancellor, I've come to realise that Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope, and possibility. Alongside your academic work, many of you have taken part in an impressive range of other activities as members and leaders of student societies and groups and as volunteers helping and supporting other people on and off campus. Many of you are today receiving a Spirit of Sussex Award for your contributions to our community. From serving as campus ambassadors to fundraising for local causes to creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable. I commend your commitment to your extracurricular activities.
  Over the past two years, I've had the great privilege of meeting many Sussex alumni from the UK, from Asia, Africa and the Americas, and I've been overwhelmed by how many of them told me how much they had loved their time at Sussex, how the experience of studying at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They recalled encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transformed their worldview as well as making lasting friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you, today's graduands will feel the same in years to come.
  Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or are looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you are leaving a university with a global reputation, a university that has equipped you with the knowledge and skills to think critically and creatively, to work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective.
  You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally recognised for the quality of their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of your education has been informed directly by their research across the disciplines and in the spaces in between. Our research focuses on the urgent concerns of our times. Some of you might have seen the 'Impossible until it's done' banners around Brighton and Hove and on the buses. Inspired by the worlds of Nelson Mandela, this campaign highlights the work that's going on at Sussex to tackle pollution in rivers, to find new ways to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using AI.
  We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes and ambitions with wider audiences. And Sussex has much to celebrate. For the eighth consecutive year, Sussex together with the Institute for Development Studies has been ranked first in the world for development studies. This is an outstanding achievement by our academics. Not many British universities can lay claim to being first in the world for a subject area and development studies which seeks understanding of and progress towards global equity. Social justice and sustainability is very much at the heart of what Sussex is about. One of the key measures of the strength and impact of a university is the extent to which the publications of its researchers are cited by researchers from other universities. And Sussex really does punch above our weight in this respect.
  This year in the QS World University Rankings, we have nine subjects in the top 10 in the UK for citations with History and Physics and Astronomy, each ranked first in the UK. We've also been recognised as the eighth most sustainable university in the UK and joint 26 in the world overall for sustainability as well as 16th in the world for our work on equality. All this means that Sussex research is improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology and influencing the policies of governments as well as making a real difference to the protection and regeneration of our natural environment. Now I know that many of you graduating today have had difficult life journeys so far, and all of you have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous upheaval this caused to education and social lives. Some of you have struggled with your mental health, some of you with your physical health, some of you have faced loss and family disruption during your student days. Each of you has had a unique route to Sussex and journey through your time here. And each of you will have had your ups and downs, but whatever your Sussex story, I hope when you look back at the time you've been with us, you feel that your studies were intellectually challenging and rigorous, that you were stretched, stimulated, and supported to achieve your best. That you're leaving with knowledge, skills, and personal resources that will stand you in good stead and that you make connections and friendships that will stay with you long into the future.
  You'll now take many different paths as you join our community of more than 200,000 alumni worldwide. Sussex alumni include Nobel laureates, grassroots, campaigners and activists, heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations and those with less high-profile but no less significant lives and careers. People whose actions and relationships remake and renew the social fabric in small positive ways every day across the globe. In more than 160 countries and in all walks of life, our alumni are sharing the benefits of their Sussex experience to make the world a better place. I know you will do that too.
  So graduands, celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree. Celebrate the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. Celebrate the belief in yourself that's made it possible and celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.

   

  (Graduands and guests applaud.)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I call upon the Head of the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, Professor Jo Moran-Ellis.

   

  [Head of the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, Professor Jo Moran-Ellis, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Jo Moran-Ellis:
  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Laws in Law…
  Oluwatomisin ADESINA,
  Jude AHMAD,
  Adnan AHMED,
  Zahra AL-ANI,
  Shaikha ALSHAMMARI,
  Sophie ALSOP,
  Andres ALVAREZ TORIJANO,
  Tanya ANNAMRAJU,
  Thomas ASCANO,
  Julia ATHANASIOS,
  Diyani Sandalika ATUKORALALAGE,
  Benjamin BAINBRIDGE,
  Remikat Julie BALI,
  Serena Elizabeth BANDOO,
  Megan BARNES,
  Emily BATES,
  Kira BAUMANE,
  Aisha BEGUM,
  Habiba BEGUM,
  Alaya BHALLA,
  Vidushi BHARADWAJ,
  Grace BOWMAN.
  Also awarded the Mason Hayes Prize for the student with the highest mark in their Commercial Law essay; Christian BOWSER,
  Jasmine BRAZIER,
  Ella BROADWAY,
  Lauren Melissa June BROOKS,
  Kristina BROOM,
  Peter BUCKLAND,
  Jack BUDD,
  Nina BULMUS,
  Grace CAMPBELL,
  Cristopher Alexander CARRANZA,
  Milli CARROLL,
  Rosie CARROLL,
  Amy CARTWRIGHT.
  Also one of the recipients of the prize awarded to students who have made a special contribution to the life of the Law school; Kyle David CASHIN,
  Josie CHIVERS.
  Also awarded the prize for the best student in Company Law;
  Samira CHOWDHURY, Congratulations.
  Demi CHRISTOU,
  Deanna COE,
  Alexander COOK,
  Felix COTTON,
  Olivia CROW.
  Also one of the recipients of the Clinical Legal Education Award for one of the students with the highest Clinical Legal Education Marks; Kendall Teresa CUMMINGS.
  Chloe D'MELLO.
  Also one of the recipients of the prize awarded to students who've made a special contribution to the life of the Law school and one of the recipients of the Best Overall Student Prize for the highest overall grand Mean; Gwendolyn Cindy DELGUIDICE.
  Delmwa DILKON,
  Naomi DJANMAH,
  Atang Bulelani Lungelo DLADLA,
  Daniela DODA.
  Also awarded the Francis Taylor Building Prize for the student with the highest mark in Environmental Law; Ireja EDWARDS.
  Yasmin ELSAYED.
  Stephanie ESTFANOS.
  Also one of the recipients of the First Generation Scholar Award with the Highest Grand Mean; Liberty FARLEY-DOVE,
  Benjamin FARMER,
  Rachel FATHERS,
  Orsolya FAZAKAS,
  Natasha FLIN,
  Sasha FLOATE,
  Madison Rose FRASER,
  Charlie GEORGE,
  Daniel GEORGE,
  Oluwadamilola GEORGE-KEHINDE,
  Stefan GEORGIOU,
  Syed GHAZNAVI,
  Franchesca Alexus GRAHAM,
  Campbell HANLEY,
  Rinad HASSAN,
  Holly HEPBURNE SCOTT,
  Abigail HOLDEN,
  Elliott HOLMES,
  Zoe Janae HOYTE,
  Chloe HUGHES,
  Harry HUGHES,
  Shenille HUNTE,
  Jade Ruth IDZERDA,
  Alya JAFRI,
  Matea JAKOVINA,
  Manvir JHAJ,
  Jehangir KAMRAN,
  Siham KHALID RADWAN ABDELLATIF KAMAL,
  Hamzah Rehman KHAN,
  Also one of the recipients of the prize awarded to students who've made a special contribution to the life of the Law school; Veronica Alyssa KOENIG.
  Kwabena KOOMSON,
  Ece KORTAS,
  Sofie Anais KRIEWALD,
  Vansh KUMAR,
  Eleanor KWIATKOWSKA,
  Hillary KWOK,
  Marianna LABIB.
  Also one of the recipients of the prize awarded to students who have made a special contribution to the life of the Law school; Nathan Chi-Hin LAM. Congratulations.
  Rachel LANDY,
  Nancy LAU,
  Orla LE BRASSE,
  Phineas LIPSUM,
  Lia LUZADAS,
  Jessica LY,
  Samuel Raymond MACLEOD,
  Lucas Vincent Slade MADURI,
  William MARSON,
  Kyla MATEER,
  Ruth MAUND,
  Kyhra MAYLOR-CHARLES,
  Caitlin MCGLYNN,
  Katy MCGLYNN,
  Bradley MONTEIRO,
  Sameer MOTIN,
  Aadhil MUBARAK,
  Drew MURRAY,
  Asim NAZIM,
  Dennis Dennard Eldrick NEWTON,
  Sophie Tryphena NEYLAN,
  Ashley NGUYEN,
  Emily NORTHEDGE,
  Samantha Jan O'BRIEN,
  Natalie OBIERO,
  Anastacia OGWUKE,
  Anna OSTROWSKI,
  Also awarded the Contribution to the Life of the School for students in Law who have contributed the most over the past academic year; Amelia PARKER.
  Isabella Rashida PASCOE,
  Sellah Lee PENTELIUK,
  Rebecca PERRY,
  Joshua PHILLIPS,
  Martyna PIETRZAK,
  Leonidas PILAKOURIS,
  Zinonas PILAKOURIS,
  Amy PULLEN,
  Imogen PURKISS,
  Hamza Faisal RAO,
  Dior RAYMOND,
  Isaac REDMAN,
  Alexander Bryan REPAR,
  Emma Skye ROBINSON,
  Benjamin Paul ROCCA,
  Frazer ROGERS,
  Harriet ROSS,
  Aliyah RUDDOCK,
  Eleni SALLI,
  Amaryn SANGHA,
  Steven SARTOR,
  Kyara Nan SEWELL,
  Sabrina SHAFI,
  Ansa SHAHZAD,
  Hamza SHEIKH,
  Jack SHIELDS,
  Wyatt Hugh SHIPLEY,
  Talita SILVA SAYAD,
  Hattie SILVERMAN,
  Julia SKAJWO,
  Ella SMITH,
  Natasha SMITH.
  Also one of the recipients of the prize awarded to students who've made a special contribution to the life of the Law school; Roxanna SOL.
  Jasmin SPRIGG,
  Nathalia STANCIU.
  Also one of the recipients of the prize awarded to students who've made a special contribution to the life of the Law school; Haley STERN.
  Veronica TADROSS,
  Armaan TAMBER,
  Jacob TANNER,
  Issa TARIQ,
  Abishan THURAIAIYA,
  Prince Akmaal Tyrone Ahmed TOURE,
  Anna TUCK,
  Darcie TUCKER,
  Joseph TWEED-SHOVELLER,
  Safana UDDIN,
  Charles Kyriakos VASILAKAKOS,
  Julianne VITORIANO,
  James WALLER,
  Lakshani WELGAMAGE,
  Lewis WILSON,
  Krischan YANKOV,
  Sai Akhila YELLAPRAGADA,
  Edgars ZADVIRNIJS,
  Anya ZECH,
  Alyssa Helena ZOLTEK.

  For Law (Graduate Entry)…
  Hashim AL-METWAKILL,
  Jeff ARINZE,
  Laurie Elizabeth BROWNRIGG,
  Yinka Isaac FOLORUNSO,
  Emily Bernardina FORTNEY,
  Emily Ann GATES,
  Jasmine Jolie GHANDOUR,
  Sara Elizabeth GILL,
  Chidera KEN-AGBIRIOGU.
  Also jointly awarded the prize for the Law Graduate Entry Student with the Highest Year 3 Stage Mean; Annie Marie MACMILLAN.
  Also jointly awarded the prize for the Law Graduate Entry Student with the Highest Year 3 Stage Mean; Anussan NAVUKARASU.
  Alexis Victoria Adanma OGUZIE,
  Darshmija PARAMANANTHAM,
  Jacob Daniel ROSSI,
  Mandy Elana Goldsmith WAXMAN.

  Vice-Chancellor, this concludes the first half of the list of graduands from the School of Law, Politics and Sociology.

   

  [Applause]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now call upon Professor Jo Moran-Ellis, Head of the School of Law, Politics, and Sociology to present Professor Mary Evans.

   

  [Professor Jo Moran-Ellis, Head of the School of Law, Politics, and Sociology, goes to Professor Mary Evans’s seat. Professor Mary Evans bows to Professor Mary Evans. They shake hands, and both move to the centre of the platform. Professor Jo Moran-Ellis returns to the lectern to deliver her oration.]

   

  Professor Jo Moran-Ellis:
  Vice-Chancellor, I have the very great privilege of presenting to you Professor Mary Evans, a pioneer in Women Studies and Gender Studies.
  Professor Evans was one of our early alumni graduating from Sussex with a DPhill in the 1970s, so over 50 years ago. Dr. Mary Evans, as she was then, set out from Sussex on an academic career that has proved both illustrious and sustained, she is now Professor Emeritus at both the University of Kent and LSE.
  When I read her work in my own undergraduate studies almost 40 years ago, I was overwhelmed by how much there was to grasp about the gender question, but also totally inspired by her clear thinking, her wonderful writing and her intellectual imagination.
  From the beginning of her work, Professor Evans has shown us that we need to take gender studies seriously, that gendered inequalities need constant challenge and that all topics can benefit from feminist analysis, accounts and theories. Make no mistake, there is still a long journey in front of us to undo the structures and processes which lead to gender inequalities. But the body of work that Professor Evans has created and is still creating, provides us with significant and necessary intellectual nourishment for that journey.
  Over the course of her long and distinguished career, Professor Evans has directly addressed the academy and also activists and politicians. Her work has been wide-ranging. She has examined the significance of key female figures in life and in literature, including Simone de Beauvoir, Jane Austen, Anna Karenina, Sylvia Plath, and the Diary of a woman murdered in Auschwitz in 1943, Etty Hillesum. Through the analyses of these biographies, she guides us to understanding society through the lives and experiences of women as well as through the lives of men. Professor Evans has also published work on citizenship love, feminist theory, and more recently, detective fiction. All providing a source of understanding the contemporary politics of gendered relations. Her edited collections have guided generations of scholars through classical and cutting-edge feminist research and theory.
  Her current work looks at the history of being respectable as a woman and she's looking to explore further the making of the gendered person. Under this banner of required respectability, as you start out on your own careers, I commend to you the example of Professor Evans. She has never been confined in her intellectual imagination, not by discipline, nor by constraints of required respectability from her. All of us can draw inspiration to be successive generations of thinkers, critics, and change-makers.
  Vice-Chancellor, I present to you for the degree of Doctor of Letters honoris causa, Professor Mary Evans.

   

  [Applause]

  
  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands and shakes hands with Professor Mary Evans.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the authority of the Senate of the University, I confer on you the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.

   

  [Doctor of Letters, Professor Mary Evans goes to the lectern to deliver her speech.]

   

  Professor Mary Evans:
  Vice-Chancellor, Chancellor, colleagues, graduands, friends and relations. These greetings I hope are inclusive enough both to send my very warmest congratulations to all of you graduating today and to offer my thanks to other people here and elsewhere who have given so much to me over the years of my work. And thank you. A huge thank you for those most generous remarks at the award of my degree, my relationship with the University of Sussex has now come full circle. I did not accept the kind offer of an undergraduate place here, but I took myself off to the London School of Economics.
  I came back to Sussex to write a doctoral thesis. But in coming back to Sussex, I came as something as a migrant because I perceived at the LSC what were then very strict and rigid disciplinary boundaries. I wanted to write a thesis in the Sociology of Literature and I was told that in order to do this, I would have to collect data. I did not regard this as a good idea given that I had only scraped the most marginal and generous past at what was then GCSE Mass. And so I came here and I came into a campus full of life, innovation and energy. And so Sussex offered me conversations between students and faculty across disciplines. I no longer felt that in talking about a novel or subjectivity, I was doing something which was outside the respectable confines of academic life. And the university fulfilled all my hopes and expectations. The campus was lively and engaging.
  And so here I was. I studied for my thesis, I wrote that thesis. And I think all of us who came here in the nineties and 1960s and 1970s were truly fortunate. Partly, I think because in those long-gone days we were much more left alone than our graduands today. We were welcomed, we were allocated to supervisors, and then we were told that really the best thing to do was to go away and think about what we were doing and if possible come back when we had written something about it. In that wonderful freedom, in that heady time of openness, engagement, and vitality, I was able to do precisely that.
  I would also mention that given that being an academic and doing academic work as everybody here, I think knows, is sometimes a lonely and demanding business. We have to do it by ourselves, but we do it much better if we can do it in the context, which Sussex offered to me. A place in which the world outside my desk, my study was open, was welcoming and was willing to live, to listen and to think seriously about new and hither, to unexplored ideas and discussions. So thank you Sussex wholeheartedly and from a long time ago and also very much today. I am very honoured to have been given this degree and I want to offer to all of you here, my very warmest congratulations on the degrees that you have just been awarded.
  I know that you will take forward the work, the values, and the ideas that you have welcomed and come across on this campus. And I hope that your future is as happy and as interesting and invigorating and as valuable to others, as I hope your time here has been so, to all of you.
  To my colleagues here, to my family, to my friends, to all those people who over the years have offered me these chances, which we have all shared, thank you.

   

  [Applause]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I call upon Professor Jo Moran-Ellis, Head of the School of Law, Politics and Sociology.

   

  [Professor Jo Moran-Ellis, Head of the School of Law, Politics and Sociologystands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Jo Moran-Ellis:
  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Laws in Law (with a study year abroad year)...
  Sarah AIYAD,
  Ines BURTENSHAW,
  Kanzah CHAUDHRY, - Is that okay if I say something? - Yes, of course. -I just wanna say a big thank you to all the immigrant parents out there, especially my mom, for all the sacrifices they made to see us graduate.

  Professor Jo Moran-Ellis:
  Emily Tsukiko DALTON,
  Adam GROT,
  Jake MCGAFFIGHAN,
  Jacob SWAIN.
  Also awarded the prize for the best finalist student with the highest grade point average in their final year. And one of the recipients of the Clinical Legal Education Award for one of the students with the highest Clinical Legal Education Marks; Isobel WILSON.

  For Law with American Studies…
  Aisosa Alero AIHEVBA,
  Katie DISLEY,
  Taneisha KNIGHT,
  Joanna RAMSEY,
  Rhiannon SMART,
  Syed ZAKI.

  For Law with American Studies (with a study abroad year)…
  Bryanna BONDZIE,
  Zara BURNEY-NICOL,
  Jessica COLE,
  Zihannah DA TRINDADE,
  Sebastian DOGRU,
  Chloe HAYWARD,
  Jay HODGSON,
  Lucy MILLEN,
  Judith Obiajulu OHEN,
  Kamil RUTA,
  Jasmine SANDIFORD.
  Also one of the recipients of the First Generation Scholar Award with the Highest Grand Mean and jointly awarded the American Studies Prize for the highest dissertation mark; Gileta TARVYDAITE.
  Neha VARMA.

  For Law with British Sign Language…
  Aislinn RAFFERTY,
  Anaum RAFIQUE.

  For Law with Business and Management...
  Dana ABDEL-KARIM,
  Sultan Husain Abdul Fattah AL LAWATI,
  Oluwatoyosi ALOFE,
  Reana AYUBI,
  Adijat BALOGUN,
  Jesse COLLINS,
  Nicholas DOTSCH,
  Dylan HOWARD-MCCABE,
  Sarah KHEDIDJI,
  Radhia KIBRIA,
  Dominic LIM,
  Shannon MCCARTHY-FRANKLIN,
  Olivia MORLEY,
  Marwan NSOULI,
  Mujahidur RAHMAN,
  Rana RALTON,
  Wendana ROLLE,
  Mahum SHAZAD,
  Sarah SIMS,
  Baraa SOLIMAN,
  Laily TAIBZADAH,
  Steven VARGHESE,
  Paulina WEGRZYN,
  William Gustavo WOLLMANN,
  Umer YAHYA.

  For Law with Business and Management (with a study abroad year)…
  Lara Melissa Macaraeg DANTI,
  Serghel WOLDESUS.

  For Law with Criminology…
  Isaac ALGER,
  Suha ALI,
  Oghenerume AZIGBO,
  Lucy BENTLEY,
  Charlotte BUTLER,
  Laura-Teodora CONSTANTIN,
  Olivia DAVIES,
  Klaudia DERDA,
  Samuel FRENCH,
  Priyenka GOGA,
  Matthew HUET,
  Emily KENNARD,
  Elizabeth LEMON,
  Aina MARTORELL COMAS,
  Lauren MCFARLANE,
  Hannah MITCHELL-MOUNCE,
  Molly NEWBERY,
  Princess ONYEMENEM,
  Nia Mair OWEN,
  Amaya PERMAUL,
  Sahila RICHARDS,
  Jessica SALE,
  Grace SMITH,
  Emma WAGNER DOUBLE.

  For Law with French (with a study year)…
  Nicole TERRY CHO.

  For Law with International Relations…
  Hanin AL ZAHRANI,
  Shahmie BIN SHAHAR.
  Also one of the recipients of the Best Overall Student Prize for the highest overall grand mean; Bethany DUFFY.
  Also one of the recipients of the prize awarded to students who've made a special contribution to the life of the Law school; Jurgen FORSTER.
  Also one of the recipients of the prize awarded to students who have made a special contribution to the life of the Law school; Jared HIGGINS.
  Also one of the recipients of the prize awarded to students who have made a special contribution to the life of the Law school; Kuljit KAUR.
  Abbie KING,
  Sophie LANOE,
  Long Yin LEI,
  Alicia MUGAVANA,
  Eden WARDLE,
  Semen YAKOVLEV.

  For Law with International Relations (with a professional placement year)…
  James DAVIS.

  Also awarded the prize for showing the biggest improvement in stage mean from year one to final year; Elizabeth PEARCE.

  For Law with Italian…
  Hari NAND-LAL.

  For Law with Japanese…
  Owen BINGHAM.

  For Law with Mandarin Chinese…
  Dimitris FOUSTANELLIS-ROMERO.

  For Law with Media…
  Grace ODUTAYO,
  Lucy WREN.

  For Law with Politics…
  Mutsa CHAFA,
  Elyssa FANNING,
  Scarlett KIRK,
  Daniel MALLETT,
  Flynn SPAIN,
  Lucinda WOOD

  For Law with Politics (with a study abroad year)…
  Elysia WARDLE STEAD.

  For Law with Spanish…
  Sorayah Rosibel HAKIMI ROMERO,
  Joseph MOWER,
  Sarah SMAHI.

  For the Postgraduate Diploma in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice…
  Benazeer AMANAT.

  For the Master of Arts in Law…
  Esosa TAFFURELLI.

  For the Mater of Laws in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice…
  Muhammad Shahzad AHSAN.

  For Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law…
  Emmanuel Adedamola AKIN-ONIGBINDE,
  Oyinkolade Steve AKINLEYE,

  For International Human Rights Law…
  Gabrielle HIND,
  Maria O'CONNELL.

  For International Law…
  Sumitra ACHARJEE,
  Florence Yalide Ramoni TAGINI

  For Law...
  Deborah Gbeheno BORO.

  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...

  For the thesis;
  "International regulation of anti-terrorism finance: the Gulf Crisis, and the creation of a A Global Paradigm"
  Sulaiman ALANBAR.

  For the thesis;
  "The unwilling or unable doctrine under the right of self-defense against non-state actors: Its challenges to third world states and an alternative normative framework"
  Emre SENBABAOGLU.

  For the thesis;
  “Generate and engage: the automatisation of the critical targeting functions of lethal autonomous weapons systems through the lens of international humanitarian and international criminal law"
  Ioannis VALIAKOS.

  Vice-Chancellor, this concludes the list of our amazing and wonderful graduands from the School of Law, Politics and Sociology.

   

  [Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global and Civic Engagement stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  
  Professor Robin Banerjee:
  Vice-chancellor, I present to you those who were unable to be presented earlier.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Science in the School of Life Sciences...
  Clare BAILEY.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Laws in Law...
  Jay JOSEPHS,
  Muhammad Abdullah SAEED.

  For the degree of Law (Graduate Entry)...
  Adshirnie DAVID,
  Suvastika MAHENDRAN.

  For Law with Business and Management…
  Asma SAQIQ.

  For the degree of Law with International Relations...
  Omar Ghandi Fakhry KATAW. -Can I shout to my mom, please? -Yes. -Shout out to my mom and dad, I love you for giving me everything I go away!

  For the degree of Master of Laws in International Commercial Law...
  Cagla KILIC.

  For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...

  For the thesis;
  "The Right of the child to be raised in the family: Reflections on decision making processes in child placement in Kazakhstan in the light of English Experience"
  Aigerim MUSSABALINOVA.

  Vice-Chancellor, You have now met all the graduands being presented to you at this ceremony and the moment has come for the formal conferral of degrees of the University of Sussex. I, therefore, ask you to confer degrees on those presented to you and to the other graduands, who have indicated their wish to graduate in absentia at the ceremony.

   

  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands in the middle of the stage.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  So this is the big moment. Graduands, would you please stand? And colleagues, would you please stand as well?

   

  [Graduands and staff stand]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the powers invested in me by the University of Sussex, I confer degrees on all those referred to by the Provost-Vice-Chancellor.
  Congratulations, You are now graduates of the University of Sussex!

   

  (Graduates and academics/staff stand and after sustained applause, a final video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Hello, it's me again. Congratulations graduates. Very, very well done to all of you. Traditionally, the chancellor is supposed to leave you with some parting words of wisdom. I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't instinctively already know, and your instincts that inner voice, are always right by the way. But they speak with the same vocabulary, cadence, inflexion, and grammar as your fears, anxieties, and doubts. So how to tell the difference? Your instincts always come from a place of love. So check in with yourself and make sure that you are always coming from a place of kindness towards yourself and the world around you. Being kind in every situation can be a challenge sometimes. I know it's easier said than done, but the more you practice it, the easier it gets until eventually it's just habit and a part of who you are. You have all achieved magnificently in your academic pursuit and I have no doubt you will apply that to your journey going forward. For dealing with the emotional challenges, anxiety and mental health issues that we all face in an uncertain world we need emotional intelligence. I believe that at the heart of emotional intelligence is compassion, love, and positivity. You know how when we look up at a clear night sky, we can marvel at starlight knowing that those stars may not now even exist yet we can bask in their glow. Love and compassion have the same power. We can and do feel love and kindness from people and events long since gone, and we can do that now for those who will be here when we've long since gone. An act of compassion is like dropping a pebble into a lake. The ripples affect far more and reaches way further than we ever thought or intended. Positivity is not about thinking everything is great all the time. It's being aware that things are tough, but believing and knowing that that is not permanent, that things can and will change. I've lived this experience at 32. I was unemployed, in debt and living with my parents. I could not conceive that within two years I'd be working on TV and movies and not what my business degree had planned for me. Going further, back at 18, I applied here to Sussex, my first choice for university. I didn't get in... something about my grades not being good enough... so I went elsewhere and waited until all those responsible for me not to getting in, had retired, were in prison, deported, or were just playing dead. And at the age of 46, I came back here as chancellor. So ha ha, ha ha! And going back even further, still, when I was five years old, an uncle asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, Actor -I said. My father said; "It's pronounced doctor." But 30 years later, and since I've been living and doing what I dreamed of, obviously, I'm someone who plays the long game. My point is that all of those moments have been amongst the most surprising, positive experiences of my life and have led to other extraordinary experiences including bringing me here today, thus obliterating, all of the negative ones I had before. It taught me that I have no idea exactly what's in my future, and neither do you. But you want to stay in the game until the good stuff comes around and be ready for it when it does. One of my favourite quotes is from the great American poet, Maya Angelou, who I was lucky to have met once, and she said; "People may forget what you did. People may forget what you said. People will never forget the way you made them feel." The final key to emotional intelligence, I wanna mention, is listening and talking. It's obvious, right? Listening. Really hearing what someone is saying to you is essential. People aren't always consciously saying what they're feeling, so like a detective waiting for that vital piece of information, you have to be really on it. My aunt always used to say; you have two ears and one mouth. So always listen twice as much as you talk. And talking, when we're overwhelmed by anything, fear, anger, grief, greed, even beauty and love, the thing we lose is perspective even momentarily and in those moments, we may act in haste and without the clarity that's required. The quickest way to perspective is to pause and then talk to someone. Get an alternative point of view that's not also been created in your own head. But choose wisely beforehand 'cause these will be the excellent listeners I mentioned and will not necessarily be convenient, but will tell you their honest opinion in the most compassionate way. And if you can't find someone to talk to, get yourself a sense of humour. If you can see that, that overwhelming, terrifying thing is also silly then it is no longer just a terrifying thing. Instant perspective. Mahatma Gandhi said; Be the change you want to see in the world. So if you want to see a more compassionate world, you be more compassionate. You wanna see more accountability, then you be more accountable. I hope we meet in person at some point, in which case, feel free to come up and say, I'm a Sussex graduate and you owe me a hug or a handshake or a high five! Or ignore me if you want. It's up to you. Either way, I wish you all success in everything you do next. Take your compassion, positivity, humour, and power and change your world. Someone's world. The world.

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now declare this ceremony closed.

   

  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

Download the Ceremony 7 video [MP4 4.2GB]

Ceremony 8 at 4.30pm

Education and Social Work

Law, Politics and Sociology

• Politics
• Sociology and Criminology

•  Video transcript

  https://vimeo.com/990000543

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.]

   

  (A video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Greetings all. I am the chancellor of the University of Sussex. A lot of you probably already knew that, but um, I thought the beard might throw you. It's for a character I'm playing in a TV thing. It is real! If I'd been there, I would've invited you to give it a tug to check its authenticity as you cross the stage - or not. Anyway, I digress.Well, well here we are. Well, here you are. I am of course somewhere else, but here in spirit and in admiration. Apologies for gate-crashing your day, but I just couldn't help crowbarring myself into your celebration. I wanted to add the warmest of welcomes to all of you, graduands, families and friends and to those like me who may be following the ceremony remotely. Sussex graduations have become known for being a festival, a bit of a party, and it's a tradition that I hope you'll continue today.This is your day, so express your joy and positivity when you cross the stage. And friends and family, this is your day too, so take a moment to be prepared with your cameras for the moment your superstar crosses the stage and make as much noise as you can when they do.Oh, come on, they've embarrassed you enough times in the past. So this is payback time.Have a great ceremony and I'll catch you on the other side.

   

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  Distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, supporters, friends, and above all, our graduands, the Sussex class of 2024. It's my great honour and enormous pleasure to welcome you to the Brighton Centre for this graduation ceremony. I'm Professor Sasha Rosneil. I'm the Vice-Chancellor and president of the University of Sussex.
  Graduands, as our Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar has just said, today is all about you. This is a day of celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved during your time at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have benefited in countless, tangible and less tangible ways from the love and support of your family or guardians and carers, from the encouragement of your friends and of course from the teaching and guidance of staff at the university. You may also have had support from our alumni and donors who've generously provided scholarships.
  So now I'm going to ask for some participation from you.
  Graduands, if you are able, would you please stand up and turn to face the audience, your friends and loved ones, and offer your thanks with a big hearty cheer and a round of applause?

   

  (Graduands stand and give a big round of applause.)

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil continues:
  Thank you. Please do be seated again.
  As a university, we at Sussex are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community. And that extends to our celebrations today. This is an important event, not only in the lives of our graduands, but for everyone in this auditorium, some of whom have travelled a very long way to be with us. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. You come each year from over 130 countries around the world. So we have people in the audience today of many different nationalities and faiths. And amongst everyone gathered here, there is a huge diversity of opinion and belief about almost every matter under the sun. And that diversity of thought is a very special thing. Something that Sussex as a university seeks always to uphold and support.
  We have a foundational commitment to academic freedom and freedom of speech. It's our job as a university to create an environment in which diversity of beliefs and opinions can be explored. It's our job to nurture the conditions under which our students and staff can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas, where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed. We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death and the destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as the climate crisis and environmental degradation, giving rise to enormous concern amongst Sussex students. Many Sussex students and their families and loved ones I'm sure too hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And so, as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I would like to emphasise that the university supports and will always support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of the humanity and diversity that's at the heart of our university community and that binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community.
  So Sussex graduands, I would like to thank you all for all that you've contributed to making our university a place of community and inclusion and diversity. An pen, warm, and welcoming place. In the two years since I became vice-chancellor, I've come to realise that Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope, and possibility.
  Alongside your academic work many of you have taken part in an impressive range of other activities as members and leaders of student societies and groups as volunteers helping and supporting other people on and off campus. Many of you here today are receiving a Spirit of Sussex Award for your contributions to the community. From serving as campus ambassadors to fundraising for local causes and creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable.
  I commend your commitment to your extracurricular activities. Well done on all that you've done alongside your formal studies. Over the past two years, I've had the great privilege of meeting many Sussex alumni from the UK, from Asia, Africa, and the Americas and I've been overwhelmed by how many of them told me how much they had loved their days at Sussex and how the experience of studying at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They recalled encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transformed their worldview, as well as making lasting friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you, today's graduands will feel the same in the years to come. Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or are looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you are leaving a university with a global reputation. A university that has equipped you with knowledge and skills to think critically and creatively, to work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective. You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally recognised for their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of their research has directly informed your education across the disciplines and in the spaces in between.
  Our research focuses on the urgent concerns of our time. Some of you may have seen our 'Impossible until it's done' banners around Brighton and Hove and on the buses. Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela, this campaign highlights the work we are doing to tackle pollution in rivers, to find new ways, to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using AI. We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes with the wider audiences. And Sussex has much to celebrate. For the eighth consecutive year, Sussex with our partner, the Institute of Development Studies, has been ranked first in the world for Development Studies. This is an outstanding achievement by our academics. Not many British universities can lay claim to being first in the world for a subject area and development studies which seek understandings of and progress towards global equity. Social justice and sustainability is very much at the heart of what Sussex is about. One of the key measures of the strength and impact of a university is the extent to which its publications are cited by researchers from other universities. And Sussex really does punch above its weight in this respect. This year in the QS World University Rankings, we have nine subject areas in the top 10 in the UK for citations with History and Physics and Astronomy, each ranked first in the UK. We were also recognised as the eighth most sustainable university in the UK, joint 26th in the world overall for sustainability and 16th in the world for our work on equality. All this means that Sussex research is improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology and influencing the policies of governments as well as making a real difference in the protection and regeneration of our natural environment.
  Now, I know that many of you graduating today have had difficult life journeys so far, and all of you have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous upheaval this caused to your education and social lives. Some of you have struggled with your mental health, some of you with your physical health, some of you have faced loss and family disruption during your student days. Each of you has had a unique journey to Sussex and route through Sussex. And each of you will have had your ups and downs. But whatever your Sussex story, I hope that when you look back at your time with us, you feel that your studies were intellectually challenging and rigorous, that you were stretched, stimulated, and supported to achieve your best, that you're leaving with knowledge, skills, and personal resources that will stand you in good stead and that you make connections and friendships that will stay with you long into the future.
  You now will take many different paths as you join our community of more than 200,000 alumni around the world. Sussex alumni include Nobel laureates, grassroots, campaigners and activists, heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations and those with less high-profile but no less significant lives and careers. People whose actions and relationships remake and renew the social fabric in small positive ways every day. Across the globe, in more than 160 countries and it all walks of life, our alumni are sharing the benefits of their Sussex experience to make the world a better place. I know you will do that too.
  So graduands, celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree. Celebrate the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. Celebrate the belief in yourself that has made it possible. And celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.

   

  (Graduands and guests applaud.)

   

  I call upon the Head of the School of Education and Social Work, Professor Simon Thompson.

   

  
  [Head of the School of Education and Social Work, Professor Simon Thompson, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Simon Thompson:
  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree Bachelor of Arts in Childhood and Youth: Theory and Practice...
  Aimee BISHOP,
  Zuni BOURNE,
  Mia BRAZIL,
  Ellie BROOKER,
  Madeleine BYE,
  Yanna ERIKSON.
  Also awarded the BA Childhood and Youth Award for Outstanding Courage and Resolve; Eleanor FLYNN,
  Rebecca GEER,
  Natalie GERIGHTY,
  Ella GREY,
  Eloise HEAD,
  Amber HILL.
  Also awarded the BA in Childhood and Youth Award from the Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth; Amber HOLLAND,
  Katherine HOLT,
  Hannah MOORE,
  Isabella PENFOLD,
  Ella PRICE,
  Amy ROBERTS,
  Megan TURNILL,
  Oliver WHITEHEAD.

  For Education Studies - Primary and Early Years...
  Jeydan AYKIRAN,
  Chelsea BURDEN,
  Ella Shea FLEMING,
  Emily FORD,
  Ben MATTHEWSON,
  Natalie WARD.

  For Primary and Early Years Education (with Qualified Teacher Status)...
  Molly ADAIR,
  Charlotte ANSELL Angele BASDEN,
  Mia BATCHELOR,
  Rianna BISWAS,
  Annice BOATENG,
  Zoe BRADSHAW,
  Ella CARVEY,
  Jennifer CASSIN,
  Eleanor DEAN,
  Verity DUBOURG,
  Sasha EVANS,
  Megan GILLETT,
  Isobel GLAYSHER,
  Jemma GOYMER,
  Ruby HANCOCK,
  George HINTON,
  Eleanor HODGINS,
  Kate HOWES,
  Vaishnav LALLCHAND,
  Rosie MACKINTOSH,
  Emma MIDMER,
  Alex MORRIS,
  Maia ORME.
  Also awarded the BA in Primary and Early Years Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Primary and Early years dissertation; Serena PUSHPANGADAN,
  Aniela SILVER,
  Hollie SKILTON,
  Imogen SMITH,
  Ramisa TAHIYAT,
  Daisy THOMSON,
  Imogen WAINWRIGHT,
  Emily WARREN,
  Lucy WHEATLAND.

  For the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education…
  Shannon LESTER-MURPHY,
  George SIANTONAS,
  Carlo TISEO.

  For the Degree of Master of Arts in Childhood and Youth Studies...
  Meenakshi DURAIRAJ,
  Elsa Chacko Jacob,
  Enza GRECO,
  Adele NOTTAGE,
  Clementine Amuche SANYA.

  For Early Years Education...
  Balqees Abiodun AJIBOWU,
  Evelyn Osemare OGBEKHIULU,
  Adewunmi Adeteju OGUNDOLA,
  Oluwakemi Victory OLUFEMI,
  Omolabake Omotoyosi SHOMEFUN,

  For Early Years Education (with Early Years Teacher Status)…
  Laura BRYSON.

  For Education...
  Peter BERGIN,
  Jana Mikaela Orande CARINO,
  Julie COGHLAN,
  Ishita Yashpalgiri GOSWAMI,
  Sunday Olufemi OJEKUNLE,
  Richard Olaoye OLAITAN,
  Omowumi Oluwashola SAKA,
  Lorna THOMSON,
  Virginia Kelechi UGBESEA.

  For International Education and Development...
  Justina Ugochi CHIDI,
  Chibuye Angess CHIRUMBA,
  Favour Amaka MOSES,
  Glory Nnenna NNAM,
  Seungkyun YOU.

  Vice-chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree Doctor of Philosophy...

  For the thesis;
  "Capacity development of education, government officials by non-state actors: A case of AKF in Afghanistan"
  Farzana BARDAI.

  For the thesis;
  "Creating constellations of empathy, a relational exploration of social worker parent empathy in the English Child Protection System"
  Amy LYNCH.

  For the thesis;
  "Therapy with young children in Chile, following sexual abuse: a child-centred relational perspective"
  Loreto RODRIGUEZ.

  For the thesis;
  "Charting the evolution of integrated education policy in the Republic of North Macedonia: integration, segregation, and conflict"
  Michael ROY.

  For the thesis;
  "Rethinking sexuality education: Voices of rural Zambian Youth”
  Agness WILKINS, Congratulations.

  Vice-chancellor, This concludes the list of graduands from the School of Education and Social Work.

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I call upon Janet Boddy, Professor of Child, Youth and Family Services and Gillian Ruch, Professor of Social Work, to present Dez Holmes.

   

  [Janet Boddy, Professor of Child, Youth and Family Services and Gillian Ruch, Professor of Social Work go to Dez Holmes seat. Professor Janet Boddy and Professor Gillian Ruch bow to Dez Holmes. They shake hands, and move to the centre of the platform. Professor Janet Boddy and Professor Gillian Ruch go to the lectern to deliver their oration.]

   

  Professor Janet Boddy and Professor Gillian Ruch:
  Vice-Chancellor, It's our privilege to introduce Dez Holmes.
  I first met Dez about 15 years ago. She's one of those people that you meet and you immediately think whatever they say, is worth listening. And I've been lucky enough to carry on working with her. And that first impression has been consistently proved right. Through all that time, her work has been driven by the challenges faced by public services, supporting them to meet the needs of children, families, and adults. When we met, she had recently moved from working in a local government, where she was leading the development of integrated family support. In her new role, she was also driving change, leading capacity building for the Center for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People Services.
  In 2012, Dez became director of Research and Practice or RIP a not-for-profit Partnership Organisation and they've been transformed over the years of her leadership. Now part of the National Children's Bureau family, WRT plays a pivotal role in supporting those who work with children, families, and adults and young people to use evidence in their practice and their leadership across diverse areas. The work of research in practice is built around the idea of a triangle of evidence that brings together research, professional expertise and lived experience. This is led by Dez's vision and her understanding of what is needed to ensure that research evidence is meaningful for both; improving policy and practice and for supporting people with what matters in their lives. And that approach, understanding the context in which research evidence is created and used and the challenges, underpin the trust and recognition that Dez has and research in practice has today.
  We live in interesting times - as the saying goes. The 12 years Dez has been at research in practice have been uniquely interesting for the public sector with austerity, COVID and more, but not now actually. In that context, it might perhaps be tempting to criticise, to look at what's wrong with the world. Dez is unafraid to critique. To know her is to know what she thinks. She's always prepared to reflect and find ways to move forward. That's evident in her leadership of RIP through innovation in the development of resources, for working with equality and diversity or with risk to young people outside the home and in the enormous respect that she has within the wider sector. Her achievements are all the more impressive because they are realised with an irrepressible sense of humour. If either of us, Janet and I are attending a meeting where Dez is also present, we know that at some point there will be something that she says that will lead us to laugh out loud as Smiley Riley.
  Dez is a wonderful force of nature and a joy to work with. We're not done. So Vice-Chancellor, today's recognition is wholly deserved. I'm not alone in that first impression of Dez, that she's always worth listening to. It's rooted in her experience, in the care that she brings to her work. It's rooted in the insights she brings and underpins her reputation as a key figure shaping national research and policy agendas. Through all her work, including a long history as you can hear of collaboration between RIP and Sussex Dez embodies our Sussex values of courage and kindness, deploying evidence to imagine new possibilities for policy and practice, and always working for the interests of vulnerable and marginalised communities in our society.
  Vice-Chancellor, we present to you for the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Dez Holmes.

   

  [Applause]

  
  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands and shakes hands with Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Dez Holmes.]

   

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the authority of the Senate of the University, I confer on you the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

   

  [Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Dez Holmes goes to the lectern to deliver her speech.]

   

  Dez Holmes:
  Vice-Chancellor, what an absolute honour this is.
  I am deeply grateful to the University of Sussex for this tremendous privilege. 15-year-old me smoking roll-ups behind a comprehensive school in mid-Wales. I did not think she would end up in rooms and robes like this. In fact, my main recollection of my undergraduate ceremony was my Yorkshire dad, rightly fairly enough, moaning quite a lot about the waste of time and the waste of petrol and the sheer fuss of it all. And my mother's rather shrill response - Well, she's never gonna get married, is she? So this might be all the fuss I get. I'm not entirely wrong.
  So I have 560 words to say. Something motivational, something, you know, hopefully, useful and perhaps to offer some words of advice. Um, but who am I to offer advice to people like you, people who have spent their time and money and blood and sweat and tears getting your degrees. Because I just did my job, which is essentially ranting with references, but they sort of made to sound longer and grander. Um, did Janet and Gillian.
  I'm incredibly lucky that my role allows me to play some small part in contributing to society, by supporting those professionals who serve some of this country's most marginalised and oppressed people. By honouring me, you honour my organisation's work. You honour, evidence-informed practice and evidence-informed practice means ensuring those decisions in practice and in policy are informed not only by what works as the saying goes, but by what matters to the people, we serve on their terms in their worlds. So to every student here, you are capable of the most incredible, amazing things, and I would say even more so now that our country is not so tired of experts.
  Anyway, I've got absolutely nothing to teach you, but I can share some of what I've learned since I last wore a graduation gown of 20-odd years ago and see if any of it resonates. It will be in bullet points, not prose out of respect for the word count, which was communicated to me several times. So evidence-informed practice means respecting and triangulating knowledge from multiple sources. Co-creating ideas across boundaries to drive social change. Because research evidence at its very best shares its space and its power with professional wisdom and with the expertise born outta people's lived experience, you get alongside each other. You know, knowledge is a tapestry, not a hierarchy.
  Now, not to enrage the academic publishing industry, but knowledge isn't power until everybody has access to it. So share yours generously. Don't get sued or anything, but share yours generously because knowledge is power when it supports dialogue, when it's democratised. Learning's only learning when it's applied. If you find repeatedly in your career that you think you might be the cleverest person in the room, I reckon you're in the wrong room or the wrong mindset, or both, possibly. In fact, don't even aim to be clever. Aim to be useful. Measure your success not in a number of citations or promotions, but in the quality of the interactions that you get to have. Surround yourself with people who make you think deeply and then think again. And if in doubt, have another think. If you are lucky enough to end a conversation or a meeting having had your mind changed, then I would say that was time exceptionally well spent. Take all feedback as a gift. Treat it as such even reviewer twos, but give it in really good faith. Receive it in good faith and give it in good faith. Give it with real grace and compassion because in my experience, people learn from critique, but they don't learn from criticism. I don't think any of us do, really. If you are able to find work that matters, that sustains you, that excites you, then that is a wonderful glorious life. And so whilst out of respect for HR colleagues in the room, work-life balance does matter. It ain't measured in hours, I promise you. I also think it's important to acknowledge that whatever adversity we faced or that we'll go on to face by simple virtue of being in this room full of these magnificent minds, we are privileged by education. And so we have to use that privilege with absolute humility, with real care. Never, ever punch down. Speaking of magnificent minds, with minds like yours and achievements like yours, don't play safe. Don't stay in your comfort zone. Don't steady as you go. A ship in a harbour is safe, but that's not what ships are built for. And certainly not mine’s like yours. When someone tells you who they think you are, who they think you could be, someone you admire, then believe them. The first time, for me in school, in university, and certainly in my professional career, predominantly, but not exclusively, the people who saw in me what I couldn't yet see in myself were women. Some of them work here at University of Sussex.
  So for the women in this room, in fact, no. To everybody in this room who has been afforded less structural power than others, lift each other up in public, on purpose every single damn day and for those of you, those of us, who have been afforded greater structural power, ask if you're doing enough to help. Because the answer might be no.
  Frankly, and above all, stay curious. In fact, no. For the love of God, stay hydrated because naughties me had no idea how much that was gonna matter to perimenopausal me. And learning is not learning unless it's applied.
  So I will end with some thanks to the University of Sussex for this, great, great honour.
  To my fantastic colleagues at research and practice, the National Children's Bureau, to my family, to Jean-Luc, and my beautiful bubble who are here to cheerlead me today and every day. Thank you so much.

   

   (Applause)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now call upon the Head of the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, Professor Jo Moran-Ellis.

   

  [Head of the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, Professor Jo Moran-Ellis, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Jo Moran-Ellis:
  Vice Chancellor, I will now present to you for the Diploma of Higher Education...
  Saskia MAHRER.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Criminology...
  Valeria ACOSTA MAYORGA,
  Izzy ARNOTT,
  Leah BARNETT,
  Claudia BENSTEAD SCHLUP,
  Jack BILLINGS,
  Hollie BROWN.
  Also jointly awarded the prize for the best Criminology Project 2024; Louise BRUCE,
  Nicola CHAPLIN,
  Georgia CHILD,
  Daisy-Mae CHILTON,
  Viktoria COLEMAN,
  Sofia COOKMAN.
  Also jointly awarded the prize for the best Criminology Project 2024; Nikolett CSELIK,
  Dillon EMSLEY,
  Karl FOSTER,
  Maddie FRENCH,
  Clementine HEBBLETHWAITE,
  Tia HELLER,
  Daisy JAMIESON,
  Lauren JENNINGS,
  Mia KIGHTLEY,
  Curtis KIRWOOD-SLACK,
  Tsz KWONG,
  Alexandra LEE,
  Charlotte LIDDELL,
  Ionela MAGDAN,
  Josephine MAGUIRE,
  Katie MARKS,
  Daisy MIDDLETON,
  Alice MILLINGTON PHILLIPS,
  Constance MITHAM,
  Liam NOLAND,
  Aoibheann O'GARA,
  Sum Yin PANG,
  Melissa PRIESTMAN,
  Sophia RAUCCI,
  Ellis RAWCLIFFE,
  Emily RAWLINGS,
  Henry ROCHE,
  Honor SELLS,
  Max SILVERMAN,
  Millie SOUTH,
  Mary-Kate STRINGER MITCHELL,
  Eleanor THOMPSON,
  Poppy WALLYN,
  Grace WHITMARSH.

  For Criminology (with a professional placement year)...
  Rosie FRAIL.

  For Criminology and Sociology...
  Hala AL-ANSARI,
  Molly CHANNELL,
  Lori COCHRANE,
  India EASSON-HASTINGS,
  Scarlett GREAVETT,
  Antonius HAMMOND.
  Also awarded the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award; Lorna HOSFORD,
  Natalia JAMES,
  Hannah JOSS,
  George KANE,
  Friha KHAN,
  Ines KRISHNAMMA,
  Thomas LADE,
  Olivia LANGDON,
  Maia LEY,
  Hugh LIDDY,
  Nicole MONKS,
  Caroline MULLINS,
  Jacqueline PALACIO TASCON,
  Ella PEAKE,
  William ROGERSON,
  Sapphire SCOTCHMER,
  Anna SERRA Aimee SIMSON,
  Amy ST JOHN,
  Lucy TEMPLE,
  Francesca WOOD.

  For History and Politics...
  Tristan BOULTON,
  Hayden EVANS,
  Alexandria FOSTER,
  David GLOGOWSKI,
  Francesca GORDON,
  Konrad KUBANSKI,
  Daisy MAHONEY,
  Jack PERRING,
  Rishik PITHADIA,
  William PRITCHARD,
  Jake SHIMMEN.

  For History and Sociology...
  William BUCHANAN-BREDEN,
  Lily BURNS,
  Nicholas HANDS-HEART,
  Malsa MAUMOON,
  Elena SIMONS,
  Charlotte THOMAS,
  Isabelle WALFORD.

  For Politics...
  Harry BAINES,
  Delilah BELMONT,
  Archie BRIGDEN,
  Eliza BURT,
  Harry BYRNE,
  Ariadna CHILDS VIDAL,
  Dilys COUSENS-SMITH,
  Molly FENWICK,
  Ruth FLORENCE,
  John GABRIEL,
  Samuel HAMMOND,
  James HOLMAN-DINE,
  Harpinder KANG,
  Ethan QUINLAN,
  Zana RACI,
  Chloe WATSON,
  Amelie WEAVER,
  Fergus WHITE.

  For Politics (with a study abroad year)…
  John-Patrick MCGRATH.

  For Politics and International Relations…
  Anood ALBORESHA,
  Zena AYMACH,
  Karis BAINES,
  Harry BALL,
  Isobelle BENSON,
  Joseph BLAKELY,
  Ella BULLARD,
  Michael CASTLE,
  Kaelen CLAPHAM,
  Alex CSEREY,
  Chloe DODDIMEADE,
  Cameron EDWARDS,
  Elliot FRAZER,
  Isidore GABA,
  Nadra HASSAN,
  Rachel HELDEN,
  Molly HEWITT,
  Gabriella JONES-WARNER,
  Daniel KEOGH,
  Amarildo KUPI,
  Heidi Susannah Pettersen LINDBEKK,
  Jack MARTIN,
  Andrew MARWICK,
  Dillon MILES,
  Hal NORMAN,
  Lara NORRIS,
  Jimena ROJO PARRAGA,
  Nadir SALIMZADE,
  Charlie SANDERS,
  Zara SIOR,
  Oliver SMITH,
  Sacha TAYLOR,
  Charlotte THORINGTON,
  Aaron TOWNSEND,
  Eleanor TROUT,
  Harry WHITEHAN.

  For Politics and International Relations (with a professional placement year)...
  Also awarded the annual Moletsane Monyake Prize for the best dissertation in the module: Political corruption; Benjamin Nugent.

  For Politics and International Relations (with a study abroad year)...
  Also awarded the prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement in the Politics Department and the Inaugural Award of the Sabina Avdagic Prize for the best dissertation; -If I may, the Sabina Avdagic prize has been established in memory of our dear friend and colleague who passed away this year. The prize reflects Sabina's passion for research and her commitment to intellectual rigour. And the award of this prize, along with the best dissertation and the outstanding academic achievement, goes to Isaac HUSBAND.
  Felix JOHNS.

  For Politics and Philosophy...
  Matilda CRAWLEY,
  George FEAVER,
  Alexandra KINGSBURY STACEY,
  Yesenia MAHE DARLINGTON,
  Dieter MORGAN.

  For Politics and Sociology...
  Robert BALLANTINE,
  Samantha COTGROVE,
  Orla DONOGHUE,
  Evie FELTON,
  William FLACK,
  Lola FRANCIS-CLARK,
  Thomas HENDERSON,
  Samuel LEFEBVRE,
  Ritika SRIVATSAN,
  Dan TURNER.

  For Sociology...
  Thandeka ADEBOMI. Oh, is that terrible? Was that terrible? Thandeka, right? Stay there. Okay. Thandeka ADEBOMI,
  Layla AHMAD,
  Sophie ARMSTRONG,
  Rachel BLOCH,
  Miguel BOIRA-BOULDING,
  Isobel BOSTOCK,
  Madeleine CARTER,
  Lauren COLE,
  Zachary CRITTEN,
  Phoebe DUKE,
  Katerina EVERARD,
  Emma FLETCHER,
  Millie GATES,
  Anna HILLS,
  Mia HORNSHAW,
  Ieva JAROCKAITE,
  Caitlin LYNCH,
  Sophie MAISTRELLO,
  Ella-Grace MAYNARD,
  Starr MILLS,
  Bella PATIENCE-SLADE,
  Charlie PIPE,
  Ella RADLEY,
  Suu RUPAR,
  Amy ULLO,
  Maisie WHITE,
  Alice WOLFENDEN.

  For Sociology (with a study abroad year)...
  Amelia BROWN,
  Leigh COLLINS,
  Florence MORRIS.
  Also jointly awarded the prize for the Best Sociology Project 2024: Eden PARSONS, Congratulations.

  For Sociology and International Development...
  Maria CLEMENTE,
  Kirsty GIPSON,
  David HMENSA,
  Ana Belen MALDONADO WATTIEZ,
  Celia MASON.

  For Sociology and International Development (with a professional placement year)...
  Andrea ACOSTA FERRO.

  For Sociology with British Sign Language...
  Isobel RAMCHARRAN.

  For Sociology with Cultural Studies...
  Olivia LOCK,
  Tania RAHMAN,
  Katherine RODRIGUEZ,
  Linh TRAN,
  Molly WILLIAMS.

  For Sociology with Cultural Studies (with a study abroad year)...
  Charlotte LANGRIDGE.

  For Sociology with French...
  Francesca WHINNETT.

  For Sociology with Media Studies...
  Olivia BORNS,
  Lorna CUMMING,
  Elizabeth GOWER,
  Rosa MOUNTSTEVENS,
  Ilay SAKAR,
  Jagoda SZAFRANIEC.
  Also jointly awarded the prize for the Best Sociology Project 2024: Ellys WEBB.

  For Sociology with Media Studies (with a professional placement year)...
  Anna WARD.

  For Sociology with Spanish...
  Zak ALVAREZ,
  Jasmine GRACE.

  For the Bachelor of Laws in Law with Criminology...
  Holly BEATTIE.

  For the Postgraduate Diploma in Gender Studies…
  Ambareen CHOWDHURY.

  For the degree of Master of Arts in Corruption and Governance…
  João Pedro DE FREITAS VIEIRA,
  Helen DU TOIT,
  Amendeep KALIRAI,
  Wede OKERENTUGBA-THOMPSON,
  Nomonde ROZANI,
  Michael STARHAHN.

  For Criminology and Criminal justice...
  Nikolett BARE,
  Basirat Adenike SULUKA,
  Kelsey WHITING.

  For Gender Studies...
  Prachi SHEORAN.

  For the degree of Master of Laws in International Financial Law… Osayamen Mitchelle OMOREGIE.

  Thank you, Vice-Chancellor.

  I will now present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...

  For the thesis;
  "Policing corruption or corrupted policing? A study of social norms and corrupt behaviour in the Ghana Police Service"
  Riccardo D'EMIDIO, Congratulations.

  For the thesis;
  "Precarity, borders and racism: Syrian migrants in Turkey"
  Elif DEMIRBAS.

  For the thesis;
  "Climates of corruption: The concept of corruption, the role of power, and the challenge of climate change policymaking, and action"
  Rebecca DOBSON PHILLIPS.

  Vice-Chancellor, We have one final award to make to Owen Eccles, who sadly died before completing his undergraduate program.

   

  [Photographs of Owen Eccles are being displayed on the large screens above the stage.]

   

  Professor Jo Moran-Ellis:
  From the very start of his studies with us at Sussex, Owen showed a clear talent for combining a wide range of interests with a passion for intellectual ideas. His academic work reflected the profile of someone who was strongly developing their thinking and engagement with the subjects they were studying. Owen also clearly had some key interests, which chimed so well with what we strive for at Sussex, and he pursued these within the framework of the modules he was taking. His family themselves commented to us on how much he loved his studies, whilst at the same time he was modest about his achievements in his academic work. Owen pursued key questions of our time; the aftereffects of colonialism, market forces, and their impact, the problem of environmental degradation, poverty, famine, racism, globalisation, and sustainability. Owen's family can be very proud of him and his attainments. At Sussex, we feel privileged to have taught him and learned from him with his questioning approach. While we mourn his loss deeply, we celebrate the mark he left on Sussex and commemorate what it means to us that he was part of our community.
  Vice-Chancellor, today we can honour in a small way, on his achievement by awarding him a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and International Development.
  Owen's family are here today and his sister, Victoria is here to receive the certificate on behalf of the Family.

  
  [Owen’s sister, Victoria shakes hands with Sasha Roseneil and receives the certificate on behalf of the Family.]

  
  Professor Jo Moran-Ellis:
  Vice-Chancellor, this concludes the list of graduands from the School of Law, Politics and Sociology.

   

  [Applause]

  [Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global and Civic Engagement stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Robin Banerjee:
  Vice-Chancellor, I present to you those who were unable to be presented earlier.
  For the degree of Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics…
  Sonny FLYNN.

  For Politics and Sociology...
  Yasmeen BARKET.

  For the degree of Master of Arts in International Education and Development...
  Himani GOUR,
  Abrilla KUTHUMI.

  For the degree of Corruption and Governance...
  Neena SEEWOO.

  Vice-Chancellor, you have now met all the graduands at this ceremony, and the moment has come for the formal conferral of degrees of the University of Sussex. I, therefore, ask you to confer degrees on those presented to you and to the other graduands who have indicated their wish to graduate in absentia at the ceremony.

   

  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands in the middle of the stage.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  So this is the big moment.
  Graduands, would you please stand? And colleagues, would you please stand?

   

  [Graduands and staff stand]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the powers invested in me by the University of Sussex, I confer degrees on all those referred to by the Provost-Vice-Chancellor.
  Congratulations. You are all now graduates of the University of Sussex!

   

  (Graduates and academics/staff stand and after sustained applause, a final video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Hello, it's me again. Congratulations graduates. Very, very well done to all of you. Traditionally, the chancellor is supposed to leave you with some parting words of wisdom. I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't instinctively already know, and your instincts that inner voice, are always right by the way. But they speak with the same vocabulary, cadence, inflexion, and grammar as your fears, anxieties, and doubts. So how to tell the difference? Your instincts always come from a place of love. So check in with yourself and make sure that you are always coming from a place of kindness towards yourself and the world around you. Being kind in every situation can be a challenge sometimes. I know it's easier said than done, but the more you practice it, the easier it gets until eventually it's just habit and a part of who you are. You have all achieved magnificently in your academic pursuit and I have no doubt you will apply that to your journey going forward. For dealing with the emotional challenges, anxiety and mental health issues that we all face in an uncertain world we need emotional intelligence. I believe that at the heart of emotional intelligence is compassion, love, and positivity. You know how when we look up at a clear night sky, we can marvel at starlight knowing that those stars may not now even exist yet we can bask in their glow. Love and compassion have the same power. We can and do feel love and kindness from people and events long since gone, and we can do that now for those who will be here when we've long since gone. An act of compassion is like dropping a pebble into a lake. The ripples affect far more and reaches way further than we ever thought or intended. Positivity is not about thinking everything is great all the time. It's being aware that things are tough, but believing and knowing that that is not permanent, that things can and will change. I've lived this experience at 32. I was unemployed, in debt and living with my parents. I could not conceive that within two years I'd be working on TV and movies and not what my business degree had planned for me. Going further, back at 18, I applied here to Sussex, my first choice for university. I didn't get in... something about my grades not being good enough... so I went elsewhere and waited until all those responsible for me not to getting in, had retired, were in prison, deported, or were just playing dead. And at the age of 46, I came back here as chancellor. So ha ha, ha ha! And going back even further, still, when I was five years old, an uncle asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, Actor -I said. My father said; "It's pronounced doctor." But 30 years later, and since I've been living and doing what I dreamed of, obviously, I'm someone who plays the long game. My point is that all of those moments have been amongst the most surprising, positive experiences of my life and have led to other extraordinary experiences including bringing me here today, thus obliterating, all of the negative ones I had before. It taught me that I have no idea exactly what's in my future, and neither do you. But you want to stay in the game until the good stuff comes around and be ready for it when it does. One of my favourite quotes is from the great American poet, Maya Angelou, who I was lucky to have met once, and she said; "People may forget what you did. People may forget what you said. People will never forget the way you made them feel." The final key to emotional intelligence, I wanna mention, is listening and talking. It's obvious, right? Listening. Really hearing what someone is saying to you is essential. People aren't always consciously saying what they're feeling, so like a detective waiting for that vital piece of information, you have to be really on it. My aunt always used to say; you have two ears and one mouth. So always listen twice as much as you talk. And talking, when we're overwhelmed by anything, fear, anger, grief, greed, even beauty and love, the thing we lose is perspective even momentarily and in those moments, we may act in haste and without the clarity that's required. The quickest way to perspective is to pause and then talk to someone. Get an alternative point of view that's not also been created in your own head. But choose wisely beforehand 'cause these will be the excellent listeners I mentioned and will not necessarily be convenient, but will tell you their honest opinion in the most compassionate way. And if you can't find someone to talk to, get yourself a sense of humour. If you can see that, that overwhelming, terrifying thing is also silly then it is no longer just a terrifying thing. Instant perspective. Mahatma Gandhi said; Be the change you want to see in the world. So if you want to see a more compassionate world, you be more compassionate. You wanna see more accountability, then you be more accountable. I hope we meet in person at some point, in which case, feel free to come up and say, I'm a Sussex graduate and you owe me a hug or a handshake or a high five! Or ignore me if you want. It's up to you. Either way, I wish you all success in everything you do next. Take your compassion, positivity, humour, and power and change your world. Someone's world. The world.

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now declare this ceremony closed.

   

  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

Download the Ceremony 8 video [MP4 4.4GB]

Thursday 25 July 2024

Ceremony 9 at 10am

Engineering and Informatics

•  Video transcript

  https://vimeo.com/990067942

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.]

   

  (A video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Greetings all. I am the chancellor of the University of Sussex. A lot of you probably already knew that, but um, I thought the beard might throw you. It's for a character I'm playing in a TV thing. It is real! If I'd been there, I would've invited you to give it a tug to check its authenticity as you cross the stage - or not. Anyway, I digress.Well, well here we are. Well, here you are. I am of course somewhere else, but here in spirit and in admiration. Apologies for gate-crashing your day, but I just couldn't help crowbarring myself into your celebration. I wanted to add the warmest of welcomes to all of you, graduands, families and friends and to those like me who may be following the ceremony remotely. Sussex graduations have become known for being a festival, a bit of a party, and it's a tradition that I hope you'll continue today.This is your day, so express your joy and positivity when you cross the stage. And friends and family, this is your day too, so take a moment to be prepared with your cameras for the moment your superstar crosses the stage and make as much noise as you can when they do.Oh, come on, they've embarrassed you enough times in the past. So this is payback time.Have a great ceremony and I'll catch you on the other side.

   

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  Distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, supporters, friends, and above all, graduands, Sussex class of 2024. It's my great honour and enormous pleasure to welcome you to the Brighton Centre for today's graduation.
  I'm Professor Sasha Roseneil and I'm the Vice-Chancellor and president of the United States… the, the University of Sussex. Oh dear. Yes. Uh, the current president lost his job for less. Well this is maybe a similar slip. Um, University of Sussex. I have got America on my mind a lot at the moment.
  Graduands, as our Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar has just reminded us, today is all about you. It's a celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved during your time at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have received support in tangible and less tangible ways from your family, your guardians and carers. You've received the encouragement of your friends and of course the teaching and guidance of staff at the university. You may also have had support from our alumni and donors who have generously offered scholarships.
  So I'm now going to ask for some participation from you.
  Our graduands, If you are able, would you mind standing up and turning to face the audience behind you and offering them all a big hearty cheer and a round of applause as a gesture of thanks?

  
  (Graduands stand and give a big round of applause.)

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil continues:
  Thank you. Please do be seated again. As a university, we at Sussex are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community. And that extends to our celebrations today. This is an important event, not only in the lives of our graduands, but for everyone in the auditorium, many of whom have travelled a very long way to be with us. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. You come each year from over 130 countries worldwide. So we have people in the audience today of many different nationalities and faiths and almost everyone gathered here has a different opinion and belief about a different aspect of the world. That diversity of thought is a very special thing. Something that Sussex as a university seeks always to uphold and support.
  We have a foundational commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom, and it's our job as a university to create an environment in which diversity of belief and opinion can be explored. It's our job to nurture the conditions under which our students and staff can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas, where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed. We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death and the destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as the climate crisis and environmental degradation, giving rise to enormous concern among Sussex students. Many Sussex students and their friends, families and loved ones, I'm sure hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I would like to emphasise that the university supports and will always support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of humanity and diversity. That's at the heart of our university community and that is what binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community.
  So Sussex graduands, I would like to thank you for all that you have contributed to making our university a place of community, inclusion and diversity. An open, warm and welcoming place. In the two years since I became vice-chancellor, I've come to realise that Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope, and possibility. Alongside your academic work, many of you have taken part in an impressive range of other activities as members and leaders of student societies and groups and as volunteers, helping and supporting other people on and off campus. Many of you are today receiving a Spirit of Sussex Award for your contributions to the community. From serving as campus ambassadors to fundraising for local causes and creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable. I commend your commitment to your extracurricular activities. Well done on all that you've achieved alongside your formal studies.
  Over the past two years, I've had the great privilege of meeting many Sussex alumni in the UK, in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. And I've been overwhelmed by how many of them told me just how much they loved their time at Sussex, how the experience of studying at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They recalled encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transformed their worldview as well as making lasting friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you too, today's graduands will feel the same in years to come.
  Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or are looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you are leaving a university with a global reputation, a university that has equipped you with the knowledge and skills to think critically and creatively, to work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective. You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally recognised for their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of their research has directly informed your education across the disciplines and in the spaces between. Our research focuses on the urgent concerns of the time. Some of you may have seen the 'Impossible until it's done' banners around Brighton and Hove and on the buses. Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela, this campaign highlights the work we are doing to tackle pollution in rivers, to find new ways, to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using Artificial Intelligence. We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes and ambitions with wider audiences. And Sussex has much to celebrate. For the eighth consecutive year, we've been ranked first in the world for Development Studies, which is an outstanding achievement by our academics. Development studies seek understanding of and progress towards global equity, social justice and sustainability, which is very much at the heart of what Sussex is about. One of the key measures of the strength and impact of a university is the extent to which the publications of its researchers are cited by researchers from other universities. And Sussex really does punch above our weight in this respect. This year in the QS World University Rankings, we have nine subjects in the top 10 in the UK for citations with History and Physics and Astronomy, each ranked first in the UK. We were also recognised as eighth in the UK for Sustainability and joint 26 in the world overall for sustainability, as well as 16th in the world for our work on equality. I'd like to give here a special mention to our engineering students who were involved in designing and building an electric racing car that was taken to Silverstone last week. I think some of you are probably here today. They were taking part in Formula Student Europe's most established educational engineering competition and were able to successfully demonstrate their vehicle's safety. This was a magnificent collaborative effort showing how we are pivoting towards sustainable engineering. All this means that Sussex research and teaching is improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology and influencing the policies of government as well as making a real difference to the protection and regeneration of our natural environment.
  Now I know that many of you graduating today have had difficult life journeys so far, and all of you have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous upheaval this caused to your education and social lives. Some of you have struggled with your mental health, some with your physical health. Some of you had faced loss and family disruption during your studies. Each of you has had a unique route to Sussex and through your time at Sussex. And each of you will have had your ups and downs. But whatever your Sussex story, I hope when you look back at the time you've been with us, that you feel your studies were intellectually challenging and rigorous, that you were stretched, stimulated, and supported to achieve your best. That you're leaving with knowledge, skills, and personal resources that will stand you in good stead and that you make connections and friendships that will stay with you long into the future. You'll now take many different paths as you join our community of more than 200,000 alumni worldwide.
  Sussex alumni include Nobel laureates, grassroots campaigners and activists, heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations. And those with less high-profile but no less significant lives and careers, people whose actions and relationships remake and renew the social fabric in small positive ways. Every day, across the globe, in more than 160 countries and in all walks of life, our alumni are sharing the benefits of their Sussex education to make the world a better place. I know that you will do that too.
  So graduands, celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree. Celebrate the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. Celebrate the belief in yourself that made it possible and celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.

  
  (Graduands and guests applaud.)

   

  I call upon the Head of the School of Engineering and Informatics, Professor Ian Wakeman.

   

  [Head of the School of Engineering and Informatics, Professor Ian Wakeman, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Ian Wakeman:
  Vice Chancellor,
  I will now present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Product Design…
  Travis BENNETT,
  Antonio FRANGOS,
  Ece Rabia GUNGOR,
  Naoki MANIAS-BEHARRY,
  Emma PEARCE.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Science in Computer Science…
  Hugo ABBOTT,
  Guy ABDELMALEK,
  Rashid AL-MARRI,
  Willow ALEXANDER,
  Ghaeth ALKHOUS,
  Fai ALQAHTANI,
  Harry ATKIN,
  Nasser BAHZAD,
  Abdallah BAKRI,
  Benjamin CONWAY,
  Ramzi DAHER,
  Luke DUPONT,
  Alex FA'AMOE,
  Maruf FAROG,
  Matthew FORD,
  Evie FURZE,
  Tyler GRIFFITHS,
  Sherifa HAMAMO,
  Lok Yan Kyle HUI,
  Thomas HUMPHREY,
  Archie INGRAM,
  Cheuk Him LEE,
  Philip LISIEWICZ,
  Yash MAGANE,
  Mihai MAZILU,
  William MCCARTHY,
  Rory MILSOM,
  Abdulbasid MOHAMED,
  Ryan MOSS,
  Anmar NABER,
  Sameer NASIR,
  Thomas OGUNMUYIWA,
  Elisabetta PASSMORE,
  Filip PAWLAK,
  Finlay PEARSON,
  Morgan PLANT,
  Olufolahan POPOOLA-SMITH,
  Rafik RABOUHI,
  Altair ROBINSON,
  Darya SAMIGULLINA,
  Jorge SANTANA BENGOECHEA,
  Isabell Schwertfeger,
  Robert SCOTT,
  Sharoni Abe SHANTHAKUMARAN, Do you wanna come back? Come back, come back, come back, come back, come back. Come back. Okay, let's try again. Sharoni Abe SHANTHAKUMARAN.
  Thomas SIBBALD,
  Yat Hei SIU,
  Ahmad SORANI,
  Cagla TARIOGLU,
  William VENNER,
  William WAKEFORD,
  Xinyu WANG,
  Shaun WASHER,
  Ryu WONG,
  Aleksandra YONCHEVSKA,
  Adam YORK.

  For Computer Science (with a study abroad year)…
  Jude BIRCH,
  Oliver HACKETT.

  For Computer Science (with an industrial placement year)…
  Joel BEGG,
  Philip BROCKBANK,
  Frederick CLARKE,
  Jenny CONEY CRITCHLEY,
  Thomas GARWOOD SOUTHON,
  Nayan LAD, Hannah LATHAM,
  Louie MEEKS,
  Chej MOHAMED ABDERRAHMAN AHAMED,
  Thomas PASSMORE,
  Thomas VELLACOTT.

  For Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence…
  Imam Daud ABDULRAHIM,
  Dennis ADEOYE,
  Sultan ALKAABI,
  Mohamed ALLAM,
  Mariam ALMAZROUEI,
  Charles ANTHONY,
  Michael ASPLIN,
  Syed BUKHARI,
  Layton BURCHELL,
  Emir Bugra CAKMAK,
  Wai Hang Nelson CHAN,
  Haoyuan CHEN,
  Noah Gyan Fernando DAVY,
  Thomas DENT,
  DOAN Tran Khoi Nguyen,
  Adam ELFERO,
  Benjamin FIGG,
  Daniel FOULKES-HALBARD,
  Farida Hatem Mohamed Fareed GHANEM,
  Tyrell GRANT-WILLIAMS,
  Fayzan GULAMALI,
  Edward JONES,
  Dylan JOYCE,
  Abdallah KHOMOSH,
  Wiktor KWATERNIAK,
  Chloe LAW,
  Wing Yat,
  Rayan LO,
  Conrad LOVEGROVE,
  Philipmousa MALOUF,
  Daniel NEEDHAM,
  Elizabeth NWANKWO,
  Adnan QUISAR,
  Jamie SAGE,
  Paula SEIDLER,
  Tong SHEN,
  Jack SPEAT,
  Napatcha SUEPSAMAN,
  Semhar TESFAZGY,
  Diego TRUJILLO BENITO,
  Antons VASILJEVS,
  Yu WANG,
  Callum WARD,
  Henry WILLIAMS,
  Yin YANG,
  Mingquan YUE,
  Yuxuan ZHANG,
  Jingteng ZHENG.

  For Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (with a study abroad year)…
  Brandon LODGE.

  For Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (with an industrial placement year)…
  Josh APPS,
  Nathanael BUTCHER,
  Hanzhen GONG,
  Max RUSSELL,
  George SMITH,
  Clara ZAHEDI.

  For Computing for Business and Management…
  Mahmoud ALAMELDIN,
  Bassim Khan BILOUR,
  Charles CROFT,
  Edward GLASTONBURY,
  Chenyu LIU,
  Harry SMITH,
  Ahmed SULTAN,
  Ruben TASSAN DIN VISCONTI,
  Oliver WARNER.

  For Computing for Digital Media (with an industrial placement year)…
  Tanishka KARNIK.

  For Engineering…
  Alexander SINA.

  For Games and Multimedia Environments…
  William ALLEN,
  Ethan CHAN,
  Jack FIDLER,
  Thanh NGO TRUNG,
  Pengze LI,
  Thomas ROMANO.

  For Games and Multimedia Environments (with an industrial placement year)…
  Vallerie KNIGHT.

  For Product Design…
  Saffron ADAMS,
  Oscar BUSSEY-JONES,
  Conor GALLAGHER,
  Andrea HANOPOL,
  Ato HAWKINS,
  Tiana HODGES,
  Russell LEESON,
  Amirah MEHDI,
  Siddharth NAIR,
  Connor PEARCE,
  Mark RIPPINGHAM,
  Rebecca RUDD.

  For Product Design (with an industrial placement year)…
  Mahdia AHMED.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Engineering in Automotive Engineering…
  Manuel FARRO NUÑEZ,
  Muhammad KHURRAM,
  Sam KNOWLES,
  Chawki OUARTI,
  Chin Fung TSANG.

  For Automotive Engineering (with an industrial placement year)…
  Aman KHANNA.

  For Electrical and Electronic Engineering…
  Cameron BOWREY,
  Seunghyeon CHA,
  Alexander DEEGAN,
  Victor FALOLA,
  Nathaniel KING,
  Jack MACKAY,
  Fajer F A S MATEQI,
  Omer MUKHTAR,
  Hani NAJI,
  Omar OSMAN,
  Arman RIAZI,
  Xavier WATSON.

  For Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Robotics…
  Omar Mohsen Mohamed ABDELHADY,
  Rachelle FABIAN,
  Sojan GURUNG,
  Harsha Pranay NEELAM.

  For Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Robotics (with an industrial placement year)…
  Abigail ALADESURU,
  Aman LILANI,
  Nathan WALLIS.

  For Mechanical Engineering…
  Moamen ALI,
  Jason ANASTASI,
  George AUST,
  Alessandro CAPPELLI,
  Kai CHENG,
  Sebastian CURRY,
  Lydia DISTIN,
  Donia EDDERDOURI,
  Bart COX,
  Josiah GREEN,
  Jude HYATT,
  Rory MACRAE,
  Mark MAGRYOUS,
  Sami MALIQUE,
  Dennis MCILHARGEY,
  Piers MORRILL,
  James NAPP,
  Giles O’GORMAN,
  Jordan PHELAN,
  Connor REMNANT,
  Jiawei WANG,
  Daniel WARD,
  Jun ZHAO.

  For Mechanical Engineering (with an industrial placement year)…
  Bisher ALATOOM,
  Oliver BILLINGTON,
  Charlie LAURENCE-FULLER.

  For Mechanical Engineering with Robotics…
  Maryam AL-KUWARI,
  Andrew Romani Makram DEMITRY,
  Yifan GAO,
  Shuzheng HUI,
  Muhammad KHAN,
  Michal KUCZYNSKI,
  Kadatkumaran KUGARAJAN,
  Olivia MILLINGTON,
  Aiden POCHA,
  Yehia SAKR,
  Tao WU,
  Ke ZHANG.

  For the degree of Master of Computing in Computer Science…
  Daniel BATES,
  Gregoire DE MARTIN DU TYRAC DE MARCELLUS,
  Thomas HARWOOD.

  For the degree of Master of Engineering in Automotive Engineering (with an industrial placement year)…
  Dimuth PONNAMPERUMA.

  For Electrical and Electronic Engineering…
  Harrison CLARK,
  Sasha RITCHIE,
  Callum RUDKIN,
  Hannah ARRAS,
  Oliver KELSEY,
  Matthew LAFORET,
  Samantha ROYAL-BROWN.

  For Mechanical Engineering with Robotics…
  George SADLER.

  For the degree of Master of Science in 5G Mobile Communications and Intelligent Embedded Systems…
  Yunus UNAL.

  For 5G Mobile Communications and Intelligent Embedded System (with an industrial placement year)…
  Akshay JADHAV,
  Vijeta Sunil UPPAL.

  For Advanced Computer Science…
  Sunith Sundar CHRISTOPHER,
  Panas SUBEDI,
  Maria-Assumpta Chizurum UKAEFU.

  For Artificial Intelligence and Adaptive Systems…
  Moses Opeyemi BABALOLA,
  Roxana BAGHERI,
  Jinwoo KIM,
  Emmanuel Chukwuemeka OKEKE.

  For Computing with Digital Media…
  Folasade Grace AKINTUNDE.

  For Engineering and Business Management…
  Also the recipient of the John Kinghorn Scholarship Phonnatcha BOONYAPAPONG.

  For Management of Information Technology…
  Sivarama Krishnan NAMBIRAJAN.

  For Robotics and Autonomous Systems…
  Abdulqudus Omobowale LAWAL,
  Ashwin Kumar RAJAN.

  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...

  For the thesis;
  "Using the collaborative e-learning system CELS to investigate collaborative content creation in virtual meetings for e-learning"
  Azzah AL AMROO.

  For the thesis;
  "A cognimetric authentication tool (CAT): Temporal analysis of touch dynamics"
  Munirah Abdulaziz M ALWHIBI.

  For the thesis;
  "Lane-free crossing of connected and autonomous vehicles through intersections"
  Mahdi AMOUZADI

  For the thesis;
  "The Red Circle: Immersive adventures in learning. Leveraging the potential of educational role-playing games for teaching higher-level mathematics"
  Evgenia ANAGNOSTOPOULOU.

  For the thesis;
  "Exploration of the effect of scents on body image perception in human-computer interaction"
  Giada BRIANZA.

  For the thesis;
  "Experimental investigation of axial throughflow ingestion in rotating cavities of gas turbine HP compressors"
  Emma FISHER.

  For the thesis;
  "Enhancing design and evaluation methods for reinforcement learning-based congestion control. A large-scale experimental study of fairness, efficiency, responsiveness and a novel simulation framework as a training and evaluation playground"
  Luca GIACOMONI.

  For the thesis;
  "In-vehicle network monitoring with network tomography"
  Amani IBRAHEEM.

  For the thesis;
  "Application of the thermochromic liquid crystal heat transfer measurement technique to rotor-stator systems"
  Harri KOIVISTO,

  For the thesis;
  "Interpretation and refinement of multilingual semantic space"
  Wing Yan LI.

  For the thesis;
  "Frictional and thermal behaviours of rubber tyres of aerial and ground vehicles"
  Yu LI.

  For the thesis;
  "Localised frequency encodings for insect-inspired visual navigation"
  Stefan MEYER.

  For the thesis;
  "Towards automatic analysis of microarchitectural attacks"
  Seyed NASEREDINI.

  For the thesis;
  "Remote interactions with dogs: Investigating technologically-mediated human-dog communication"
  Alice TORJUSSEN.

  For the thesis;
  "Mechanically actuated acoustic devices based on sonic crystals"
  YUANYAN ZHAO.

  Vice-chancellor, whilst today is a day for celebrating what has been achieved and to look forward to further success and happiness, it is also important to think of those who are no longer with us. And to mark their achievements, NOIA would've been graduating at this ceremony in Computer Science. Sadly, he died in his first year with us in May, 2022. He is very fondly remembered by his family and his friends, and we recognise the great potential that was left unfulfilled. Can we take a moment to celebrate his achievements and to remember and to reflect?

   

  (Moment of silence, followed by applause)

   

  Thank you,
  Vice-Chancellor. This concludes the list of graduands from the School of Engineering and Informatics.

   

  (Applause)

  
  [Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Proffesor Kate O’Riordan:
  Vice-Chancellor, I present to you those who were unable to be presented earlier.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Science in Games and Multimedia Environments…
  Sean LEUNG.

  For the degree of Master of Science in Computing with Digital Media…
  Md Sohel RANA.

  For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy…
  For the thesis;
  "Programme Synthesis on GPUs"
  Mojtaba VALIZADEH.

  Vice Chancellor, you have now met all the graduands being presented to you at this ceremony, and the moment has come for the formal conferral of the degrees of the University of Sussex. I, therefore, ask you to confer degrees on those presented to you and to the other graduands who have indicated their wish to graduate in absentia at this ceremony.

   

  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands in the middle of the stage.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  So this is the big moment.
  Graduands, would you please stand? And colleagues, would you also please stand?

   

  (Graduands and staff stand)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the powers invested in me by the University of Sussex, I confer degrees on all those referred to by the Provost Vice-Chancellor.
  You are now graduates of the University of Sussex!

   

  (Graduates and academics/staff stand and after sustained applause, a final video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Hello, it's me again. Congratulations graduates. Very, very well done to all of you. Traditionally, the chancellor is supposed to leave you with some parting words of wisdom. I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't instinctively already know, and your instincts that inner voice, are always right by the way. But they speak with the same vocabulary, cadence, inflexion, and grammar as your fears, anxieties, and doubts. So how to tell the difference? Your instincts always come from a place of love. So check in with yourself and make sure that you are always coming from a place of kindness towards yourself and the world around you. Being kind in every situation can be a challenge sometimes. I know it's easier said than done, but the more you practice it, the easier it gets until eventually it's just habit and a part of who you are. You have all achieved magnificently in your academic pursuit and I have no doubt you will apply that to your journey going forward. For dealing with the emotional challenges, anxiety and mental health issues that we all face in an uncertain world we need emotional intelligence. I believe that at the heart of emotional intelligence is compassion, love, and positivity. You know how when we look up at a clear night sky, we can marvel at starlight knowing that those stars may not now even exist yet we can bask in their glow. Love and compassion have the same power. We can and do feel love and kindness from people and events long since gone, and we can do that now for those who will be here when we've long since gone. An act of compassion is like dropping a pebble into a lake. The ripples affect far more and reaches way further than we ever thought or intended. Positivity is not about thinking everything is great all the time. It's being aware that things are tough, but believing and knowing that that is not permanent, that things can and will change. I've lived this experience at 32. I was unemployed, in debt and living with my parents. I could not conceive that within two years I'd be working on TV and movies and not what my business degree had planned for me. Going further, back at 18, I applied here to Sussex, my first choice for university. I didn't get in... something about my grades not being good enough... so I went elsewhere and waited until all those responsible for me not to getting in, had retired, were in prison, deported, or were just playing dead. And at the age of 46, I came back here as chancellor. So ha ha, ha ha! And going back even further, still, when I was five years old, an uncle asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, Actor -I said. My father said; "It's pronounced doctor." But 30 years later, and since I've been living and doing what I dreamed of, obviously, I'm someone who plays the long game. My point is that all of those moments have been amongst the most surprising, positive experiences of my life and have led to other extraordinary experiences including bringing me here today, thus obliterating, all of the negative ones I had before. It taught me that I have no idea exactly what's in my future, and neither do you. But you want to stay in the game until the good stuff comes around and be ready for it when it does. One of my favourite quotes is from the great American poet, Maya Angelou, who I was lucky to have met once, and she said; "People may forget what you did. People may forget what you said. People will never forget the way you made them feel." The final key to emotional intelligence, I wanna mention, is listening and talking. It's obvious, right? Listening. Really hearing what someone is saying to you is essential. People aren't always consciously saying what they're feeling, so like a detective waiting for that vital piece of information, you have to be really on it. My aunt always used to say; you have two ears and one mouth. So always listen twice as much as you talk. And talking, when we're overwhelmed by anything, fear, anger, grief, greed, even beauty and love, the thing we lose is perspective even momentarily and in those moments, we may act in haste and without the clarity that's required. The quickest way to perspective is to pause and then talk to someone. Get an alternative point of view that's not also been created in your own head. But choose wisely beforehand 'cause these will be the excellent listeners I mentioned and will not necessarily be convenient, but will tell you their honest opinion in the most compassionate way. And if you can't find someone to talk to, get yourself a sense of humour. If you can see that, that overwhelming, terrifying thing is also silly then it is no longer just a terrifying thing. Instant perspective. Mahatma Gandhi said; Be the change you want to see in the world. So if you want to see a more compassionate world, you be more compassionate. You wanna see more accountability, then you be more accountable. I hope we meet in person at some point, in which case, feel free to come up and say, I'm a Sussex graduate and you owe me a hug or a handshake or a high five! Or ignore me if you want. It's up to you. Either way, I wish you all success in everything you do next. Take your compassion, positivity, humour, and power and change your world. Someone's world. The world.

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now declare this ceremony closed.

   

  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

Download the Ceremony 9 video [MP4 3.6GB]

Ceremony 10 at 1.30pm

Media, Arts and Humanities

• Cultural Studies and Journalism
• Creative and Critical Practice
• Film Studies
• Media
• Music

•  Video transcript

  https://vimeo.com/990155918

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.]

   

  (A video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Greetings all. I am the chancellor of the University of Sussex. A lot of you probably already knew that, but um, I thought the beard might throw you. It's for a character I'm playing in a TV thing. It is real! If I'd been there, I would've invited you to give it a tug to check its authenticity as you cross the stage - or not. Anyway, I digress.Well, well here we are. Well, here you are. I am of course somewhere else, but here in spirit and in admiration. Apologies for gate-crashing your day, but I just couldn't help crowbarring myself into your celebration. I wanted to add the warmest of welcomes to all of you, graduands, families and friends and to those like me who may be following the ceremony remotely. Sussex graduations have become known for being a festival, a bit of a party, and it's a tradition that I hope you'll continue today.This is your day, so express your joy and positivity when you cross the stage. And friends and family, this is your day too, so take a moment to be prepared with your cameras for the moment your superstar crosses the stage and make as much noise as you can when they do.Oh, come on, they've embarrassed you enough times in the past. So this is payback time.Have a great ceremony and I'll catch you on the other side.

   

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  Madam Deputy Mayor, distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, supporters, friends, and above all, our graduands, the Sussex class of 2024. It's my great honour and enormous pleasure to welcome you to the Brighton Centre for this afternoon's graduation ceremony.
  I'm Professor Sasha Rosneil and I'm the Vice-Chancellor and president of the University of Sussex.
  Graduands, as our Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar has just reminded us, today it is all about you. It's a day of celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved during your time at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have benefited in countless, tangible and less tangible ways from the love and support of your family, guardians or carers, from the encouragement of your friends, and of course from the teaching and guidance of staff at the university. You may also have had support from our alumni and donors who provide scholarships.
  So I'm now going to ask for some participation. Graduands, if you are able, would you please stand up and turn to face the audience, your friends and loved ones behind you and offer your thanks with a big hearty cheer and a round of applause?

   

  (Graduands stand and give a big round of applause.)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil continues:
  Please be seated again. As a university, we at Sussex are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community and that extends to our celebrations today. This is an important event, not only in the lives of our graduands, but for everyone in this auditorium, many of whom have travelled a very long way to be with us. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. You come each year from over 130 countries around the world. So we have people in the audience today of many nationalities and faiths and almost everyone gathered here has a different belief about different things. So that diversity of thought is a very special thing and something that Sussex as a university seeks always to uphold and support. We have a foundational commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom. It's our job as a university to create an environment in which a diversity of beliefs and opinions can be explored. It's our job to nurture the conditions under which our students and staff can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas, where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed.
  We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death, and the destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as climate crisis and environmental degradation, giving rise to enormous concern among Sussex students. Many Sussex students and their families and loved ones, I'm sure, hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I would like to emphasise that the university supports and will always support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of the humanity and diversity that's at the heart of our university community. And that's what binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community. So Sussex graduands, I would like to thank you for all that you have done in making our university a place of community inclusion and diversity, a warm, open and welcoming place.
  In the two years since I became vice-chancellor, I've come to realise that Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope, and possibility. Alongside your academic work, many of you have taken part in an impressive range of activities as members and leaders of students, societies and groups, as volunteers helping and supporting other people on and off campus. And so many of you are receiving a Spirit of Sussex Award today for your contributions to the community from serving as campus ambassadors to fundraising for local causes and creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable. I commend your commitment to your extracurricular activities. Over the past two years, I've also had the great privilege of meeting many Sussex alumni from the UK, from Asia, Africa, and the Americas. And I've been overwhelmed by how many of them told me how much they loved their student days at Sussex and how the experience of studying at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They recall encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transformed their worldview, as well as making lasting friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you, today's graduands will feel the same in the years to come. Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or are looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you are leaving a university with a global reputation, a university that has equipped you with the knowledge and skills to think critically and creatively, to work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective. You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally known for the quality of their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of their research has directly informed your education across the disciplines and in the spaces in between. Our research focuses on the urgent concerns of our time.
  Some of you may have seen the 'Impossible until it's done' banners around Brighton and Hove, and on the buses. Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela, this Sussex campaign highlights the work we are doing to tackle pollution in rivers, to find new ways, to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using AI. We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes and our ambitions with wider audiences. And Sussex has much to celebrate. For the eighth consecutive year. Sussex, together with our campus partner, the Institute of Development Studies has been ranked first in the world for Development Studies. This is an outstanding achievement by our academics. Development studies seek an understanding of and progress towards global equity, social justice, and sustainability, and is very much at the heart of what Sussex is about. One of the key measures of the strength and impact of a university is the extent to which the publications of its researchers are cited by researchers from other universities. And Sussex really does punch above our weight in this respect. This year in the QS World University Rankings, we have nine subjects in the top 10 in the UK for citations with History and Physics and Astronomy, each ranked first in the UK. We were also recognised as the eighth most sustainable university in the UK, joint 26 in the world overall for sustainability and 16th in the world for our work on equality. All this means that Sussex research is improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology influencing the policies of governments, as well as making a real difference to the protection and regeneration of our natural environment.
  Now, I know that many of you graduating today have had difficult life journeys so far, and all of you have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous upheaval this caused to your education and social lives. Some of you have struggled with your mental health, some with your physical health. Some of you have faced loss and family disruption during your student days. Each of you has had a unique route to Sussex and through your time here, and each of you will have had your ups and downs. But whatever your Sussex story, I hope when you look back at the time you've been with us, you'll feel that your studies were intellectually challenging and rigorous. That you were stretched, simulated, and supported to achieve your best. That you're leaving with knowledge, skills, and personal resources that will stand you in good stead and that you make connections and friendships that will stay with you long into the future.
  You'll now take many different paths as you join our community of more than 200,000 alumni around the world. Sussex alumni include Nobel laureates, grassroots, campaigners and activists, heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations, as well as those with less high profile, but no less significant lives and careers. People whose actions and relationships remake and renew the social fabric in small positive ways. Every day, across the globe, in more than 160 countries and in all walks of life, our alumni are sharing the benefits of their Sussex experience to make the world a better place. I know that you will do that too.
  So graduands, celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree. Celebrate the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. Celebrate the belief in yourself that made it possible and celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.

   

  (Graduands and guests applaud.)

   

  I call upon the Dean of the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, Professor Liz James.

   

  [Dean of the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, Professor Liz James, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Liz James:
  Vice-Chancellor,
  I'll now present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Digital Media and Culture...
  Also awarded the Department of Media, Cultural Studies and Journalism Prize for the best Media Studies dissertation; Grace HALSEY.
  Shano OMER,
  Fahad SABA.

  For English and Film Studies…
  Anjolie BRIGHT-THOMAS,
  Theon MAFUTA,
  Jaya MANNI,
  Alicia Marine Angeline MASSE,
  Daniel STANFIELD,
  Jasmine THORMAN,
  Georgina WILSON,
  Isobel WOODLAND.

  For Film Studies…
  Rosa BOWBRICK,
  Eleanor BRIDGE,
  Erin BUCKMAN,
  Hoi Lam CHONG,
  Emily COSTELLO,
  Mae DAVAGE,
  Grace FOWLER.
  Also one of the recipients of the Department of Film Studies Prize for Outstanding Achievement; Joshua GILLAM,
  Phoebe GRAY.

  Also awarded the Film Studies Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Contribution to the Student Experience; Zaida HILDER-FRANSES.
  Also awarded the Department of Film Studies Prize for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Student Experience; Sadie LOGIE,
  Soli MACISAAC SMYTHE.
  Also one of the recipients of the Department of Film Studies Prize for Outstanding Achievement; Jule MCKINNON.
  Also one of the recipients of the Department of Film Studies Prize for Outstanding Achievement; Nadia OXLEY,
  Damien PEARSON,
  Jacob PITTS,
  Iwan RUMBALL,
  Harriet SANDS,
  Cameron WATSON,
  Jennie Zhong.

  For Film Studies (with a study abroad year)…
  Jada DEBONO-MARTIN,
  Jessica TRAEGER.

  For Filmmaking…
  Natalie ANDRESS,
  Emily ANDREWS,
  Euan BRAIDWOOD,
  Lucy BROWN,
  Aanchal Mukesh CHAWLA,
  Liberty CLARK,
  Becky CURTIS,
  Adony EL MASSIH,
  Yarden FEIGER,
  Reece FOOT,
  Andrew FORTUNATI,
  Jiayi GAN,
  Sarah GOLDNEY,
  Joss HAMER,
  Alice HOLMAN,
  Ziyu HUANG,
  Stefan HUIANU,
  Ella JENKINSON,
  Phoebe JENNINGS,
  Zack KOVACS,
  Sadie LE BAS,
  Isobel MCEWAN,
  Luke MILLER,
  Ruby NEWMAN,
  Samuel OLDHAM,
  Aspyn PHOENIX,
  Raj RAVISHANKAR,
  Kitty READ,
  Mia ROBERY,
  Claire ROFFEY,
  Flora SMITH,
  Alexandra-Mary STEWART GODINO,
  Cole STUART,
  Ollie TICKNER,
  Xinyu WANG,
  Ruby WOODS,
  Poppy WRIGHT.

  For Filmmaking (with a study abroad year)…
  Max KIRKILLO-STACEWICZ,
  Saul PECK.
  Also awarded the Creative and Critical Practice Prize for the best Filmmaking final creative project and the prize for Highest Ranked Student; Maxwell SILVER.

  For Journalism…
  Elizabeth BORICZEWSKI,
  Oliver DEVINE,
  Sagal HASSAN.
  Also awarded the Department of Media, Cultural Studies and Journalism Prize for the best Journalism project; Lana JACKSON,
  Phoebe JONES,
  Aisha KABIR,
  Felix MILLER,
  Kimberley PECI,
  Cristian PINTO,
  Morgan SPRINGER.

  For Media and Communications…
  Tuleen BARAKAT,
  Annie BARKER,
  Gabrielle BASSFORD,
  Jessica BOND,
  Harry CHATFIELD,
  Jennifer Yuen Lok CHAU,
  Ying CHAU,
  Daniel Yat Lam CHEUNG,
  Jihyun CHOI,
  Eloise COLE,
  Abbie COLLINS,
  George CORCUERA-REA,
  Amy CRABB,
  Keyci DA COSTA,
  Mercedes DANG MADJOUKOUO,
  Eloise GOODMAN-THOMPSON,
  Jilun GUO,
  Thomas HARDY,
  Samar ISSA,
  Samuel JENNINGS,
  Amy JOHNSON,
  Imogen JONES,
  Sabrina Wai Ching LAM,
  Alice LIVINGSTON,
  Lingzhi LUO,
  India MCDOWELL,
  Isabella MILLER,
  Zara MITCHELL,
  Luke MONTGOMERY,
  Shannon MORRIS-KENNEDY,
  Evelyn MUGGERIDGE,
  Sofia MURPHY,
  Evie NEBBITT,
  Martha NEWMAN,
  OMOBORIOWO Oluwatobi,
  Imani PATEL,
  Cody PELLETT,
  William SCOTT,
  Tommy SOUTER,
  Marcie STEWART,
  Yingying SUN,
  Marlo Kidd SWAGEMEIER,
  Fatima TANIMU,
  Sum Tai TSE,
  Hei TSUI,
  Cornelia Pettersen VAN WALLEGHEM,
  Dana WEHBI,
  Alison Wong,
  Hiu WONG,
  Xi XU.

  For Media and Communications (with a professional placement year)…
  Amy JELINEK.

  For Media and Journalism…
  Patricia EKE,
  Aisling HOGAN,
  Jiazhuo LI,
  Maria Fernanda PLAZA MEJIA,
  Dexter ROSKILLY,
  Yifei SHANG,
  William SYMONS,
  Kehang TAN,
  Keying TANG,
  Joselyn TURNER,
  Anna WOZENCROFT.

  For Media Production…
  Yuhan CHENG,
  Adeoluwa DISU,
  Kiri EBBS,
  Sze Chai FUNG,
  Bora GUNDOGAN,
  Ummi HOQUE,
  Louise HOW,
  Courtney JENNER,
  Junru JIA,
  Sebastian JOHN,
  Simeon KEMPNER,
  Hau Yin KWAN,
  Jeffery LAM,
  Ho Ching LEUNG.
  Also awarded the Creative and Critical Practice prize for the best Media Production final creative project; Ella LEWIS.
  Xinyue LIANG,
  Tyrone LOGUE,
  Christopher MANN,
  Matilda MCGOVERN,
  Nokokure MUHEUA,
  Finlay NOLAN,
  Heidi RUSE,
  Cleo SANDERS,
  Emilie SCHROEDER,
  Joyoon SEO,
  Yikang SUN,
  Oskar ZAREMBSKI.

  For Media Production (with a professional placement year)…
  Soriah ALMON,
  Aimee BURGESS,
  Felix MENSING.

  For Media Production (with a study abroad year)…
  Elena HARRIS.

  For Music…
  Thomas DAY,
  Cosmo LANIADO,
  Zakk VIRDEE.

  For Music Technology…
  Adam BANERJI,
  Ethan DAVIS,
  Alfred DEVERELL,
  Matthew FREE,
  Connor HYMERS,
  Jeremy JOSEPH,
  Jonathan MAUD,
  Dylan NUTTALL,
  Edward PICK,
  Amelia RUBRA,
  Evie SHELBOURNE,
  Taha TASSI,
  Jude TURVEY,
  Luke TURVIL,
  Daniel WAYA.

  For Music Technology (with a study abroad year)…
  Isla BYRNE.

  For the Postgraduate Diploma in Filmmaking...
  Yu-Chia HUANG.

  For the Master of Arts in Digital Media…
  Shafaq Tanveer BUTT,
  Talib MIRZA.

  For Film Studies…
  Sara Binte AFZAL.

  For Filmmaking…
  Lingwei GUO,
  Ruitong GUO,
  Dhanashree Chandrakant KAMBLE.

  For Journalism and Media Studies...
  Maryam Fatima ABBAS RAZA,
  Emmanuel Kojo KORANTENG.

  For Media and Cultural Studies…
  Rupa BISWAS,
  Junye LI,
  Yu LIANG,
  Jinjin ZHOU.

  For Media, Ethics and Social Change…
  Katherine HOFFMAN,
  Rozanna NGUGI.

  For Media Practice for Development and Social Change…
  Cheyanne Natasha BRYAN,
  Andrea Carmina RODRIGUEZ GARSON.

  For Music and Sonic Media…
  Julian KINDERMANN,
  Tamara KRAMAROVA,
  Daniel MARTIN,
  Robert MUTCH.

  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...
  For the thesis;
  "Material, embodied, and spatial relations in augmented reality: An exploration of AR as a medium for musical performance and experience" Samuel BILBOW.

  For the thesis;
  "One of the greatest assets to a seaside town, the evolution of publicly funded musical entertainment and the role of the municipal orchestra in Hastings 1895-1940"
  Martin Thomas BRADSHAW.

  For the thesis;
  "Distant Sonification: A critical computational method for sonic analysis of digital data"
  Iain EMSLEY.

  For the thesis;
  "Cinema is resistance: Collaborative co-creative practices, engaging film screenings"
  Mariagiulia GRASSILLI.

  For the thesis;
  "Political space and the space in between: Participation of Indigenous women in the upland region of India"
  Bendangyangerla IMCHEN.

  For the thesis;
  "What the subject did. Negotiating agency within representation"
  David Moore.

  For the thesis;
  "Reclaiming the value of activist labour: The contemporary feminist movement in Poland"
  Karolina SZPYRKO.

  For the thesis;
  "In the shadows of U UNHCR's data-fiction: An inconsistency framework and platform for humanitarian counter-narratives 'I'M HERE’"
  Ceren YUKSEL.

  Vice Chancellor, this concludes the list of graduands from the School of Media, Arts and Humanities.

  
  [Applause]

  
  [Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Kate O’Riordan:
  Vice-Chancellor, I present to you those who are unable to be presented earlier.

  In the School of Engineering and Informatics, for the degree of Master of Engineering in Automotive Engineering (with an industrial placement year)...
  Photis PHOTIOU.

  In the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Filmmaking...
  Thusika BASKARAN,
  Qing WANG.

  For Media and Communications...
  Lingying CHEN,
  Danqi LUO.
  Also awarded the prize for the Highest-Ranking Student and the prize for the best Media Studies dissertation, awarded by the Department of Media, Cultural Studies and Journalism;
  Abigail Keyla RYANTO.

  For Media Production...
  Jiayi LIU.

  For the degree of Master of Arts in Cultural and Creative Industries...
  Pranali Narendrakumar DAHAT.

  Vice-Chancellor, you have now met all the graduands at this ceremony, and the moment has come for the formal conferral of degrees of the University of Sussex. I, therefore, ask you to confer degrees on those presented to you here and to the other graduands who have indicated their wish to be graduated in absentia at this ceremony.

  
  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands in the middle of the stage.]

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  So, this is the big moment.
  Graduands, can you please stand? And colleagues, could you please also stand?

  
  [Graduands and staff stand]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the powers invested in me by the University of Sussex, I confer degrees on all those referred to by the Provost-Vice-Chancellor.
  Congratulations. You are now all graduates of the University of Sussex!

  
  (Graduates and academics/staff stand and after sustained applause, a final video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Hello, it's me again.
  Congratulations graduates. Very, very well done to all of you. Traditionally, the chancellor is supposed to leave you with some parting words of wisdom. I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't instinctively already know, and your instincts that inner voice, are always right by the way. But they speak with the same vocabulary, cadence, inflexion, and grammar as your fears, anxieties, and doubts. So how to tell the difference? Your instincts always come from a place of love. So check in with yourself and make sure that you are always coming from a place of kindness towards yourself and the world around you. Being kind in every situation can be a challenge sometimes. I know it's easier said than done, but the more you practice it, the easier it gets until eventually it's just habit and a part of who you are. You have all achieved magnificently in your academic pursuit and I have no doubt you will apply that to your journey going forward. For dealing with the emotional challenges, anxiety and mental health issues that we all face in an uncertain world we need emotional intelligence. I believe that at the heart of emotional intelligence is compassion, love, and positivity. You know how when we look up at a clear night sky, we can marvel at starlight knowing that those stars may not now even exist yet we can bask in their glow. Love and compassion have the same power. We can and do feel love and kindness from people and events long since gone, and we can do that now for those who will be here when we've long since gone. An act of compassion is like dropping a pebble into a lake. The ripples affect far more and reaches way further than we ever thought or intended. Positivity is not about thinking everything is great all the time. It's being aware that things are tough, but believing and knowing that that is not permanent, that things can and will change. I've lived this experience at 32. I was unemployed, in debt and living with my parents. I could not conceive that within two years I'd be working on TV and movies and not what my business degree had planned for me. Going further, back at 18, I applied here to Sussex, my first choice for university. I didn't get in... something about my grades not being good enough... so I went elsewhere and waited until all those responsible for me not to getting in, had retired, were in prison, deported, or were just playing dead. And at the age of 46, I came back here as chancellor. So ha ha, ha ha! And going back even further, still, when I was five years old, an uncle asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, Actor -I said. My father said; "It's pronounced doctor." But 30 years later, and since I've been living and doing what I dreamed of, obviously, I'm someone who plays the long game. My point is that all of those moments have been amongst the most surprising, positive experiences of my life and have led to other extraordinary experiences including bringing me here today, thus obliterating, all of the negative ones I had before. It taught me that I have no idea exactly what's in my future, and neither do you. But you want to stay in the game until the good stuff comes around and be ready for it when it does. One of my favourite quotes is from the great American poet, Maya Angelou, who I was lucky to have met once, and she said; "People may forget what you did. People may forget what you said. People will never forget the way you made them feel." The final key to emotional intelligence, I wanna mention, is listening and talking. It's obvious, right? Listening. Really hearing what someone is saying to you is essential. People aren't always consciously saying what they're feeling, so like a detective waiting for that vital piece of information, you have to be really on it. My aunt always used to say; you have two ears and one mouth. So always listen twice as much as you talk. And talking, when we're overwhelmed by anything, fear, anger, grief, greed, even beauty and love, the thing we lose is perspective even momentarily and in those moments, we may act in haste and without the clarity that's required. The quickest way to perspective is to pause and then talk to someone. Get an alternative point of view that's not also been created in your own head. But choose wisely beforehand 'cause these will be the excellent listeners I mentioned and will not necessarily be convenient, but will tell you their honest opinion in the most compassionate way. And if you can't find someone to talk to, get yourself a sense of humour. If you can see that, that overwhelming, terrifying thing is also silly then it is no longer just a terrifying thing. Instant perspective. Mahatma Gandhi said; Be the change you want to see in the world. So if you want to see a more compassionate world, you be more compassionate. You wanna see more accountability, then you be more accountable. I hope we meet in person at some point, in which case, feel free to come up and say, I'm a Sussex graduate and you owe me a hug or a handshake or a high five! Or ignore me if you want. It's up to you. Either way, I wish you all success in everything you do next. Take your compassion, positivity, humour, and power and change your world. Someone's world. The world.

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now declare this ceremony closed.

   

  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

Download the Ceremony 10 video [MP4 2.9GB]

Ceremony 11 at 4.30pm

Media, Arts and Humanities

• Art History
• Department of Language Studies
• Drama
• English Literature including Liberal Arts
• English Language and Linguistics
• History including American Studies
• Philosophy

•  Video transcript

  https://vimeo.com/990477602

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.]

   

  (A video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Greetings all. I am the chancellor of the University of Sussex. A lot of you probably already knew that, but um, I thought the beard might throw you. It's for a character I'm playing in a TV thing. It is real! If I'd been there, I would've invited you to give it a tug to check its authenticity as you cross the stage - or not. Anyway, I digress.Well, well here we are. Well, here you are. I am of course somewhere else, but here in spirit and in admiration. Apologies for gate-crashing your day, but I just couldn't help crowbarring myself into your celebration. I wanted to add the warmest of welcomes to all of you, graduands, families and friends and to those like me who may be following the ceremony remotely. Sussex graduations have become known for being a festival, a bit of a party, and it's a tradition that I hope you'll continue today.This is your day, so express your joy and positivity when you cross the stage. And friends and family, this is your day too, so take a moment to be prepared with your cameras for the moment your superstar crosses the stage and make as much noise as you can when they do.Oh, come on, they've embarrassed you enough times in the past. So this is payback time.Have a great ceremony and I'll catch you on the other side.

   

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  Madam Deputy Mayor, distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, supporters, friends, and above all, our graduands, Sussex class of 2024. It's my great honour and enormous pleasure to welcome you to the Brighton Centre for this afternoon's graduation ceremony.
  I'm Professor Sasha Rosneil and I'm the vice-chancellor of the University of Sussex.
  Graduands, as our chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar has just reminded us, today is all about you. This is a day of celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved during your time at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have benefited in countless tangible and less tangible ways from the love and support of your family or guardians and carers, from the encouragement of your friends and of course from the teaching and guidance of staff at the university. You may also have had support from our alumni and donors who've generously provided scholarships.
  So I'm now going to ask for some audience participation from you. Graduands, if you're able, would you please stand up and turn to face your friends and family behind you and offer your thanks with a big hearty cheer and a round of applause?

   

  (Graduands stand and give a big round of applause.)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil continues:
  Thank you, please be seated. A lot of mutual love and admiration.
  As a university, we at Sussex are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community. And that extends to our celebrations today. This is an important event, not only in the lives of our graduands, but but for everyone in the auditorium. Many of whom have traveled a very long way to be with us. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. You come each year from over 130 countries around the world. So we have people in the audience today of many different nationalities and faiths and amongst everyone gathered here, there is a huge diversity of opinion and belief about almost every matter under the sun. And that diversity of thought is a very special thing, something that Sussex as a university seeks always to uphold and support.
  We have a foundational commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom. It's our job as a university to create an environment in which diversity of belief and opinion can be explored. It's our job to nurture the conditions under which students and staff can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas, where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed. We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death and the destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as the climate crisis and environmental degradation, giving rise to enormous concern among Sussex students. Many Sussex students and their families and loved ones, I'm sure, hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I would like to emphasise that the university supports and always will support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of the humanity and diversity that's at the heart of our university community. And that binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community.
  So Sussex graduands, I would like to thank you for all that you have contributed to making our university a place of community, inclusion and diversity, an open, warm and welcoming place. In the two years since I became vice-chancellor, I've come to realise that Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope, and possibility. Alongside your academic work, many of you have taken part in an impressive array of other activities as members and leaders of student societies and groups and as volunteers helping and supporting other people on and off campus. Many of you are today receiving the Spirit of Sussex Award for your positive contributions to the community. From serving as campus ambassadors to fundraising for local causes and creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable, I commend your commitment to your extracurricular activities.
  Over the past two years, I've had the great privilege of meeting many Sussex alumni from the UK, from Asia, Africa and the Americas and I've been overwhelmed by how many of them told me how much they loved their student days at Sussex and how the experience of studying at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They recalled encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transformed their worldview as well as making lasting friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you, today's graduands will feel the same in the years to come.
  Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or are looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you are leaving a university with a global reputation, a university that has equipped you with the knowledge and skills to think critically and creatively, to work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective. You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally recognised for their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of your education has been directly informed by their research across the disciplines and in the spaces between. Our research focuses on the urgent concerns of our time. Some of you may have seen the 'Impossible until it's done' banners around Brighton and Hove and on the buses. Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela, this campaign highlights the work we are doing to tackle pollution in rivers, to find new ways, to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using AI. We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes and ambitions with wider audiences. And Sussex has much to celebrate. For the eighth consecutive year, Sussex has been ranked first in the world for Development Studies. This is an outstanding achievement by our academics. Development studies, which seeks an understanding of and progress towards global equity, social justice and sustainability is very much at the heart of what Sussex is about. One of the key measures of the strength and impact of a university is the extent to which the publications of its researchers are cited by researchers from other universities. And Sussex really does punch above our weight in this respect. This year, the QS World University rankings gives us nine subjects in the top 10 in the UK for citations with History and Physics and Astronomy, each ranked first in the UK. We were also recognised...
  -Yes, we finally got to the history graduation. It's brilliant. I've been saying this all week and now the historians are here.
  -we were also recognised as the eighth most sustainable university in the UK and joined 26 in the world overall for sustainability, as well as 16th in the world for our work on equality. All this means that Sussex research is improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology and influencing the policies of government as well as making a real difference to the protection and regeneration of our natural environment.
  Now, I know that many of you graduating today have had difficult life journeys so far, and all of you have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous upheaval is caused to your education and social lives. Some of you have struggled with your mental health, some of you with your physical health, some of you have faced loss and family disruption. During your student days each of you had a unique route to Sussex and through your time here and each of you will have had your ups and downs. But whatever your Sussex story, I hope when you look back at the time you've had with us, you feel that your studies were intellectually challenging and rigorous. That you were stretched, stimulated, and supported to achieve your best. That you're leaving with knowledge, skills, and personal resources that will stand you in good stead and that you made connections and friendships that will stay with you long into the future.
  You'll now take many different paths as you join our community of more than 200,000 alumni around the world. Sussex alumni include Nobel Laureates and Turner Prize winners, grassroots campaigners and activists, heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations. And those with less high-profile but no less significant lives and careers. People whose actions and relationships remake and renew the social fabric in small positive ways. Every day, across the globe, in more than 160 countries and in all walks of life, our alumni are sharing the benefits of their Sussex experience to make the world a better place. I know you will do that too.
  So graduands, celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree. Celebrate the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. Celebrate the belief in yourself that's made it possible and celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.

   

  (Graduands and guests applaud.)

   

  I call upon the Head of the Department of Philosophy in the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, Professor Sarah Sawyer.

   

  [Head of the Department of Philosophy in the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, Professor Sarah Sawyer, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Sarah Sawyer:
  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in American Studies...
  Harry BETTS.
  Also one of the recipients of the Rupert Wilkinson Award; Paige BRAITHWAITE.
  Also one of the recipients of the Rupert Wilkinson Award and jointly awarded the American Studies Prize for the highest dissertation mark; Blue CAIN.
  Ashleigh GLOVER,
  Joseph GOLDRING,
  Lucia HAGAN,
  Nathaniel KIMBERLEY,
  Biba MARSH,
  Katie MARSHALL.
  Also one of the recipients of the Rupert Wilkinson Award and jointly awarded the American Studies Prize for the highest dissertation mark; Lucy MOIR.
  Alvaro NICHOLLS,
  Ruby PROTO,
  Hannah RIDGERS-ASHTON,
  Eloise STEVENS,
  Lily THORNHILL.

  For American Studies and English…
  Kiran GILL,
  Yolanda TAYLOR.

  For American Studies and Film Studies…
  Anita ALAUX,
  Niamh KELLY,
  Ruby SHAW.

  For American Studies and History…
  Barney BOOTH,
  Humphrey BRODHOLT VOCADLO,
  Jasmine CARLIN,
  Justine CORDERY,
  Joe HARVEY,
  Anna KOURIS,
  Callan MCGUIRE,
  Rico MILTON,
  Ted SARGINSON-BLOOM,
  Eleanor STANSBURY,
  Claudiu STOLERIU,
  Erin TODD,
  Cameron TUFFIN.

  For American Studies and Politics…
  Dexter CLARK,
  Jasmine CONNIFF,
  Harriet GIBB,
  Marcus KENT,
  Louis MARSHALL,
  William VO.

  For Anthropology and History…
  Elizabeth BURTENSHAW.

  For Art History…
  Charlotte ATKINS.
  Also jointly awarded the Maurice Howard Prize to the single honours Art History student with the highest dissertation mark; Ellesia BATEHUP.
  Kirani BRAYSHAW,
  Megan BURR,
  Sadie CUNNEW,
  Ran DAI,
  Louis EDWARDS,
  Saffron EPSTEIN,
  Isabel FOSBERY,
  Thomas HASSON,
  Esme HICKMAN,
  Grace JOLLY,
  Madeleine KEATES,
  Maia KELLY,
  Matilda KUNKLE,
  Fairouz LULUA-TERRY,
  Lucy PALMER,
  Sophie PANKHURST.
  Also jointly awarded the Maurice Howard Prize to the single honours Art History student with the highest dissertation mark; Daniel PEARSON.
  Atika RAI,
  Gemma SAYERS.

  For Art History (with a study abroad year)…
  Nikhil LOHIA,
  Emma PRITCHARD.

  For Art History and Film Studies…
  Isabelle MAGUIRE,
  Zoe WRIGHT.

  For Drama and English…
  Jemima ALIGWEKWE,
  Holly BACON,
  Seren BAKER,
  Steven LOGSDON,
  Eleanor MCCARTHY,
  Molly PEARCE,
  Amber THARIA,
  Shahab VALIZADEH,
  Hermione WRIGHT,
  Nicole WYATT.

  For Drama and English (with a study abroad year)…
  Senel UZUN.

  For Drama and Film Studies…
  Kallie BATCHELOR,
  Mollie HOLDER,
  Antonia HUTCHEON,
  Alannah VAN ENGELAND.

  For Drama, Theatre and Performance…
  Also one of the recipients of the Department of Drama Prize. For the best IRP Practical; Nell Bosley.
  Sophia Madena,
  Randall Chan.
  Also one of the recipients of the Department of Drama Prize for the best IRP Practical; Lydia CURD.
  Charles ECCLES,
  Tess ELKINGTON,
  Eleanor EVANS,
  Jazmin FIELD,
  Lilian GODFREY,
  Joshua HEYWOOD,
  Rachael ILLINGWORTH,
  Charlotte KERR,
  Em KERSHAW,
  Olivia LEWIS,
  Jessica LOWIT,
  Emma MACDONALD,
  Isabella MARTER,
  Michael MCCARTHY,
  Katy MILMINE,
  Rory MOODY,
  Vanessa NICOARA.
  Also one of the recipients of the Department of Drama Prize for the best IRP Practical; Orla NORVILLE.
  Mercy OLAGUNJU.
  Also one of the recipients of the Department of Drama Student Experience Prize; Monica RUTHERFORD.
  Maisie SCOTLAND.
  Also awarded the Department of Drama's prize is awarded for the best dissertation or practical; Maia SIBLEY-SWAIN.
  Maya WALLIS.
  Also awarded the Department of Drama Prize for Highest Ranked Student and the Department of Drama Prize for best IRP Practical; Daisy WHITE.
  Darshanya WHITTINGTON-RAO,
  Bliss WOODS.

  For Drama, Theatre and Performance (with a study abroad year)…
  Also one of the recipients of the Department of Drama Student Experience Prize; Emma BEAN.
  Sophie Green.

  For Drama with British Sign Language…
  Sarah HUMPHREYS.

  For Drama with Spanish...
  Solomon HARRIS.

  For English...
  Andrew ABREU GRAY,
  Catherine ARDIFF,
  Mary ASHLEY,
  Lorcan BARNETT,
  Ruby BRIGDEN,
  Nicolas BURTON,
  Laura CAIRNS,
  Hannah CANNON,
  Bethany CANSELL,
  Lola CARRON,
  Nuria CONDE COLLADOS,
  Isis DICKINSON,
  Scarlett DICKSON,
  Marnie DINEEN,
  Francesca FORDHAM,
  Amy FOSTEKEW,
  Poppy GANDY,
  Regina GREENAN,
  Chloe HARBER,
  Nabela HASSAN,
  Piper-Mae JENN,
  Hoi Ching LAM,
  Anna LANGDON,
  Gwyneth LLEGO,
  Leila LOPEZ-MORAN,
  Megan LOWE,
  Francesca MAYNE,
  Hannah MEDD,
  Laila O'ROURKE,
  Tiger-Jade PARIS,
  Eleanor PHILIP,
  Emily PLAYFORD-GOULD,
  Bethan PRATT,
  Kia PROVENZANO ADISI,
  Simone SACKEY,
  Emma SCOTT,
  Scarlette SEARLES,
  Rebecca SMITH,
  Hallam STAFFORD,
  Yolanda WELLS-ORDONEZ.

  For English (with a professional placement year)…
  Emily SUMNER HOMOLKA.

  For English (with a study abroad year)…
  Lucy CARLESS,
  Nya FURBER,
  Helen HAMILTON,
  Harriet ROSE.

  For English and Art History…
  Isabelle FLYNN,
  Tom GREGORY,
  Katie MAHONEY-ROBERTS.

  For English and Film Studies…
  George EDMUNDS.
  Also awarded the Film Studies prize for the best dissertation; Molly Jones.

  For English and History...
  Charlotte Best,
  Alice Martin,
  Christian McAteer,
  Jenna ROSKILLY.

  For English and History (with a study abroad year)…
  Syd SIPHO GREGORY-DYER.

  For English and Media Studies…
  Rosemary DAY,
  Erin FORWARD,
  Isabelle GORDON,
  Jessica HERRINGTON,
  Holly Hudson,
  Maisie Knights,
  Holly Purvis,
  Rebecca RASCIUKEVICIUTE,
  Mia Sawyer,
  Anna Thompson,
  Emma WHITTENHAM.

  Vice-Chancellor, this concludes the first part of the list of graduands from the School of Media, Arts and Humanities.

   

  [Applause]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I call upon Ben Burbridge, Professor of Visual Culture, to present Dr Gilane Twardos.

   

  [Ben Burbridge, Professor of Visual Culture, goes to Dr Gilane Twardos’s seat. Professor Burbridge bows to Dr Gilane Twardos. They shake hands, and both move to the centre of the platform. Professor Ben Burbridge goes to the lectern to deliver his oration.]

  
  Professor Ben Burbridge:
  Vice-Chancellor, few have done more to nurture contemporary visual art in Britain than Gilane Twardos, one of the most accomplished curators, writers and art leaders of her generation and a Sussex alumni.
  I first encountered Gilane Twardos when I was myself an undergraduate here at Sussex, back in the early 2000's on a module about Black Art in Britain. Throughout the 1990s museums and the media had insisted that UK contemporary art meant dead animals in vitrine, a tongue-in-cheek relationship with the tabloid press and Charles Saatchi's money. But Gilane's work conveyed a different story. It was one of the cleverer, poetic paintings about diasporic experience, nuanced exploration of black identities, and supportive networks of mutual care. It was post-colonial, cosmopolitan, conjuring vivid images of what Britain was, is and could yet be complex, diverse, contradictory, engaged critically and imaginatively with its own challenging histories.
  Such imagery recurs across Gilane's exhibitions and her writing. It's there in fault lines, contemporary African art and shifting landscapes curated for the Venice Biennale in 2003. It was there in the 2006 Brighton Photo Biennial, which framed a so-called 'War on Terror' as part of a longer history of America, colonialism and crisis, and it's there in her superbly titled 2018 Collection, 'The Sphinx contemplating Napoleon'.
  In recent years, art's mainstream has come to terms and got its head around the importance and the value of the art that Gilane has for decades been championing. So let's not forget that the major museum retrospectives for black artists, the invitations to represent Britain International Biennials. The Turner Prize wins were hard-fought for and a long time coming, creating the conditions in which art can be meaningfully nurtured and shared and encountered has for Gilane never only been a matter of writing and curating. It involves tenacious work, a profound commitment to being with and listening to artists unwavering faith in the social and the political importance of culture and the diplomatic skills required to make a material change. As founding director of INVA, the Institute for International Visual Arts, Gilane built a groundbreaking organisation renowned internationally for its careful and very necessary reframing of relationships between art and cultural diversity. As CEO of DaX, the Design and Artist Copyright Society, she worked tirelessly to make sure artists were paid properly for the work they do.
  As founding chair of the Stuart Hall Foundation, she has fashioned opportunities for emerging creative talent and honoured the legacy of her mentor and friend and one of the UK's most important thinkers, the late Stuart Hall. And now since 2022, as Director of London's White Chapel Gallery, she has ensured that one of the world's most important cultural spaces remains bravely responsive to what she calls the pressing, sociopolitical and environmental context of our times.
  Gilane's work embodies a cultural politics that moves productively between what's explored within works of art and the systems within which art itself circulates and is supported. A reminder of the old adage that our responsibility is not just to try and understand the world, but to try to change it. Her continued support for Sussex giving talks and lectures and advising on new degree programs are absolutely representative of the sustained commitment and immense generosity that defines so much of her work. All this was nowhere clearer than in the video conversation between Gilane and artists on Your Voice that appeared as part of an installation created by their friend artist Zab for the French Pavilion at Venice in 2022. Their dialogue which ranged across housing co-ops, the role of the artist, grassroots politics once again met present crises with vivid images of history as a vital energising force of sisterhood, solidarity, and friendship of strong loving resistance.

  Vice-Chancellor, I present to you for the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, Gilane Tawadros.

   

  [Applause]

  
  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands and shakes hands with Gilane Tawadros.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the authority of the Senate of the university, I confer on you the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.

   

  [Doctor of Letters, honoris causa Gilane Tawadros. goes to the lectern to deliver her speech.]

   

  Doctor of Letters, Gilane Tawadros:
  Vice-Chancellor, Ben your very kind words, Thank you.
  Esteemed colleagues at the University of Sussex, I want to thank you for the huge honour of awarding me this honorary degree.
  I can honestly say that no honour means more to me than being recognised by my university and the place which has so powerfully shaped my intellectual, cultural, and professional life. When I applied to study at Sussex at the age of 17, I wanted to come here so much that I put down Sussex as first and second choice on my application form. Unfortunately, Sussex wasn't quite as desperate to have me as I was to be here, although they offered me a place. They deferred it for a year because they thought I was too young. With nothing planned, I found a job as a trainee technician at Photographer's Gallery where I worked for six months.
  But in those first weeks at university, I honestly thought I'd made a terrible mistake. My heart sank when I realised I had to study Renaissance and grapple with massive tomes that were dedicated to the provenance and value of individual artworks preparing me, I thought for life, working in an auction house, far removed from my experience of working with living artists. That all changed when I realised I could construct my own syllabus focused on modern and contemporary art, photography and film.
  I ended up spending six years at Sussex. Four years on my History of Art degree, including a year at the Sorbonne in Paris, studying French Film and two years on a part-time History of Art Master's Degree. I was taught as an undergraduate by two extraordinary and inspirational teachers, Norbert Linton and David Miller, whose passion and enthusiasm for their subject was infectious. They made the space of contemporary art and ideas so exciting, rich and dynamic that I wanted to continue to inhabit that space for years afterwards. I was born in Egypt and came to Britain in 1970 with my sister and parents who are political exiles. I now recognise that part of my connection with David and Norbert was that they too came from non-traditional backgrounds. Norbert escaped to Britain from Nazi Germany on the kinder transport, and David grew up in a working-class community in Leicester. I was conscious of coming from a different background to many of my fellow students, but my teachers at Sussex gave me the confidence to work productively with my differences and to pursue my own independent research. I wrote my final MA dissertation on a New Emerging Generation of black women artists in Britain that included Sonya Boyce, Lubaina Himid and Shiraz Bayjoo, who had yet to enter the Art History books. One of the most important things about Sussex is that it has an expanded living notion of what knowledge and intellectual inquiry are all about. They're not about solitary research disconnected from everyday life, but a live dynamic connection and interaction with the world around us.
  Higher education should provide us with a toolkit to go out into the world and light a spark of curiosity and a sense of possibility that can sustain us long after we've left university. We are living through difficult times, facing unprecedented challenges socially, politically, economically, and environmentally. To be able to navigate these challenges, we need critical thinking to understand what's happening and we need imagination to picture alternative scenarios for the future.
  To paraphrase Antonio Gramsci, we have to educate ourselves because we will need all our intelligence to face the challenges ahead.
  Thank you again for honouring me in such a special way and my heartfelt good wishes to everyone associated with Sussex; the graduands, alumni, staff, and current students of the university. Thank you.

   

  (Applause)

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now call upon the Head of the Department of Philosophy in the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, Professor Sarah Sawyer.

   

  [Head of the Department of Philosophy in the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, Professor Sarah Sawyer, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Professor Sarah Sawyer:
  Vice-Chancellor,
  I will now present to you for the Bachelor of Arts in English and Media Studies (with a study abroad year)...
  Inés VELILLA ZULOAGA.

  For English Language and Linguistics…
  Mae DENMAN,
  Simien GILBERT,
  Grace GREENWOOD,
  Arlia MAITLAND,
  Kyveli MARINOU -oh, sorry, that person is absent. So we'll move to next.
  -So also awarded the English language and Linguistics prize for best dissertation; Natalie O'MALLEY,
  Elena SANDERS,
  Abbie WAGSTAFF,
  Jasmine WARRINER,
  Iseabail WOOD,
  Bernice WOOLLEY.

  For English Language and Linguistics (with a professional placement year)...
  Christopher GROVE.

  For English Language and Literature…
  Mollie AGUTTER,
  Charlotte DEVENEY,
  Ayshen IRFAN,
  Holly MCKANNA-MAULKIN,
  Ebony PURSER,
  Gracie TOBIAS,
  Adaam WALLIS.
  Also awarded the English Language and Linguistics Prize for the Highest-Ranked Student and the Department of English Prize for the best contribution to the student experience for outstanding work on the Sussex Writes programme; Bronwyn WAY.

  For History…
  Also one of the recipients of the Maurice Hutt Prize For the student who has made a strong contribution to the History department and the University; Tobey AHAMED-BARKE,
  Lyla Rukhsana AMIN,
  Piper ARNOLD,
  Harry BARNES,
  Charlotte BERRY,
  Annabel BLAKEY,
  Geerati BROCK,
  Benjamin CAMERON,
  Matthew CLARKE,
  Oliver COOK,
  Luke COURTNEY,
  Max D'ARCY,
  Constance-Honey DELPH,
  Anna DEVINE,
  Jack DODRILL,
  Chloe FENNELLY,
  Vivienne FENWICK,
  Baxter GARROD,
  Thomas GOUGH,
  Thomas GRIFFITHS,
  Edward HABGOOD,
  John HARRISON,
  Bethany HERNAMAN,
  Alec HOLMES,
  Sam HONEY,
  Jessica HUNT,
  Alexandra HUTSON,
  Taya JENNER,
  Joshua MAJOR,
  Jan MAZUREK,
  Melissa MCELROY,
  Hugo MCELVANEY,
  Alexander MILLER,
  Katie MOGGRIDGE,
  Rafe MONTEFIORE-WRIGHT,
  Alexander MORGAN,
  Eben MORRISH-CROAD,
  Rio MUNN,
  Grace MURRAY,
  Aaron O'SHEA,
  Ruth PARRY,
  Jasmine PHILLIPS,
  Jasleen PURBA,
  Callum REED,
  Farrah RICHARDSON-ZAND,
  Rosie RICHENS,
  Alexandra ROBINSON,
  Lea-Lyne RONGIER,
  Jahnvi SALHOTRA,
  Ellie SMITH,
  Darcy STANTON,
  Owen TAYLOR,
  Joanne TURNER,
  Khadijah UDDIN,
  Jacob VALLANCE,
  Sorcha WALLACE CARVILLE,
  Tasha WALSH,
  Isabelle WELLS,
  Grace WILLIAMSON,
  Dalia WINTER.

  For History (with a study abroad year)…
  Nafisa ALI,
  Megan JONES.

  For History and International Relations…
  Megan BARTON,
  Darcy BOREHAM.
  Also one of the recipients of the Maurice Hutt Prize for the student who has made a strong contribution to the History department and the University; Myisha BOX.
  Oscar HAYWARD,
  Adam JOHNSON,
  Alexandra Lewis,
  Sevraj OBERAI,
  Jack Swift,
  Daanish ZAHEER.

  For History and International Relations (with a study abroad year)…
  Also jointly awarded the John Lowerson Prize for the highest dissertation mark in history; Shimon Lopez.

  For History and Philosophy…
  Joshua Field-Smith,
  Samuel Hay,
  Charlotte PROCTER,
  Alban RIGBY,
  Matilda Wiseman.

  For History and Philosophy (with a study abroad year)…
  Also jointly awarded the John Lowerson Prize for the highest dissertation mark in history; George HANCOX.

  For History and Politics…
  Ellen AWCOCK.

  For History and Sociology;
  Madeleine ORR.

  For Liberal Arts…
  Lauren Anson,
  Simran BHATIA,
  Paige Davies.
  Also awarded the Department of Liberal Arts Prize for the highest-ranking student; Pascha LINDLEY.
  Francesca Martin,
  Jessica Mitchell,
  Charlotte O'RIORDAN,
  Tarini POLEPALLY,
  Mia STALLWORTHY,
  Isabella WATTAM.
  Also awarded the Department of Liberal Arts Prize for the highest dissertation or final project mark; Abigail Wheatley.
  Maisie Winter.

  For Philosophy…
  Jadd Atta.
  Also awarded the department of Philosophy Prize for the best dissertation; Lenny Clifton,
  Pavel COLLEE FOLEY,
  Mackenzie Dunn.
  Also awarded the Department of Philosophy Prize for the highest-ranked student; Callum GANDY.
  Helen Gower,
  Matilda Green,
  Holly Hammond,
  Max Johnson,
  Hannah KAGESON-LOE,
  Thomas Lawrence,
  Dinah NEWALL,
  Digby Platt-Higgins,
  Lucy SCALLAN.
  Also awarded the Department of Philosophy Prizes the highest-ranked student, the best dissertation, and the Philosophy Achievement Prize; Rafaella STEFANI.
  Luke TAPPU.

  For Philosophy (with a study abroad year)…
  Mo Mansoor.
  Alexis PSYLLIDES,
  Ines CRESPI DE VALLDAURA,
  Anna PATTEN,
  Carlotta SKEATES-O'REILLY,
  Rebecca Taylor.

  For Philosophy and Sociology…
  Isabella Allen,
  Daniel CRITCHER,
  Olivia Mardell,
  Amy MCKIRDY.

  For Philosophy, Politics and Economics…
  Zetty Allysha BINTI LIAKAT ALI,
  Jordan BLAMIRE,
  Anna BLINCOE,
  Jack BRACCHI,
  Sharif CHARBAJI,
  Lola Curtis,
  Fardeen EBRAHIM,
  Rawan EISSA,
  Emry GODDING,
  Lloyd Griffiths,
  Daniel HAWRYLAK,
  Dylan IACONO,
  Reuben JORDAN,
  Elliot MITCHELL,
  Samuel Moore,
  George Rees.
  Also awarded the annual Moletsane Monyake Prize for the best dissertation in the module: Political Corruption; Cameron Trencher.
  Lauren TUNSTALL,
  Louis WANG.

  For Philosophy, Politics and Economics (with a study abroad year)…
  Nicolas BARREIRO SANTAMARIA,
  Maximilian CORBETT-BLAIKIE.

  For the degree of Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics and Teaching English as a Second Language; Nadia Zafer A ALSHAHRANI,
  Cameron Baldwin.

  For Art History and Museum Curating…
  Naomi EDOBOR,
  Ben Sharp.

  For Sexual Dissidence…
  Bailey HACKETT,
  Deena MAHER.

  For Social and Political Thought…
  Will ALBERY.

  Vice-Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...
  For the thesis;
  "An eco-ethical approach to reading nonhuman, alterity in modernist American poetry"
  Shaikhah Abdullah A ALYALAK.

  For the thesis;
  "Power, knowledge and regulating citizens. The historical thread of neoliberal governance in Britain"
  Aaron Austin Locke.

  For the thesis;
  "A singing philosophy after God’s death: TS Eliot’s dantesque mystical theology"
  Juan Manuel ESCAMILLA GONZÁLEZ ARAGÓN.

  For the thesis;
  "Doings of the sunbeam: Contextualising the collections of lady Annie Brassey (1839–87), 1870s–1880s"
  Sarah French.

  For the thesis;
  "The university community and the public sphere: pedagogy, architecture and lived experience of the new universities at Sussex and Essex, 1960 to 1979"
  Jack O'Connor.

  For the thesis;
  "(Re)making and (re)knowing:, Exploring the mobility of artisanal knowing in 16th century Italy through contemporary craft practice and object inquiry"
  Rebecca Owen.

  For the thesis;
  "Rendering the Urban Invisible: Writing the neuroqueer city"
  Hanna Randall.

  For the thesis;
  "Thinking about Evil Through Literature
  - An interdisciplinary approach to address the philosophical -I'm sorry, lemme start again.
  -For the thesis; "Thinking about evil through literature, - An interdisciplinary approach to address the philosophical question on evil"
  Alena ROTH.

  For the thesis;
  "Thinking from the margins: intersectionality, effectivity, difficulty in post-1960 British poetry"
  Shalini SENGUPTA.

  For the thesis;
  "Copying the Cave: representations of Altamira, Lascaux and Chauvet"
  Mark SHEERIN.

  For the thesis;
  "Technologies of sight and the aesthetic landscape: Female vision in 18th century Britain"
  Holly WESTON.

  Vice-Chancellor, this concludes the list of graduands from the School of Media, Arts and Humanities.

  
  [Applause]

  
  [Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil.]

   

  Proffesor Kate O’Riordan:
  Vice-Chancellor,
  I present to you those who were unable to be presented earlier.
  For the degree of Bachelor of Arts in History...
  Trisha RAVICHANDRAN.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Arts in History and International Relations...
  Jasper Woods.

  Vice-Chancellor, You have now met all the graduands at this ceremony, and the moment has come for the formal conferral of degrees of the University of Sussex. I therefore ask you to confer degrees on all those presented to you today and to the other graduands who have indicated their wish to graduate in absentia at this ceremony.

   

  [Professor Sasha Roseneil stands in the middle of the stage.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  So this is the big moment.
  Graduands, would you please stand? And colleagues, would you please stand too?

   

  [Graduands and staff stand.]

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  By the powers invested in me by the University of Sussex, I confer degrees on all those referred to by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor.
  Congratulations, you are all now graduates of the University of Sussex!

  
  (Graduates and academics/staff stand and after sustained applause, a final video of Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, starts playing on the large screens above the auditorium.)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Hello, it's me again. Congratulations graduates. Very, very well done to all of you. Traditionally, the chancellor is supposed to leave you with some parting words of wisdom. I don't think there's anything I can tell you that you don't instinctively already know, and your instincts that inner voice, are always right by the way. But they speak with the same vocabulary, cadence, inflexion, and grammar as your fears, anxieties, and doubts. So how to tell the difference? Your instincts always come from a place of love. So check in with yourself and make sure that you are always coming from a place of kindness towards yourself and the world around you. Being kind in every situation can be a challenge sometimes. I know it's easier said than done, but the more you practice it, the easier it gets until eventually it's just habit and a part of who you are. You have all achieved magnificently in your academic pursuit and I have no doubt you will apply that to your journey going forward. For dealing with the emotional challenges, anxiety and mental health issues that we all face in an uncertain world we need emotional intelligence. I believe that at the heart of emotional intelligence is compassion, love, and positivity. You know how when we look up at a clear night sky, we can marvel at starlight knowing that those stars may not now even exist yet we can bask in their glow. Love and compassion have the same power. We can and do feel love and kindness from people and events long since gone, and we can do that now for those who will be here when we've long since gone. An act of compassion is like dropping a pebble into a lake. The ripples affect far more and reaches way further than we ever thought or intended. Positivity is not about thinking everything is great all the time. It's being aware that things are tough, but believing and knowing that that is not permanent, that things can and will change. I've lived this experience at 32. I was unemployed, in debt and living with my parents. I could not conceive that within two years I'd be working on TV and movies and not what my business degree had planned for me. Going further, back at 18, I applied here to Sussex, my first choice for university. I didn't get in... something about my grades not being good enough... so I went elsewhere and waited until all those responsible for me not to getting in, had retired, were in prison, deported, or were just playing dead. And at the age of 46, I came back here as chancellor. So ha ha, ha ha! And going back even further, still, when I was five years old, an uncle asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, Actor -I said. My father said; "It's pronounced doctor." But 30 years later, and since I've been living and doing what I dreamed of, obviously, I'm someone who plays the long game. My point is that all of those moments have been amongst the most surprising, positive experiences of my life and have led to other extraordinary experiences including bringing me here today, thus obliterating, all of the negative ones I had before. It taught me that I have no idea exactly what's in my future, and neither do you. But you want to stay in the game until the good stuff comes around and be ready for it when it does. One of my favourite quotes is from the great American poet, Maya Angelou, who I was lucky to have met once, and she said; "People may forget what you did. People may forget what you said. People will never forget the way you made them feel." The final key to emotional intelligence, I wanna mention, is listening and talking. It's obvious, right? Listening. Really hearing what someone is saying to you is essential. People aren't always consciously saying what they're feeling, so like a detective waiting for that vital piece of information, you have to be really on it. My aunt always used to say; you have two ears and one mouth. So always listen twice as much as you talk. And talking, when we're overwhelmed by anything, fear, anger, grief, greed, even beauty and love, the thing we lose is perspective even momentarily and in those moments, we may act in haste and without the clarity that's required. The quickest way to perspective is to pause and then talk to someone. Get an alternative point of view that's not also been created in your own head. But choose wisely beforehand 'cause these will be the excellent listeners I mentioned and will not necessarily be convenient, but will tell you their honest opinion in the most compassionate way. And if you can't find someone to talk to, get yourself a sense of humour. If you can see that, that overwhelming, terrifying thing is also silly then it is no longer just a terrifying thing. Instant perspective. Mahatma Gandhi said; Be the change you want to see in the world. So if you want to see a more compassionate world, you be more compassionate. You wanna see more accountability, then you be more accountable. I hope we meet in person at some point, in which case, feel free to come up and say, I'm a Sussex graduate and you owe me a hug or a handshake or a high five! Or ignore me if you want. It's up to you. Either way, I wish you all success in everything you do next. Take your compassion, positivity, humour, and power and change your world. Someone's world. The world.

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I now declare this ceremony closed.

   

  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

Download the Ceremony 11 video [MP4 5GB]

Friday 26 July 2024

Ceremony 12 at 10am

Psychology

• Psychology with a year abroad (BSc)
• Psychology with a professional placement year (BSc)
• Psychology with Business and Management including those with a year abroad and professional placement year (BSc)
• Psychology with Cognitive Science including those with a year abroad and professional placement year (BSc)
• Psychology with Criminology including those with a year abroad and professional placement year (BSc)
• Psychology with Clinical Approaches including those with a year abroad and professional placement year (BSc)
• Psychology with Economics including those with a year abroad and professional placement year (BSc)
• Psychology with Education including those with a year abroad and professional placement year (BSc)
• Psychology with Neuroscience including those with a year abroad and professional placement year (BSc)

Mathematical and Physical Sciences

•  Video transcript

  https://vimeo.com/990571692

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.]

   

  [Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  I declare open this congregation of the University of Sussex.
  I'm delighted as Chancellor to welcome you formally to this graduation ceremony. The warmest welcomes to our honoured guests, our distinguished faculty members, and to those of the professional services here at Sussex. But the warmest welcomes are for you, graduands and your families and friends who join you here today. And to those who may be watching this via live video stream around the world.
  Sussex University was founded as one of the first universities created after the Second World War, almost exactly 63 years ago. And one of the guiding principles was that it should be a forum for ideas beyond convention, embracing concepts and experiences from different backgrounds, cultures and belief systems and then combining these with the best of our own, realising that invention and innovation have no colour, gender, age, or creed. Recognising that interconnectedness had an important part to play in a fast-evolving society. Hence a focus on interdisciplinary teaching and the practical application of concepts and understanding that the world would become not just more interconnected, but a realisation of just how vital that would be and still is. Sussex is proud that graduands from well over a hundred countries receive their degrees at these ceremonies. And it's the simple fact that you all celebrate together, study together, live together, protest together, whinge together, and solve problems together. That continues to give me the greatest belief that we are always, always stronger together. So thank you for continuing to make us a truly global university. And I know that many of you have had to be strong to get to this day. Struggling to balance your studies with home life, in some cases whilst raising children, experiencing loss and sickness, trying to survive on overdrafts loans or family health. But you didn't give up. You didn't give in. You've seen it through to this glorious day.
  Now, some of you may be continuing with further academic study, but for many today may mark the end of your academic journey. And what a journey. It's been a journey that started all those years ago with your first day at nursery or kindergarten where the world was introduced to your remarkable artistic abilities. Blobs of paint and squiggly lines, which you had to explain were obviously your parents. When your musical prowess consisted of basically hitting or blowing something so hard that pets immediately hit under a table and adults were hurled vertically into the air and the final reaction was always the same; "Well done", "That was lovely". And every one of your musical outrages was treated like an aria. And every pastel abomination was treated like a Jackson Pollock. And as you continued to bring home your artistic gems, everyone was treated over the years to kick in the arias in a right load of Pollocks. But "well done", "That was lovely". Then the glory of the teenage years when parts of your body began to grow without warning, you started slamming doors without reason, started sleeping all the time and discovered sarcasm. -Thanks for that. Then those tough pressure-filled exams that led you to Sussex. And calm walks by the beach, juice bars, knitting clubs, playing chess long into the evening and finally to today.
  So shortly, a name will be read out, hopefully approximating to yours, and you will take a mere 20 or so steps across this stage, terrified that you're going to lose your hat or your mortarboard wondering whether the heels were such a good idea after all, wondering whether your flies are open and praying that you don't trip over your gown and end up in the lap of someone in the front row. But if you do, what an array of laps we've arranged for you this morning, check that out! It's like Bridgerton meets Love Island.
  Now I am beholden to tell you or to remind you if you've been up here before that you actually haven't got your degrees, yet. You are graduands and you getting your degree might just depend on how much love you show me when you come up here. No love for the Chancellor - no degree. Seriously, feel free to express yourselves when you come up here in whatever way you want. As long as it's within the bounds of decency and legality. We've had handshakes, we've had hugs, we've had high fives, fist bumps, dabs dancing, press-ups. I'll go along with all of them. Look, if you do decide that you're gonna do press-ups, you're doing them on your own. Okay? I mean, at my age, I can get down but I'm not sure if I can get back up again.
  And family and friends, this is your day too. So when the time comes, do have your cameras ready and feel free to make as much noise as you'd like as your superhero crosses the stage. If any of you are here on your own today, I'll be your family or friend. So no one is alone. Okay?

   

  (Applause)

  
  So I call upon the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, to address the congregation.

   

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  Mr. Mayor, distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, supporters, friends, and above all our graduands. The Sussex class of 2024. It is my great honour and an enormous privilege to welcome you to the Brighton Centre for this graduation ceremony.
  As our Chancellor has just said, I'm Sasha Roseneil. I'm the Vice-Chancellor and president of the University of Sussex.
  This is a day of celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have benefited in countless tangible and less tangible ways from the love and support of your family or guardians and carers. From the encouragement of your friends and of course, from the teaching and guidance of the staff at the university. You may also have had support from our alumni and donors who've generously provided scholarships that have enabled some of you to study at Sussex.
  So I'm now going to ask for a little bit of audience participation from you. Graduands, if you are able, would you please stand up and turn to face your friends and loved ones behind you and offer your thanks with a big hearty cheer and a round of applause?

   

  
  (Graduands stand and give a big round of applause.)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil continues:
  Wonderful. Please be seated again.
  As a university, we at Sussex are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community. And that extends to our celebrations today. This is an important event, not only in the lives of our graduands, but for everyone in this auditorium. Many of whom have travelled a very long way to be with us. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. You come each year from over 130 countries around the world. So we have people in the audience today of many different nationalities and faiths. And amongst everyone gathered here, there is a huge diversity of opinion and belief about almost every matter under the sun. And that diversity of thought is a very special thing, something that Sussex as a university seeks always to uphold and support. We have a foundational commitment to academic freedom and freedom of speech. It's our job as a university to create an environment in which diversity of belief and opinion can be explored. It's our job to nurture the conditions under which our students and staff can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas, where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed. We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death, and the destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as the climate crisis and environmental degradation, giving rise to enormous concern among Sussex students. Many Sussex students and their families and loved ones, I'm sure, hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I'd like to emphasise that the university supports and will always support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of humanity and diversity. That's at the heart of our university community and that is what binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community. So Sussex graduands, I would like to thank you for all that you have contributed to making our university a place of community inclusion and diversity. An open, warm and welcoming place.
  In the two years since I've been vice-chancellor, I've come to realise that Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope and possibility. Alongside your academic work, many of you have taken part in an impressive range of other activities as members and leaders of student societies and groups, and as volunteers helping and supporting others on and off campus. Many of you are today receiving a Spirit of Sussex Award for your positive contributions to the community. From serving as campus ambassadors to fundraising for local causes and creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable. I commend your commitment to your extracurricular activities.
  Over the past two years, I've had the great privilege of meeting many Sussex alumni from the UK, from Asia, Africa and the Americas. And I've been overwhelmed by how many of them have told me how much they loved their time at Sussex and how their experience of studying at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They recalled encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transformed their worldview, as well as making lasting friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you, today's graduands will feel the same in years to come. Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you are leaving a university with a global reputation, a university that is equipped to you with the knowledge and skills to think creatively and critically, to work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective. You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally recognised for their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of their research has informed your education across the disciplines and in the spaces in between. Our research focuses on the urgent concerns of the time. Some of you may have seen our 'Impossible until it's done' banners around Brighton and Hove and on the buses. Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela. This campaign highlights the work we are doing to tackle pollution in rivers, to find ways to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using AI. We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes and ambitions with wider audiences. And Sussex has much to celebrate.
  For the eighth consecutive year, we've been ranked first in the world for Development Studies. This is an outstanding achievement. Not many British universities are first in the world for a subject area. Development Studies which seek understanding of and progress towards global equity and social justice and sustainability. That is very much at the heart of what Sussex is about. One of the key measures of the strength and the impact of a university is the extent to which the publications of its researchers are cited by researchers from other universities and Sussex really does punch above our weight in this respect. This year in the QS World University Rankings, we have nine subjects in the top 10 in the UK for citations with History and Physics and Astronomy, each ranked first in the UK. We were also recognised as the eighth most sustainable university in the UK and joint 26th in the world overall for sustainability as well as 16th in the world for our work on equality. All this means that Sussex research is improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology and influencing the policies of government as well as making a real difference to the protection and regeneration of our natural environment.
  Now I know that many of you graduating today have had difficult life journeys so far, and all of you have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous upheaval this caused to education and social lives. Some of you have struggled with your mental health, some with your physical health. Some of you have faced loss and family disruption during your student days. Each of you who has had a unique route to Sussex and through your time here and each of you will have had your ups and downs. But whatever your Sussex story, I hope when you look back at the time you've been with us, you feel your studies were intellectually challenging and rigorous. That you were stretched, stimulated, and supported to achieve your best. That you're leaving with the knowledge, skills, and personal resources that will stand you in good stead and that you made connections and friendships that will stay with you long into the future.
  You'll now take many different paths as you join our community of over 200,000 alumni worldwide. Sussex alumni include Nobel Laureates and Turner Prize winners, grassroots, campaigners and activists, heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations. And those with less high-profile but no less significant lives and careers. People whose actions and relationships remake and renew the social fabric in small positive ways. Every day, across the globe, in more than 160 countries and in all walks of life, our alumni are sharing the benefits of their Sussex experience to make the world a better place. I know you will do that too.
  So graduands, celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree. Celebrate the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. Celebrate the belief in yourself that's made it possible. And celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.

  
  (Applause)

  
  I call upon the Head of the Department of Mathematics in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Professor Peter Giesl.

   

  [Head of the Department of Mathematics in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Professor Peter Giesl, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar.]

  
  Professor Peter Giesl:
  Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics...
  Ethan Baker,
  Jonah Cope,
  Sophie Crompton,
  Robyn Hale,
  Caitlin Heywood-Poore,
  Alexander KERBEY.
  Also awarded the Hirschfeld Prize for Mathematics; Zhen LIU.
  Caitlyn McCormick,
  Holly Neal.
  Also awarded the prize for outstanding performance on the BSc degree course in Mathematics; Riordan O'GOAN.
  Jason OWUSU BOATENG,
  Abigail PHILLIPS-DOUGLAS,
  Yani Terra RENKER,
  Harry White.

  For Mathematics (with a study abroad year)…
  Kate GREGAN.

  For Mathematics with Economics…
  Juliet MCNEILLY.

  For Mathematics with Finance…
  Charles Aston,
  Neeve Giles,
  Nicole Philipsz,
  Saroopan RAJKUMAR,
  Melissa Scott.

  For Physics…
  Shakur AHMAD,
  Alexander Hopes,
  Ingrid Almquist LIEN,
  Dominic Matthews,
  Owen Walton.

  For Physics (with an industrial placement year)…
  Also jointly awarded the prize for the outstanding BSc project in Physics and Astronomy; Thomas WOODROUGH.

  For Physics with Astrophysics…
  Sam Curran,
  Julie Summers.

  For Physics with Astrophysics (with a study abroad year)…
  William Page.

  For Theoretical Physics…
  Also awarded the Andrew John Symonds Memorial Prize for outstanding performance on a BSc course; Roo DUNNILL.
  Liam Giles.

  For the degree of Master of Mathematics in Mathematics…
  Also awarded the prize for outstanding MMath project; Liam Brosnan.
  Jacques TAGHOLM.
  Also one of the recipients awarded the David Axon Prize for Outstanding Achievement and also awarded the prize for Outstanding Performance on the MMath degree course; Luke Wentworth.

  For Mathematics (research placement)…
  Joseph BUCKRIDGE.

  For the degree of Master of Physics in Astrophysics…
  Henry AYLING,
  Thomas VAN DER SANDE.

  For Physics…
  Alasdair KING,
  Nelson Rebelo.

  For Physics (research placement)…
  Ewan BARCLAY.

  For Physics (with an industrial placement year)…
  Thomas O'DWYER.

  For Physics with Astrophysics…
  Also one of the recipients of the Roger Taylor Prize for outstanding performance in an MPhys degree course in Physics and Astronomy; Toby WALLAGE.

  For Theoretical Physics…
  David Conway,
  Oliver Mitchell.
  Also one of the recipients of the Roger Taylor Prize for outstanding performance in an MPhys degree course in Physics and Astronomy and awarded the prize for outstanding MPhys Project; Joseph Stones.

  For Data Science...
  Balaji Bhaskar,
  Gregory Brett,
  Usha CHINNAPALA RAJENDRAPPA,
  Edward Harvey,
  Vaishnavi Vinay KHAWALE,
  Chethan KODIHALLI BASAVARAJU,
  Chaitanya Jayant KULKARNI,
  Padmini NARAYANA RAO,
  Haris ROY PULINILKUNNATHIL,
  Hana SAMIH ABDELAZIZ OSMAN,
  Aamina SHARIEF,
  Remisa YOUSEFVAND.

  For Data Science (with an industrial placement year)…
  Kiran KARTHIKEYAN.

  For Human and Social Data Science…
  Oluwatoyin Esther OLATUNJI.

  For Mathematics…
  HO Kwan Yee,
  Bilawal SHAUKAT.

  For Particle Physics…
  Thomas O'Neill,
  Pranay Krishna PORUMAMILLA.

  Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Master of Philosophy...
  For the thesis;
  "Structure-property relationships in reduced graphene oxide networks and composites"
  Abdullah ALGHAMDI

  For the thesis;
  "Development of Bose-Einstein condensate microscopy apparatus"
  Shobita BHUMBRA.

  For the thesis;
  "Radiofrequency dressing of Bose-Einstein condensates on an atom chip"
  Natasha BIERRUM.

  For the thesis;
  "Functional nanomaterial assemblies for biological systems"
  Christopher Brown.

  For the thesis;
  "Mittag-Leffler queues and space-time discontinuous TASEP: Generalisations of two classical Markovian models"
  Jacob Butt.

  For the thesis;
  "When you are confused, you need help: Photometry in the far infrared for statistical analysis of galaxy evolution"
  Maria Del Carmen CAMPOS VARILLAS.

  For the thesis;
  "Electrical and thermal properties of graphene nanosheet networks"
  Keiran CLIFFORD.

  For the thesis;
  "Self-emergent laser cavity-solitons for efficient metrological microcombs"
  Antonio CUTRONA.

  For the thesis;
  "Rigidity for Pólya-Szegö and perimeter inequalities under symmetrisation"
  Georgios DOMAZAKIS.

  For the thesis;
  "Microtrap assembly for quantum networking"
  David KAY.

  For the thesis;
  "Indirect search for new physics affecting the B0(s) → μ+μ− Decay with the ATLAS experiment"
  Ondrej KOVANDA.

  For the thesis;
  "Monsters in the dark: modelling the formation of bright galaxies in the distant Universe"
  Jussi KUUSISTO.

  For the thesis;
  "Machine Learning Methods for the Improvement of event containment in the NOvA far detector"
  Brett Mayes.

  For the thesis;
  "A tale of birds and bug fixes: Computational astrophysics in the epoch of reionisation"
  William Roper.

  For the thesis;
  Optimising scintillator-based X-ray detectors for fast imaging systems"
  Nicolo TUCCORI.

  For the thesis;
  "Precision calculations in particle physics, phenomenology: Analytic modelling of Hadronisation effects and extensions of the Standard Model in the Higgs sector"
  Ryan Wood.

  Chancellor, this concludes the list of graduands from the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I call upon the Head of the School of Psychology, Professor Alison Pike.

   

  (Applause)

   

  [Head of the School of Psychology, Professor Alison Pike, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar.]

   

  Professor Alison Pike:
  Chancellor, I will now present to you for the Bachelor of Science in Psychology...
  Elena Bettison,
  Imogen Byrd,
  Erin Dexter,
  Sinead Lyne,
  Jermaine Russell.

  For the Bachelor of Science in Psychology (with a professional placement year)…
  Teodora ANDREI,
  Giselle-Gloria ARQUER BOATENG,
  Olivia Berry,
  Louise Bridgeman,
  Ariadne Brown,
  Joseph CAMPANIELLO,
  Jessica Casey,
  Roisin Dundon,
  Nancy Firth,
  Lucy Flann,
  Phoebe Green,
  Etienne GROLLEAU-BEGG,
  Martha Haley,
  Evalina Hall,
  Sophie Heney,
  Owen Hole,
  Rebecca Holland-Hicken,
  Michelle Tram-Anh HUYNH,
  Millie Kennedy,
  Jade LANGRAN,
  Jane LEWINGTON,
  Louiza Ludwig,
  Ellen Martin.
  Also awarded the Allison Jolly Award for the best final-year project in Comparative Psychology; Christina MAVROMICHALI.
  Also awarded the Peter B Smith Prize for the best final-year project in Social and Applied Psychology; Lucy Mills.
  Kerry MOOR,
  Freya MORRIS.
  Also the recipient of the George Butterworth Award for the best final-year project in Developmental Science; Taysa-Ja NEWMAN.
  Caitlin Noble,
  Emmi OERTEL,
  Juhi Jitendra PARMAR,
  Anna Pettitt,
  Sara QURESHI,
  Gabriella Ross,
  Mariola Ruiz Diez,
  Viviana TARNOWSKA,
  Kezia TERRY,
  Sophia WALKER,
  Francesca WEBSTER,
  Woody WOOTTEN.

  For Psychology (with a study abroad year)…
  Rebecca Edwards,
  Amy Fielding,
  Alexander Gibbs,
  Vasiliki KARAGIORGI,
  Emily MCLAUGHLIN,
  Ellena ROLLOCK,
  Ruairi WILLIAMS.

  For Psychology with Business Management…
  George Adams,
  Ariti ARGYROPOULOU NIARCHOU,
  Laila ATTIYA,
  James BARONI-HARRISON,
  Emma BLEATHMAN,
  Ellie Cole,
  Ella FARRER,
  Ismaeel KHAN,
  Yasmin KHOURY,
  Daniel Leers,
  Madison LENEY,
  Tessa LEY,
  Eloise MCINERNEY,
  Reina OWADA,
  Maria Camila PRICOLO,
  Emilia SQUIRES,
  Lauren STREAMES,
  Oscar WILSON,
  Harry WINTOUR.

  For Psychology with Business Management (with a professional placement year)…
  Dominic Brooks,
  Avanee Minal CHOUDHARY,
  Oshun KAID-ADETI.

  For Psychology with Business Management (with a study abroad year)…
  Dejah MCCOURTIE-HARRIOTT,
  Tobias BANNISTER-PARKER,
  Felicia Maria BORROMEO,
  Eleanor BURCH,
  Grace BUTLER,
  Fiona CAHILL,
  Yat Wai Alex CHAN,
  Amelia Arlette Marianne Dayabanty DASS,
  Carla DAVIS SÁNCHEZ,
  Sarah EDWARDS,
  Ore-Oluwa FAYEMIWO,
  Maya HATFIELD,
  Sophie HOLLANDS,
  Tereza KRALIKOVA,
  Celine MANGWANA,
  Eliza MAY-OMIADZE,
  James MILES,
  Alana MINNS,
  Minnie MOLYNEUX.
  Also awarded the Civic Engagement Prize; Jessica Neal.
  Katie NORTH,
  Paula ORTIZ TORRES,
  Roksena PLACHKINOVA,
  Mia SHERLEY-DALE,
  Roxanne SHERRATT,
  Ninawa SHLIMON,
  Emma SIZER,
  Abigail SPILLER,
  Naimah SULTANA,
  Adara TYLER-AHMED,
  Callum WHITSON,
  Isabella YIAKOUMAKI RODRIGUES,
  Keyna Akshaya YUDISTIRA,
  Daria ZABOLOTNII.

  For Psychology with Clinical Approaches (with a professional placement year)…
  Holly Baird,
  Agna BENOY,
  Shu Kiu Priscilla CHOI,
  Jack Gardner,
  Ally GOODGAME,
  Tanya RAMFUL,
  Shirin YAZDIAN.

  For Psychology with Cognitive Science…
  Lucas Elvin,
  Julia Orana.

  For Psychology with Cognitive Science (with a study abroad year)…
  Harriet Oliver.

  For Psychology with Criminology…
  Leonie Alger,
  Elspeth BOUSTOULER,
  Ella BOXSHALL,
  Elissa Brown,
  Charlie Connolly,
  Mia Earl,
  Isabella ENDACOTT,
  Amie George,
  Cecily Green,
  Ella HASTIE,
  Dedy HORDIJK,
  Maya JACOBI-SALAZAR,
  Caitlin LANG,
  Lisa LUBAC,
  Rosie MAPLE,
  Sophie Michael,
  Thamera O'CONNOR,
  Alice O'Donnell,
  Zara PEART,
  Weronika PIKSA,
  Logan Ramine,
  Eleanor Seymour,
  Yasmin UNSTEAD,
  Roeche VAN TONDER,
  Vita Webb.

  For Psychology with Criminology (with a professional placement year)…
  Giorgia MARZOLA,
  Georgia SAWYER.

  For Psychology with Criminology (with a study abroad year)…
  Rumaysah KHALIF.

  For Psychology with Education (with a professional placement year)…
  Rosheen BANTON.

  For Psychology with Education (with a study abroad year)…
  Neve Roberts.

  For Psychology with Neuroscience…
  Kafa Barham,
  Oliver Bodilly.
  Also the recipient of the Mike Scaife Award for the best final-year project in Cognition, Learning and Innovative Technology; Harrison BROMBLEY,
  Naima CHOWDHURY,
  Amy COTTRILL,
  Tara CUNNANE,
  Rachael DALE,
  Charlotte DRIVER,
  Isabelle FEAVER,
  Eleanora FEGHALI,
  Doga GOK,
  Sophia GOMEZ-LANG,
  Zeena HARESS,
  Emily LOWINGS,
  Vithursh MAJURAN,
  Natalia MALLIAROUDAKI,
  Catherine MAUNDER TAYLOR,
  Gianina Rhaye NAVALTA,
  Marina NIKOLAOU,
  Mariane Amita PUVINDRAN,
  Naomi Cakrawati RAJAGUKGUK,
  Gehna RAJGOR,
  Evridiki RAY,
  Lynne ROBERTSON,
  Ilaria SHOKRALLA HANNA,
  Emanuela SINCLAIR,
  Abby Wardle,
  Adam Whiteley,
  Jonathan Willner,
  Jolie Wratten.

  For Psychology with Neuroscience (with a professional placement year)…
  Natalie BURNELIS,
  Tyler COHEN,
  Sian EVANS,
  Lynne KABBARA,
  Magali Giselle OSTROVIECKI LELCZUK,
  Alicja SZALANSKA,
  Victoria Walters.

  Chancellor, this concludes the list of graduands from the School of Psychology.

  
  [Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Culture, Equality and Inclusion), Professor David Ruebain, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar.]

   

  Professor, David Ruebain:
  Chancellor, I present to you those who are unable to be presented earlier.
  In the school of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, for the degree of Master of Science in Data Science...
  Yetunde Abike BABTUNDE,
  Swati Badriprasad GUPTA,
  Vishal Hiteshkumar PANCHAL.

  In the School of Psychology, for the degree Bachelor of Science in Psychology with Criminology…
  Remi Odetoyinbo.

  For Psychology with Neuroscience…
  Dominica Gollick.

  In the School of Psychology for the degree of Bachelor of Science, Psychology with Economics (with a professional placement year)...
  Tushti SHARMA.

  Chancellor, you have now met all the graduands being presented to you at this ceremony, and the moment has come for the formal conferral of degrees of the University of Sussex.
  I, therefore, ask you to confer degrees on those presented to you and to the other graduands who have indicated their wish to graduate in absentia at this ceremony.

   

  [Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar in the middle of the stage]

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  So here we are. Graduands, if you're able to, could you please stand? Thank you very much. And colleagues behind me, could you also please stand?

   

  [Graduands and staff stand]

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  By the powers invested in me by the University of Sussex. I confer degrees on all those referred to by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor.
  Congratulations. You are now graduates of the University of Sussex!

  
  (Applause and cheer)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  So, that happened.
  Whether your next steps are gainful employment, the search for it, further studies, or some time out, I wish you the very best and hope that you will remain connected to us and each other as alumni.
  This is the moment when the Chancellor is meant to pass on to you some wisdom and advice, fact, chance. I'm still seeking wisdom and I've never felt qualified to pass on advice. But here are some thoughts, which you can feel free to use, ignore, consider or hopefully improve upon. We appear to be living in such troubled times. Turning on the news can be quite overwhelming. Wars, politics, poverty, identity, inequality, climate. Life seems so complicated, but people are complex. History is complex. Our heroes are complex. Complex problems, no doubt require complex solutions. And I think it's really challenging to try and find perspective when one is overwhelmed. So I've tried to reach for a simplicity that I think, and I hope, helps me. I've found the healthiest state to be in is one of gratitude. Feeling grateful makes you feel lucky, and it brings a semblance of calm that opens doors to your own vast reserves of empathy and compassion. When negative stuff inevitably happens to a lucky person, it's just crappy life stuff. You just deal with it and move on. When it happens to someone who feels unlucky, it feels personal. It feels defining, it feels unfair, it feels stressful, and it compounds. Now, sometimes, of course, it's a challenge to find gratitude, but the more you look for it, the easier it becomes to access. 'Cause it then becomes a habit. It just becomes who you are. I think when we feel overwhelmed by the world, or even in life, grief, anger, anxiety, fear, envy love, beauty, any of those things can overwhelm you. We can lose even momentarily perspective. And if we then have to make a decision in that state, we may make decisions that we wouldn't normally make. So the quickest route back to perspective, it is important to feel everything and not deny yourself. But the quickest route back to perspective is to talk to someone, because you get another viewpoint. And actually, just hearing yourself saying it out loud can help clarify things.
  As my mother, probably the nicest person I've ever met, said to me, when you are feeling overrun, all those positive streams, hope, humour, empathy, compassion, inspiration, aspiration, they haven't just stopped. All those streams are still going. it's just that we forget or we feel we can't reach for them. If we do, the loss isn't less of a loss. The tragedy isn't less tragic, but it's not just that anymore. It can also be funny or silly or poetic or inspiring as well. Another viewpoint brings perspective. If we were all on the ceiling of the Brighton Centre right now, the room would not have changed one bit, but we'd certainly be viewing it differently.
  When my dad passed away just over six months ago, I found myself immediately reaching for gratitude. Grateful for the amazing experiences and people I've met. Grateful that I do something that I really love for a living. Grateful for my amazing friends and family, and really grateful that I got to share all of those things with my dad. And I also reached out for empathy and compassion, you know, for myself, for those around me. And why the heck not for people I've never met? The day someone's misery is a source of my joy is the day that I know I've regressed. I've realised that I'm focused on finding common ground, what unites us rather than divides us. Disagreeing after agreeing feels very different to agreeing after disagreeing. I'm hardwired to find a solution. I mean, I don't care who comes up with it. It's not about me. My priority is not to blame or who's at fault, knowing how and why can be really useful later. But first, it's to get to the other side of the problem and there's a better chance if we're working together because it's another viewpoint.
  Abraham Maslow, famous for his hierarchy of needs, said; 'If your only tool is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail'. Now, a word I'm planning and life planning is great, very useful, allows you to see and build steps towards a goal. But planning is linear, right? It has to be. It's like the rungs of a ladder, one step, 2, 3, 4, 5, and you get to the top. Life is the exact opposite. Life is a disruptor full of curve balls, unexpected weird coincidences, the WTFs -World Tennis Federation for the oldies, that's normal. So be okay with your plan and be okay when it's disrupted. The language of our internal monologues, I think, is so important, and you can choose to fill it with positive terms. For example, the phrase 'Better the devil you know' breaking that down, that means I'll accept this rubbish thing now because there may be an even worse thing in the future, which hasn't happened yet. So what happens when you get to that future and the even more horrible thing doesn't transpire? You're now stuck with the thing that you knew was rubbish, and now you can't choose anything better. So what would happen, if instead of seeing that, future, the one that hasn't happened yet, filled with unimaginably awful monsters, you saw that as a bunch of possibilities. And sure, in one scenario you can be worse off, but crucially, in another scenario, you are better off and in probably a hundred or a thousand scenarios it's just different.
  Now, make your decision because now you are making it not based on a future, imagined fear, but you're making it on hope. And when life throws you a curve ball, it's not unexpected. You just adjust to it quicker. I said to my son recently before his driving test, because he was anxious about it. I said; -look, it's impossible to imagine every scenario that comes up, so as long as you've prepared, just imagine dealing with whatever comes up. -And it's a state of mind. It is a choice. I dunno what's coming up, but I know I'll deal with it. Also, I can't fail, sorry. Simply 'cause I don't give myself that choice. I either succeed or learn or both.
  I was involved in a project last year that was over a year in development. I had to put on tons of weight and grow a very big beard. And I flew out to Malaysia and within two weeks, the entire project collapsed and I didn't get a penny. And when I came back, I was chatting to a friend, who said, well, that sounds like an awful experience. And I said, well, that was frustrating, but it was interesting. But I think it'll pay me back. I think that experience will pay me back. I dunno how, and I dunno when, but I think it will. And he said, well, then it will 'cause you've just decided it will. He said, you could have thought about, you know, the weight that you put on and the weight you then had to lose, and the fact that you couldn't get work and you'd sacrifice time and money to do this, but you didn't. You didn't because then that's what that would've become. You just said it will pay me back. So it will. Again, it's a choice. So you have no idea what your future holds. So you may as well fill it with positivity. It may not change the outcome, but your journey to that point will be a lot happier. I've got lived experiences of the untold future. The unexpected future. Now, you may be aware that, Sussex was my first choice when I applied many years ago. I didn't get in. Apparently, my grades weren't "good enough". So I waited 25 years till all of those who were responsible for me, not getting in, had either retired, been deported or imprisoned, or just became plain dead and I got in as chancellor. And my point is, HA, HA, HA, HA! Take that linear planning! I know that was childish. I wanted to act and write since I was five years old. And I know this because when I was five, some uncle, came to the house and said to me, -well, young man, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I said, -actor. And my dad said, -it's pronounced a doctor. Um, It's actually true. An acting career just seemed impossible but the dream was still there, sitting behind, you know, this wall of fear and doubt. At the age of 30, -I did a business and marketing degree. -So at the age of 30, I sued the company I was working for, for breach of contract. Couldn't get any kind of job for two years while it all rattled through the legal process. And at 32, I thought, do you know, I've got nothing to lose. Let me give this acting-writing thing a go. And no one could have foreseen, -I certainly didn't -that within two years I'd been in a successful television show, and it would be the start of a joyous career. And again, I have to say, take that linear planning. Where were you in that?

   

  (Applause)

   

  -Thank you very much. That was like four people really meant it. And then another 10 people thought, should we? and everyone else went. Which is fair enough.
  The other thing -That's very kind of you, but that did feel like charity. There's no winning this for anyone now.

  But I was gonna say, listening to our instincts, I think is really important, because I believe our inner voice is always right. But our instincts speak with exactly the same language, vocabulary, grammar, cadence as our doubts and fears. So how do you know which one's talking? Pause. Listen again. If the answer is coming from a place of love, it's instinct. Always. Listening to my instinct, I discovered something really useful for me that my curiosity, if I could hear it, could be bigger than my fear. And many of my decisions have been based on the question. Do I want to turn the page and find out what happens next? Sometimes I don't. And that's cool as well.
  I’ll leave you with a story. A Native American is chatting to his grandson about a conflict that goes on within people. And he says, the battle between two wolves is inside all of us. One wolf is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego. And the other wolf is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. And the grandson thought for a minute and then asked, well, which wolf wins? And the grandfather replied -the one you feed.
  And finally, the ancient Sanskrit proverb; too many cooks still won't make enough food for an Asian wedding. It's ancient and it's true.
  I hope that you take your talents, your choices, achievements, your compassion, empathy, humour and gratitude, and express it to the world, express it to each other and express it to yourselves. Good luck. We're super proud of you. I am and will remain grateful to you. I officially declare this graduation closed.

   

  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

Download the Ceremony 12 video [MP4 4.2GB]

Ceremony 13 at 1.30pm

Psychology

• Psychology (BSc)
• All postgraduate taught and research courses

•  Video transcript

  https://vimeo.com/991487614

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.]

   

  [Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

  
  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  I declare open this congregation of the University of Sussex.
  I'm delighted as Chancellor to welcome you formally to this graduation ceremony. The warmest welcomes to our honoured guests, our distinguished faculty members, and to those of the professional services here at Sussex. But the warmest welcomes are for you, graduands and your families and friends who join you here today. And to those who may be watching this via live video stream around the world.
  Sussex University was founded as one of the first universities created after the Second World War, almost exactly 63 years ago. And one of the guiding principles was that it should be a forum for ideas beyond convention, embracing concepts and experiences from different backgrounds, cultures and belief systems and then combining these with the best of our own, realising that invention and innovation have no colour, gender, age, or creed. Recognising that interconnectedness had an important part to play in a fast-evolving society. Hence a focus on interdisciplinary teaching and the practical application of concepts and understanding that the world would become not just more interconnected, but a realisation of just how vital that would be and still is. Sussex is proud that graduands from well over a hundred countries receive their degrees at these ceremonies. And it's the simple fact that you all celebrate together, study together, live together, protest together, whinge together, and solve problems together. That continues to give me the greatest belief that we are always, always stronger together. So thank you for continuing to make us a truly global university. And I know that many of you have had to be strong to get to this day. Struggling to balance your studies with home life, in some cases whilst raising children, experiencing loss and sickness, trying to survive on overdrafts loans or family health. But you didn't give up. You didn't give in. You've seen it through to this glorious day.
  Now, some of you may be continuing with further academic study, but for many today may mark the end of your academic journey. And what a journey. It's been a journey that started all those years ago with your first day at nursery or kindergarten where the world was introduced to your remarkable artistic abilities. Blobs of paint and squiggly lines, which you had to explain were obviously your parents. When your musical prowess consisted of basically hitting or blowing something so hard that pets immediately hit under a table and adults were hurled vertically into the air and the final reaction was always the same; "Well done", "That was lovely". And every one of your musical outrages was treated like an aria. And every pastel abomination was treated like a Jackson Pollock. And as you continued to bring home your artistic gems, everyone was treated over the years to kick in the arias in a right load of Pollocks. But "well done", "That was lovely". Then the glory of the teenage years when parts of your body began to grow without warning, you started slamming doors without reason, started sleeping all the time and discovered sarcasm. -Thanks for that. Then those tough pressure-filled exams that led you to Sussex. And calm walks by the beach, juice bars, knitting clubs, playing chess long into the evening and finally to today.
  So shortly, a name will be read out, hopefully approximating to yours, and you will take a mere 20 or so steps across this stage, terrified that you're going to lose your hat or your mortarboard wondering whether the heels were such a good idea after all, wondering whether your flies are open and praying that you don't trip over your gown and end up in the lap of someone in the front row. But if you do, what an array of laps we've arranged for you this morning, check that out! It's like Bridgeton meets Love Island.
  Now I am beholden to tell you or to remind you if you've been up here before that you actually haven't got your degrees, yet. You are graduands and you getting your degree might just depend on how much love you show me when you come up here. No love for the Chancellor - no degree. Seriously, feel free to express yourselves when you come up here in whatever way you want. As long as it's within the bounds of decency and legality. We've had handshakes, we've had hugs, we've had high fives, fist bumps, dabs dancing, press-ups. I'll go along with all of them. Look, if you do decide that you're gonna do press-ups, you're doing them on your own. Okay? I mean, at my age, I can get down but I'm not sure if I can get back up again.
  And family and friends, this is your day too. So when the time comes, do have your cameras ready and feel free to make as much noise as you'd like as your superhero crosses the stage. If any of you are here on your own today, I'll be your family or friend. So no one is alone. Okay?

   

  (Applause)

  
  So I call upon the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, to address the congregation.

   

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

  
  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  Mr. Mayor, distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, supporters, friends, and above all our graduands. The Sussex class of 2024. It is my great honour and an enormous privilege to welcome you to the Brighton Centre for this graduation ceremony.
  As our Chancellor has just said, I'm Sasha Roseneil. I'm the Vice-Chancellor and president of the University of Sussex.
  This is a day of celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have benefited in countless tangible and less tangible ways from the love and support of your family or guardians and carers. From the encouragement of your friends and of course, from the teaching and guidance of the staff at the university. You may also have had support from our alumni and donors who've generously provided scholarships that have enabled some of you to study at Sussex.
  So I'm now going to ask for a little bit of audience participation from you. Graduands, if you are able, would you please stand up and turn to face your friends and loved ones behind you and offer your thanks with a big hearty cheer and a round of applause?

   

  (Graduands stand and give a big round of applause.)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil continues:
  Wonderful. Please be seated again.
  As a university, we at Sussex are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community. And that extends to our celebrations today. This is an important event, not only in the lives of our graduands, but for everyone in this auditorium. Many of whom have travelled a very long way to be with us. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. You come each year from over 130 countries around the world. So we have people in the audience today of many different nationalities and faiths. And amongst everyone gathered here, there is a huge diversity of opinion and belief about almost every matter under the sun. And that diversity of thought is a very special thing, something that Sussex as a university seeks always to uphold and support. We have a foundational commitment to academic freedom and freedom of speech. It's our job as a university to create an environment in which diversity of belief and opinion can be explored. It's our job to nurture the conditions under which our students and staff can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas, where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed. We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death, and the destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as the climate crisis and environmental degradation, giving rise to enormous concern among Sussex students. Many Sussex students and their families and loved ones, I'm sure, hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I'd like to emphasise that the university supports and will always support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of humanity and diversity. That's at the heart of our university community and that is what binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community. So Sussex graduands, I would like to thank you for all that you have contributed to making our university a place of community inclusion and diversity. An open, warm and welcoming place.
  In the two years since I've been vice-chancellor, I've come to realise that Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope and possibility. Alongside your academic work, many of you have taken part in an impressive range of other activities as members and leaders of student societies and groups, and as volunteers helping and supporting others on and off campus. Many of you are today receiving a Spirit of Sussex Award for your positive contributions to the community. From serving as campus ambassadors to fundraising for local causes and creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable. I commend your commitment to your extracurricular activities.
  Over the past two years, I've had the great privilege of meeting many Sussex alumni from the UK, from Asia, Africa and the Americas. And I've been overwhelmed by how many of them have told me how much they loved their time at Sussex and how their experience of studying at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They recalled encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transformed their worldview, as well as making lasting friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you, today's graduands will feel the same in years to come. Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you are leaving a university with a global reputation, a university that is equipped to you with the knowledge and skills to think creatively and critically, to work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective. You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally recognised for their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of their research has informed your education across the disciplines and in the spaces in between. Our research focuses on the urgent concerns of the time. Some of you may have seen our 'Impossible until it's done' banners around Brighton and Hove and on the buses. Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela. This campaign highlights the work we are doing to tackle pollution in rivers, to find ways to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using AI. We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes and ambitions with wider audiences. And Sussex has much to celebrate.
  For the eighth consecutive year, we've been ranked first in the world for Development Studies. This is an outstanding achievement. Not many British universities are first in the world for a subject area. Development Studies which seek understanding of and progress towards global equity and social justice and sustainability. That is very much at the heart of what Sussex is about. One of the key measures of the strength and the impact of a university is the extent to which the publications of its researchers are cited by researchers from other universities and Sussex really does punch above our weight in this respect. This year in the QS World University Rankings, we have nine subjects in the top 10 in the UK for citations with History and Physics and Astronomy, each ranked first in the UK. We were also recognised as the eighth most sustainable university in the UK and joint 26th in the world overall for sustainability as well as 16th in the world for our work on equality. All this means that Sussex research is improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology and influencing the policies of government as well as making a real difference to the protection and regeneration of our natural environment.
  Now I know that many of you graduating today have had difficult life journeys so far, and all of you have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous upheaval this caused to education and social lives. Some of you have struggled with your mental health, some with your physical health. Some of you have faced loss and family disruption during your student days. Each of you who has had a unique route to Sussex and through your time here and each of you will have had your ups and downs. But whatever your Sussex story, I hope when you look back at the time you've been with us, you feel your studies were intellectually challenging and rigorous. That you were stretched, stimulated, and supported to achieve your best. That you're leaving with the knowledge, skills, and personal resources that will stand you in good stead and that you made connections and friendships that will stay with you long into the future.
  You'll now take many different paths as you join our community of over 200,000 alumni worldwide. Sussex alumni include Nobel Laureates and Turner Prize winners, grassroots, campaigners and activists, heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations. And those with less high-profile but no less significant lives and careers. People whose actions and relationships remake and renew the social fabric in small positive ways. Every day, across the globe, in more than 160 countries and in all walks of life, our alumni are sharing the benefits of their Sussex experience to make the world a better place. I know you will do that too.
  So graduands, celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree. Celebrate the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. Celebrate the belief in yourself that's made it possible. And celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.

  
  (Applause)

   

  I call upon the Head of the School of Psychology, Professor Allison Pike.

   

  [Head of the School of Psychology, Professor Allison Pike, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar.]

   

  Professor Allison Pike:
  Chancellor,
  I will now present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Psychology...
  Shreya ACHARYA,
  Ryan ADAMS,
  Eniola ADEKANMBI,
  Leena Fahad ALAHMAD,
  Noor ALHALWACHI,
  Megan ANDERSON,
  Sarah ASGHAR,
  Miriam ASUBONTENG AMOAKO,
  Lucy BACON,
  Freya BARROW,
  Emma BARTON,
  Emma BEARD,
  Lilith BEE,
  Sophie BELFIELD,
  Warwick BELL,
  Megan BENSTEAD,
  Ishani BHAGAT,
  Glenda BIJU,
  Erika BILLESDON,
  Henry BLAKE,
  Ben DE BEAUMONT,
  Leone BOWMAN,
  Anna BRACEY,
  Eleanor BRADLEY,
  Keziah BROPHY,
  Callum BUCHANAN,
  Amy BUNCH,
  Maria BURNETT-KELLY,
  Bella BURNS,
  Husham BUTNARU,
  Lily BUTTERY,
  Courtney CAMERON,
  Emily CHIUSANO,
  Amy CHU,
  Ned CLARKE,
  Leo CLARKE,
  Marcus CLEARE,
  Maisie COLLINS,
  Lauren COOPER,
  Eve Ciara CORRIGAN,
  Sam COTTON,
  Hebe COX,
  Martha COX,
  Jasmine CRABTREE,
  Owen CROUCHER,
  Cameron D'COSTA,
  Ben DADDS,
  Caitlyn DAVIES,
  Ellie DAVIES,
  Holly DAVIES,
  Natalie DAVIES,
  Harrison DEVILE,
  Emily DONALD,
  Kaitlyn DONOGHUE,
  Phoebe DOUGLAS,
  Isabel EDWARDS,
  Daisy-Grace ELBORN,
  Tilly ELGIE,
  Maximilien Hikaru Hirata ELVERSTON,
  Vienna EMBERY,
  Heidi EVANS,
  Sophia EVANS,
  Niesha EZEBUIRO,
  Eleanor FALCONER,
  Laetitia FAWWAZ,
  Keira FEGREDO,
  Emily FENWICK,
  Aaron FERNANDES,
  Clara FISK,
  Benjamin FRANKLIN,
  Hayley FRANKLIN,
  Rianne FRANKLIN,
  Jack FRIEDLEIN,
  Abigail FROST,
  Anna FUREY,
  Millie GARNHAM-SANKEY,
  Abigail GARTON,
  Christina GAUDION,
  Rebecca GILSON-CLARKE,
  Ana GLOMNICU,
  Benjamin GREEN,
  Ethan GREEN,
  Fiona GREEN,
  Ophelia GREENER,
  Jakub GREGORCZYK,
  Melack HABER,
  Hana HALABI,
  Mary HARALAMBOUS,
  John HARDIN,
  Dali HAYWARD,
  Natasha HELM,
  Chae-Lea HEMMINGS,
  Amy Elizabeth HENDRY,
  Shanine HILL,
  Harriet HILLMAN,
  Tawan HODGKINS,
  Tallulah HOLY,
  Jessica HOWETT,
  Abigail JACKSON,
  Amy JACOBS,
  Dulcie JAMES,
  Katie JARMAN,
  Elizabeth JOBSON,
  Hannah JONES,
  Emilia KALLING-SMITH,
  Luke KAUKEL,
  Emily KELLY,
  Humaira Inaya Wohab KHAN,
  Kiran KHAN,
  Kirsty KIESWICH,
  Mia KINGSTON,
  Ealish KINLEY,
  Thomas KIPLING,
  Emily KITCHEN,
  Abigail KNIGHT,
  Melissa KNIGHT,
  Eirini KOULOLI,
  Tamsin LANGRIDGE,
  Joseph LENA,
  Anneke LEVIN,
  Jared LEVITUS MCCULLOCH,
  Shiru LIN,
  Jessica Fung-Yee LIU,
  Emily LOCKER,
  Maximilian LOXLEY,
  Francesca MAIELLANO,
  Zara MALIK,
  Lucy MASSINGHAM,
  Ella MATTHEWS,
  Tamira MCFARLANE,
  Alexander MCHUGH,
  Evan MCINTOSH,
  Olivia MICELI,
  Letitia May Deighton MILLAR,
  Alaitz MILLET-CAMPAS,
  Danielle MILLIDINE,
  Alexander MILNE,
  Bethany MONDAY,
  Austin MOORE,
  Camilla MOORE,
  Harry MOORE,
  Grace MORGAN,
  Daisy MORRISSEY,
  Mantas MUCHARSKIS,
  Anna MURPHY-O'CONNOR,
  Gayaththri MURUGANANTHAN,
  Amber NAISH,
  Martha NATIVIDAD,
  Sophie NETTLE,
  Jasper NYGATE,
  Niamh O'SULLIVAN GARVEY,
  Vanessa OSINSKA,
  Holly OWEN,
  Sevval OZKAN,
  Angelita PAK SAMAY,
  Catriona PARISH,
  Daisy PECKHAM,
  Heather PELL,
  Mariachiara PERUZZO,
  Caitlin PETZER,
  Olivia PILLING,
  Amelia POOLE,
  Karen QUAINOO,
  Madeleine QUIGLEY,
  Alessandra RADO,
  Dionne REIGNIER,
  Harriet RICHARDSON,
  Kathryn ROGERS,
  Lucy ROWE,
  Hannah RUSSELL,
  Rejdeep SAGAR,
  Sehar SALMAN,
  Iman SAMI,
  Anna SAUNDERS,
  Amelie SCALPELLO,
  Fiona SCHWERZEL,
  Zeerak SHAHBAZ,
  Nur Iman Sofea Binti SHAHRULANUAR,
  Bianca SIMINEA,
  Shibaani SIVADHARSAN,
  Abigail SMITH,
  Lucy SMITH,
  Emma SOLIMENO,
  Gabriella SPALDING,
  Georgia SQUIBB,
  Sibile STANKEVICIUTE,
  Athena STEFATOU,
  Emily STERN.
  Also awarded the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Award for the top final-year project in Mental Health or Wellbeing; Tabitha STEVENSON,
  Sophie STOCKWELL,
  Andreya STOYNEVA,
  Samantha STRANGE,
  Lola STRUTT SALLES,
  Ruby SULLIVAN,
  Frederick SWEENEY,
  Wing Lam TANG,
  Hayley TILEY,
  Jessica TOWNER,
  Susan-Maria TRIGNANO,
  Ffion UNDERWOOD,
  Franklin VANDERPOOL,
  Signe VESSEY,
  Sarah VINES,
  Katie WALDRON,
  Lauren WALKERS,
  Dionne WALLIS,
  Martha WALSH,
  Hannah WARDILL,
  Francesca WARE,
  Grace WEBB,
  Kate WEBLEY,
  Katie WILFORD,
  Freya WILSON,
  Jack WINSHIP,
  Milosz WISNIEWSKI,
  Alfred WRIGHT,
  Yemisi WUSU,
  Ines XAVIER BORGES MAGANO,
  Siqing XI,
  Jingxiong XU,
  Alexander YOUNAS.

  For Psychology (with a professional placement year)…
  Annabel Lam.

  For Psychology with Clinical Approaches and with a professional placement year...
  Also awarded the Stuart Sutherland Prize for an outstanding third-year project; Sinead MOORE.

  Chancellor, this concludes the first part of the list of graduands from the School of Psychology.

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I call upon the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Culture, Equality and Inclusion, Professor David Rubain to present Baroness Jane Campbell.

  
  [Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Culture, Equality and Inclusion, Professor David Rubain, goes to Baroness Jane Campbell. They shake hands, and both move to the centre of the platform. Professor David Rubain goes to the lectern to deliver his oration.]

  
  Professor David Rubain:
  Chancellor, 65 years ago, Jane Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton was born with spinal muscular atrophy and given a life expectancy of two years.
  Jane came into a world which for disabled people was characterised by discrimination, segregation, and little expectation. However, today we honour her for her distinguished career as a Disability Rights Campaigner, and now, a Life Peer.
  From the age of 10, Jane rebelled. Sent to a special school for disabled children, she became angry that her education largely involved weaving baskets, while her sister at a regular mainstream school had a full curriculum of interesting subjects.
  At 16, she attended a further education college for disabled people where her academic capabilities were finally given the chance to flourish. She took O and A levels followed by a Bachelor's degree at what was then Hatfield Polytechnic, now the University of Hertfordshire, and luckily for us found her way to Sussex to do a Master's in Political History, already an advocate for Women's Rights with Sylvia Pankhurst being among her idols. Jane soon realised after graduation that she would be fighting another battle.
  Despite good degrees, she struggled to get a job. When she did finally find employment as an admin assistant with a disability charity and it became evident that she was unable to use a manual typewriter -this was in the 1980s, she was sacked and told that she was unemployable. Around this time, she found the Disability Rights Movement, the growing collection of individuals and organisations that coalesced around the emerging social model understanding of disabled lives. Put simply this posited that disability itself or impairment, the medical or quasi-medical condition is not so much the problem, rather, it is society's response, the exclusion, discrimination, and attitudinal fear and bias. That is when Jane became involved in and a leader of the campaign for independent living and for direct payments to facilitate this. I first met Jane around that time when I too found myself in the Disability Movement and its transformative ideas. I eventually became Vice Chair of the 'Rights Now Campaign' when Jane was involved during the growing campaigns for inclusive education, transport work, and for civil rights legislation to enshrine legal protection for disabled people. Jane was among wheelchair users, blockading Westminster Bridge, and despite some sympathy from some police, being arrested for doing so.
  Over the years, she has fought for human rights with passion and conviction. I again worked with her when she was a commissioner on both the Disability Rights Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. She serves on the board of the Civil Liberties Trust, is patron of several disability rights charities and president of the Scott Morgan Foundation a world-leading research charity dedicated to liberating disabled people's capabilities through technology.
  In 2007, Jane was awarded a life period and became an independent crossbench in the House of Lords. As Baroness Campbell of Surbiton. Even then, she had to challenge a 300-year-old rule about who was allowed into the chamber so that her personal assistant could accompany her. It took two years for this reasonable adjustment to be agreed.
  The disability movement doesn't really do heroes. We are often wary of such an approach, which foregrounds viewpoints of triumph over tragedy in a way that can distance disabled people from everyone else. However, Jane has truly been a role model and a beacon of hope for all those who have felt excluded and discriminated against. Indeed, she acknowledges that her achievements have been because of her impairments, not despite them. She encourages all of us to accept ourselves as we are and to love our differences.
  Chancellor, I present to you for the degree of Doctor of the University, honoris causa, Jane Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton.

  
  [Applause]

  
  [Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar stands and shakes hands with Baroness Jane Campbell.]

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  By the authority of the Senate of the University, it gives me enormous pleasure to confer upon you, the degree Doctor of the University, honoris causa.
  Many congratulations.

  
  Baroness Jane Campbell:
  Thank you, Chancellor. Thank you, Vice-Chancellor. Thank you, Professor, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, who is also, by the way, a freedom fighter like me but he didn't get arrested.
  This is my sister Sharon. (Points to the woman siting next to her) She's going to read my words whenever it becomes a bit too tricky for me to say them, which is gonna be quite soon.
  But I want to say hello, Sussex, hello all of you, graduands. I'm sitting here in awe of your achievements. It takes me back, I have to say, a long way back. And did you really have to say my age, David? But it takes me back to my own graduation 42 years ago. Yes, I know you weren't born.
  Many things have changed since then, but some things, some things are timeless, like the pride of your families and loved ones, and rightly so. Your achievements are also their achievements and not forgetting Sussex's University. This amazing progressive university, gave me something very special that I only came to understand later. My relationship with the University of Sussex goes back to 1982. I arrived here to do an MA in History and Politics.
  Why did I choose Sussex? Well, the truth is I didn't. There were only two universities in the whole country willing to accept someone with my level of disability. While almost every other university saw me as too difficult, Sussex welcomed me. It is true to say I didn't choose Sussex. Sussex chose me. And today, Sussex has chosen me again to accept this great honour. I cannot express how much it means to me. Sussex had confidence in me 42 years ago, and I've been grateful for that ever since. It inspired me to push boundaries in conventional thinking and ask, how can we change things for the better. It's about not accepting that something is too difficult, and it inspired my career choices ever since. That's what you are going to do.
  Sussex University is where I met my lifelong friend, Joanna, another wheelchair user. We didn't get on at first because we both resented being in the house together just because the building suited our access needs. Thankfully, we got over ourselves and recognised our mutual mischievous determination not to be defined by disability. We called a truth. We later worked and campaigned together. She's with us today, along with my friend Francis, and once job share, also a Sussex graduate. Three do strong women. Sussex did us proud. Please put the effort into keeping friendships you've made at university. The temptation is to let life get in the way, but do stay in touch with those you have enjoyed this time with as they are part of your rich story.
  Finally, I want to mention my mum. She was the most amazing support to me. From the moment I took my first breath, she was told I wouldn't live to see my first birthday, but she was determined to ensure I had the best life possible, be it short or long. It took great strength and wisdom to fight for my independence. And what she really wanted to do was to keep me safe at home. She was another strong woman. My mom was really looking forward to being here today. Sadly, she had a faithful fall three weeks ago. Still, I'd like to think that she is watching over us now. You know, Mom was the best person to have on my side, and you'll have one of those in this audience here today. Someone who supports you, someone who believes in you unconditionally.
  So I am so grateful to have also had the University of Sussex on my side too. First in 1982 and again today. Do you know? I'm so blessed, and I hope you feel that way too. Thank you.

   

  (Applause)

   

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:
  I call upon the Head of the School of Psychology, Professor Alison Pike.

   

  [Head of the School of Psychology, Professor Allison Pike, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As she reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar.]

   

  Professor Allison Pike:
  Chancellor, I will now present to you for Graduate Diploma in Children's Wellbeing Practice...
  Blair Autumn MAYNARD.

  For the Postgraduate Certificate in Low-Intensity Psychological Interventions for Children and Young People - Children's Wellbeing Practitioner Pathway...
  Matthew James JARZECKI.

  For Mental Health Wellbeing Practice…
  Shannon Elizabeth BAIGENT,
  Joanna BROOM,
  Rebecca Lauren CHEAL,
  Chaz HILL, - I just wanna say I've been learning in the NHS for two years in October. Protect the NHS, pray, and pay the nurses. They are the backbone. And to my family and friends, Woo-hoo!
  Alison WAITE.

  For Psychology of Kindness and Wellbeing at Work…
  Victoria Claire HENNESSY,
  Toni HORN.

  For the Postgraduate Diploma in Children’s Wellbeing Practice…
  Lauryn HARRIS,
  Holly Smith.

  For Education Mental Health Practice…
  Maria KHAN.

  For Psychological Therapy…
  Philip Watkin.

  For the degree of Master of Science in Cognitive Neuroscience…
  Carmen PLEVIN,
  Sian POOLE,
  Olivia RATLIFF.

  For Experimental Psychology (Conversion)…
  Harriet LOCKWOOD,
  Alec SAINT,
  Aideen SMITH-WATSON.

  For Foundations of Clinical Psychology and Mental Health…
  Josephine KYRIACOU,
  Stuart WARREN.

  Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...
  For the thesis;
  "Understanding Individual Differences in sweet taste liking and their implications for obesity: an interdisciplinary approach"
  Rhiannon ARMITAGE.

  For the thesis;
  "Identities in Exile: Social identity change and the experience of forced migration"
  Susie BALLENTYNE.

  For the thesis;
  "Beyond resources: How Social Class Contexts Shape women's body image in the United Kingdom"
  Jamie CHAN.

  For the thesis;
  “Coping Together with Dementia: What facilitates effective emotional support between people with dementia and their family carers?"
  Carmen Natalie Monique COLCLOUGH.

  For the thesis;
  "An examination of the cognitive and physiological mechanisms of interpretation bias modification"
  Anthony COLLINS.

  
  For the thesis;
  "Working Together During Major Incidents and emergencies: Optimising interoperability using the social identity approach"
  Louise Davidson.

  For the thesis;
  "The influence of Apolipoprotein E isoform on attention across the lifespan"
  Cansu DAMIRBATIR.

  For the thesis;
  "Digital mental health interventions: Exploring the implementation of digital practice for BPD/EUPD symptomatology and delivery of an eHealth platform within an NHS mental healthcare service"
  Elea DREWS WINDECK.

  For the thesis;
  "Intervention for School Anxiety and absenteeism in children (ISAAC): Co-designing and piloting an online parent-focused programme for emotionally based school avoidance in primary school-aged children"
  Brontë MCDONALD-HARPER.

  For the thesis;
  “Exploring the cortical representations of objects and colour in natural scenes: Ventral food streams, voxel-preferred images, and object-colour probabilities"
  Ian Pennock.

  Chancellor, this concludes the list of graduands from the School of Psychology.

   

  [Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor, David Rubain, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar.]

   

  Professor David Rubain:
  Chancellor, I present to you those who were unable to be presented earlier.

  For the degree of Master of Science in Genetics in the School of Life Sciences...
  Sydney Barrell.

  For the Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences...
  For the Thesis;
  "The Desarguesian projective plane of order eleven and related codes"
  Awss Jabbar Majeed AL-OGAIDI.

  For the degree of Bachelor of Science in the in Psychology in the School of Psychology...
  Emily West,
  Huizhong XUE.

  For the degree of Master of Science in Cognitive Neuroscience...
  Alexandra Siganon.

  Chancellor, you have now met all the graduands being presented to you at this ceremony, and the moment has come for the formal conferral of degrees of the University of Sussex.
  I, therefore, ask you to confer degrees on those presented to you and to the other graduands who have indicated their wish to graduate in absentia at this ceremony.

   

  [Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar in the middle of the stage]

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  Graduands, if you're able to, could you please stand?
  And colleagues behind me, if you wouldn't mind standing as well?

   

  [Graduands and staff stand]

   

  
  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  By the authority given to me by the Senate of the university, I formally confer degrees on all those just mentioned by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor.
  Congratulations, Sussex University graduates.

   

  (Applause and cheer)

   

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:
  So that happened.
  Can I just say, you all looked great coming up here.
  Most of you smelled great as well. You know who you are. I'm joking, of course.
  Congratulations again.
  And before I forget because I haven't written this down, but just in response to Baroness Campbell was saying, I think it was such a great example of the importance of writing your own story, and that if you don't write it, someone else will. And if someone else writes your story, it may not be the story you'd want to tell about yourself. And it reminded me of that fantastic Maya Angelou quote; "People may forget what you did. People may forget what you said. People will never forget the way you made them feel." And both of those came to mind with Jane's wonderful speech. So, graduates, whether your next steps are gainful employment, the search for it, further studies, or simply some time out. I wish you the very best and hope that you will remain connected to us and to each other as alumni.
  This is the moment when the Chancellor is meant to pass on to you some wisdom and advice, faith, and chance. I'm still seeking wisdom. I've never felt qualified to give anyone advice. Even the cat doesn't listen to me. But here are some thoughts that I've had and feel free to use, ignore, consider, or hopefully even improve upon. It may be a bit whistle-stop, but I'll go through it as quickly as I can. Obviously, we appear to be living in such troubled times. Turning on the news can be quite overwhelming. Wars, politics, poverty, identity, inequality, climate life seems so complicated, but people are complex and societies are complex. History is complex. Our heroes are complex. Complex problems, no doubt require complex solutions. And I think it's really challenging to find perspective when you feel overwhelmed.
  So I've tried to reach for simplicity that I think -I hope works and helps me.
  I found the healthiest state to be in is one of gratitude. Feeling grateful makes you feel lucky. And feeling lucky is an incredible force field. It brings a semblance of calm. You're not comparatively lucky. You just feel lucky. So it's not judgmental. And it opens the doors to your own vast reserves of empathy and sympathy and compassion. And when negative stuff inevitably happens to a lucky person, it's just crappy life stuff. It's just stuff. You just deal with it and move on.
  When it happens to someone who feels unlucky, it gets compounded and it feels personal. It feels defining unfair, which is a lot of stress to carry around. And sometimes it's a challenge to find gratitude. But the more you look for it, the easier it becomes to access it. Until it's just a habit and it's just who you are.
  When we feel overwhelmed by the world or you know, within our lives, grief, anger, anxiety, fear, envy, love, beauty, we can lose even momentarily, perspective. And if we have to make choices and make decisions in that moment, they may not be the decisions we would otherwise make. And it's important to feel what you feel. It's very important not to deny every emotion that comes your way, but the quickest route back to perspective, I think, is to talk to someone, is to get another viewpoint. And actually just hearing yourself saying it out loud can sometimes be really helpful in terms of, clarifying it.
  As my mother, probably the nicest person I've ever met said to me, when you are feeling overrun, all those streams of positive traits, hope, humour, empathy, compassion, inspiration, aspiration, they haven't stopped. They're still running. It is just that we forget or don't feel we can reach out for them because we're overwhelmed by something hard and difficult. But if we do reach out for them, the loss isn't less of a loss. The tragedy isn't less of a tragedy, but that's not all it is. It can now be also something that's funny or silly or poetic or inspiring as well. It's another viewpoint. And that brings perspective. I mean, if we were all on the ceiling of the Brighton Centre right now, the room wouldn't have changed one bit other than our viewpoint on it. When my dad passed away just over six months ago, I found myself then being well-trained by my mom, immediately reaching for gratitude. And I was grateful for amazing experiences and people that I've met, grateful that I do something that I really love, grateful for my amazing friends and family. And really, really grateful that I got to share all of those things with my dad. And I also reached for empathy and compassion for myself, for those around me. And then, you know, what the heck for people I've never met? The day that someone's misery is the source of my joy is the day that I know I've seriously regressed as a human being. And I've realised that there's a couple of things, I'm sort of hardwired to. I'm focused on finding common ground first. What unites us rather than what divides us. Disagreeing after agreeing feels very, very different to trying to agree after you disagreed. And also, I'm hardwired to find a solution. I don't care whether I find it or someone else finds it. It's not about me.
  My priority is not to blame or to find fault. Knowing how or why, can be really useful later, but first, get to the other side of the problem and there's a better chance if we're working together. Again, it's that viewpoint perspective thing.
  Abraham Maslow, famous for his hierarchy of needs, said, if your only tool is a hammer, every problem is gonna look like a nail. A quick word on planning and life planning, very good, great, really useful. Allows you to see and build steps up towards a goal. But it's linear, right? I mean, it's gotta be, it's like rungs of a ladder, 1, 2, 3, 4, and then you get to the top. Life is the exact opposite. Life is a disruptor full of curve balls and unexpected weird coincidences. The WFS, (that's World Tennis Federation for the oldies) and that, but that's normal. That is absolutely normal. So, be okay with your plan and be okay when life disrupts it. The language of our internal monologues is so important. You can choose to fill it with positive terms. For example, I was thinking about this not that long ago, the phrase 'better the devil you know', if you break that down, it means; I'll accept this thing, which I know is a bit rubbish right now, because in the future there might be something incredibly awful that's sitting there. So I'll accept the terrible thing right now. So what happens when you get to that future and the terrible thing, even worse thing hasn't turned up? Now you're stuck with the thing that you knew was rubbish from the beginning. And now you can't take advantage of any of the positives around you. So what would happen instead of seeing that future filled, a future which hasn't been written yet, filled with unimagined horrors that you saw as possibilities, right? And sure, one of those possibilities is in one scenario, things could be worse than they are now. But then you have to accept that in one scenario it could be better. And there's probably a hundred or probably a thousand scenarios, which are just different.
  Now make your decision. Now you're not making it based on some unquantifiable imagined fear that you filled the future with, but it's based on hope. And that's gotta be a better starting point, isn't it? Because when life throws you a curve ball, you just adjust to it quicker. It's not a surprise. It's what life does. I said to my son recently before his driving test, it's impossible to imagine every scenario that will come up. So as long as you are prepared, just imagine you dealing with anything that comes up. And that's a really powerful place to start from because you're not imagining specifics. It's a state of mind where you go, -yeah, whatever comes up, I'm dealing with it. It's fine.
  -Also, I can't fail, sorry. Simply 'cause I don't give myself that choice. I can succeed or I can learn, or both. That's it. It's a choice of words. It's a choice of language. I was involved in a project last year, that was over a year in development. It was a TV series, a proposed TV series. And I grew a big beard for it, I put on quite a lot of weight, and flew out to Malaysia on this thing that we'd been working on just over a year. And within two weeks, the entire project collapsed. Didn't happen. I didn't get a penny across that whole thing. And when I came back, I was chatting to a friend who said,
  -well, that sounds like an awful experience.
  -And I said; you know, it was frustrating. -I have to be honest. It was quite interesting as well to see how this, you know, house of cards fell. But I said,
  -you know, I think this experience will pay me back. I dunno how, I dunno when, but I think it will. -And he said, -well, it will then. 'cause you just decided you could have looked at that same thing and said, look at all that weight to put on. I've now gotta lose it. There's kind of health stuff and you know, all the work that you turned down and, and all that.
  -And he said; and then it would've just been that, but you've decided it'll pay you back. So it will. -So just again, positivity. Because you don't know what your future holds. Really, you might as well fill it with positivity. I mean, it may not change the outcome, but your journey to the outcome be a lot happier. I've got lived experiences of the inexplicable amazing future instead of the dark one. You may be aware that Sussex was, or you may not be aware, that Sussex was my first choice when I was applying to universities many years ago. I didn't get in. Apparently my grades weren't good enough. So, I took my business elsewhere and I waited for 25 years until all those who had prevented me from getting in had either retired, been deported, were in prison, or had just become plain dead and I got back in as chancellor!
  So my point is, take that linear planning! -I'm aware that was childish.
  And also, I wanted to act and write since I was five years old. And I know this because when I was five, some uncle came to the house and said, -well, young man, what do you want to be when you grow up? -And I said, -actor. -And my dad said, -it's pronounced doctor. That's actually true.
  So, you know, a career seemed impossible, but the dream was still there sitting behind this kind of sea of fear and doubt. And at the age of 30, I sued the company I was working for breach of contract. And I couldn't get any kind of job for two years while this kind of like rattled through the legal process. And so at 32, I called a friend of mine and said, -should we just write some stuff and be creative? -'cause it'll just kill time. And effectively thought, well, I'll have a go, I suppose. And I could not have seen and nor could anyone else that just two years later I would've been in a successful television show that within the start of a career that miraculously I still have.
  So again, I have to say, take that linear planning. Where were you in that story?
  Listening to our instinct, I think is really important. I believe our inner voice, which is our instinct, is always right. But it speaks with the exact language, vocabulary, grammar, cadence as our doubts and fears. So how do we know it's our instinct talking and not doubt and fear? Pause. Listen again. If the answer comes from a place of love, it's your instinct. Always. Listening to my instinct, I discovered that my curiosity can be bigger than my fear of things. And so many of the decisions that I've made have been based simply on the question. Do I want to turn the page and find out what happened? Sometimes I don't. And that's fine as well. But I check in with that.
  I leave you with a story. A Native American is chatting to his grandson about a conflict that goes on inside of people continuously.
  He said, -The battle between two wolves is inside us all. One wolf is evil. It is anger, it is envy, jealousy, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego. The other wolf is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. -And the grandson thought for a minute and then asked -Which wolf wins? -And the grandfather replied, -The one you feed.
  And finally, the ancient Sanskrit proverb; Too many cooks still won't make enough food for an Asian wedding. It's ancient and it's true.
  I just wanna say, because this is the end of the week, I only managed to do today, the two ceremonies today because I was filming the rest of the week. But I know that I usually take this opportunity on the Friday to add a special thanks to Asana Marco, who is extraordinary.
  Now, I can't help this, but Marco has to sign everything I'm saying. This is when the I'm appearing on my shoulder and I say, 'I am Marco'. I will be competing in the Olympics in synchronised swimming, but on my own on the weekends. I love to dance. The dance of love. Yeah, look at that.
  We all need a Marco in our lives. Oh, he has to sign that as well. I forgot.
  So, graduates, I hope you take your talents, your choices, your achievements, your compassion, your empathy, your humour and your gratitude. And express it to the world, express it to each other and take time to express it to yourself as well. Good luck. We're super proud of you. I am and will remain grateful to you. I officially declare this graduation closed.

   

  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

   

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