Imperial College Business School - CHERS and CLCC
[Music] [Music] [Music] members of court and counsel colleagues distinguished honorees graduates family and friends it is my honor as president of imperial college london to welcome you to our virtual celebration let me begin by remembering the families friends and colleagues who have lost loved ones or suffered the severe effects of the coronavirus pandemic our thoughts are with you today is a celebration it is also a reminder of the privileges and responsibilities that come with an imperial education it reminds us that we can each contribute to helping one another and benefiting society it reminds us that we are truly a global community graduates congratulations we are joining together from all over the world to celebrate your accomplishments to applaud your many talents and to wish you well in all that awaits you you have worked hard at your studies and you have excelled despite very world different world circumstances than you expected you have also excelled outside the lecture halls and laboratories as inventors entrepreneurs musicians dancers actors singers and athletes your volunteering to help others has been more important than ever let's recognize those who support was essential during your time at imperial your families and friends are always there when you need them they share in your triumphs and we celebrate with them our academics who will join you in your departmental celebration are dedicated researchers and educators the best in their fields they and many others have shared their knowledge they have challenged and inspired you they deserve our thanks graduates the world needs people with your intelligence your passion your commitment to using your knowledge to find new ways forward through the challenges we face you are ready for what's ahead you may have had the chance as i did with my son david to ride the longest roller coaster in europe called the ultimate it's a mile and a half ride in yorkshire that lasts for about seven minutes that's a long ride for a roller coaster it looks benign a graceful wooden coaster set amid a beautiful landscape of wooded countryside the ride begins quite innocently with a lift hill long smooth hills and bunny hops then there is a second lift hill and a turn to the left toward the woods soon warning signs appear hang on i was already gripping the safety bar for dear life chaos follows rapid turns jolt you left or right you want to close your eyes but you must watch to see which direction you will be thrown you brace yourself for what's to come this is what 2020 has been like a benign beginning followed by the many twists and turns created by the pandemic the speed with which it grew in march was shocking with little warning you needed to pack up change plans and finish your studies remotely and you did you adapted you persevered you were resilient you passed a test that you didn't foresee you demonstrated qualities that will serve you well in your professional and personal lives the world changed for us all we work and communicate differently we have tempered our plans we know that we must do more with less our staff have made transformative changes to the ways we collaborate and teach our multi-mode provision combines the best of remote learning with valuable in-person time in laboratories studios and practical training the pandemic has accelerated these changes causing us to think hard about two important questions how do we best use our valuable time together in person and what can we accomplish by connecting from a distance these questions have been acute during the crisis and will persist long into the future we will need to continue to weigh options that can reduce travel save time and maximize our connections as our time together in person is limited we cherish it even more i hope that among the many things you will remember about imperial you will look back on the valuable experiences you had working with listening to learning from and spending time with others whether it was students in your course or friends from societies or residences or staff you came to know sharing ideas and building lasting relationships are valuable lifelong assets the imperial college community will always be a part of who you are as you think back to the people you met the things you learned and the experiences you had remember what all this meant to you as you departed last spring here are three thoughts to leave you with first use your imperial education the knowledge the experiences and the friendships you made here to navigate whatever the future brings second stay in touch you will be inspired by the ways our staff students and alumni are working to mitigate the impacts of covid19 pollution the cyber revolution poverty chronic disease and more and thirdly maintain connections with your friends professors lecturers readers tutors wardens technicians and mentors their collective experience is a resource for making decisions and opening doors we may be in for another loop or two on the ultimate you are ready to deal with the jolts you will continue to navigate the challenges ahead with the tenacity and courage that is a hallmark of imperial alumni imperial is an institution focused on scientific experimentation to discover test learn and adapt and i'm greatly impressed that all of our students have tackled the global experiment created by the pandemic with resilience resolve and compassion as we celebrate your achievements it is also an opportunity to say thank you to those whose help has been instrumental in your success you can share your messages of thanks to your friends and colleagues who have supported you by using the live chat box on the online graduation webpage together we would like to thank your teachers tutors and support staff for their work and ingenuity in adapting your education to the present and for their guidance and inspiration during your studies thank you to your families and friends that have been your backup teams throughout your time here and thank you our students for the commitment and hard work you have shown over your time at imperial in a particularly trying final year you have contributed to imperial's vibrant community of thinkers and doers and added to all aspects of imperial life through this most unprecedented period you have worked incredibly hard to achieve your degree in adverse circumstances you should be very proud of your achievements well done i'm abigail the president of imperial college union and it's a privilege to be able to address you all today although the circumstances aren't ideal i hope you enjoyed today's celebration and that we get a chance to see you in person again once the external circumstances have improved first and foremost we're here today to celebrate the academic achievements of this community all of you should be extremely proud to have reached this point imperial graduates are among the brightest and best if i do say so myself friends and family watching might also want to pat themselves on the back it's so often their support that keeps us going through challenging degrees we're also here to celebrate your achievements outside the classroom studying at imperial grants us access to some great opportunities which thousands take advantage of each year on one side there are the cutting edge research opportunities and academic societies which support the education of other students as well as those in the wider community on the other there are student societies spanning sport art music drama culture faith recreation and discussion run by and for students to which so many of you have dedicated yourselves over your time at the college as i'm sure you will attest these activities are extremely important they keep us rounded and give us the real world skills that complement the knowledge we attain to study now is a good time to reflect on all the aspects of university life that you've experienced and the vitality you've brought to our community and your time at imperial it's worth taking a moment to celebrate the diversity of this community imperial is a tremendously diverse place not only in terms of age culture and creed but much more importantly in terms of thought while everyone who makes it here is extremely intelligent their individual ideas can vary significantly this is instructive both because it teaches us that the color of your skin or your place of birth don't necessarily correlate with similarities in thinking and also because of the productive tension that this diversity of thought engenders to the benefit of science and society as a whole in the long run speaking of science and at a risk of delving into cliche that we now stand on the shoulders of giants in the future it will be our shoulders on which others stand this is worth bearing in mind what sort of foundations do we want to lay for those who follow us how can we address important issues and ensure the work we do stands to benefit the world as a whole going forward it really is in our hands thank you for your contributions to our community and i wish you the very best of luck in your future endeavors i would like to offer my warm congratulations and thanks to you for the hard work and determination you have shown in reaching this significant moment the past year has put many challenges in your way on top on top of the not inconsiderable matters of course work examinations dissertations theses and vivas the commitment and integrity you have demonstrated through these taxing months makes your achievements all the more commendable and there have been so many of your achievements to celebrate from the center for languages culture and communication we saw fantastic initiatives being led by our msc science communication and science media production students and also those same masters students exemplary determination in accomplishing their summer practical projects from the centre for higher education research and scholarship our students have produced some equally remarkable work particularly impressive given that many were simultaneously at the forefront of our clinical and educational responses to covid the masters of university learning and teaching is always a challenge as extremely busy staff fit their part-time studies around busy personal and professional lives also for most they are venturing from the comfort of their expertise in science engineering and medical disciplines to return to being a student exploring a social science for the first time the whole cohort have been hugely impressive rising to this challenge and producing some remarkable work of particular note were peter fitch who was awarded the pg surprise for an outstanding portfolio that linked to critical engagement with education literature with practice and demonstrated a clear commitment to innovative teaching and learning emma passmore who gained a diploma prize for an excellent contextually focused library project that fought thoughtfully considered liminality and authenticity in geological field work ravi parak who won boasted diploma prize for his library project and the med prize for his excellent dissertation a bit of a doctor factory exploring medical students sense of belonging through longitudinal integrated clerkships at imperial college london a valuable piece of educational research that has already had meaningful implications for practice congratulations to you all and i'm sure you would join me in acknowledging the support of your teachers advisors administrative and operations staff this has been a team effort and i am so proud of the way our centers staff and you have come together to tackle our collective challenges head on this moment helps us celebrate you and to mark the next steps you will take before you take those first steps pause a second to recognise what you have achieved and know that you walk into the world as part of the imperial community welcome to the celebration of your successful graduation from the med university learning and teaching as scientists engineers and medics crossing over to work at masters level in a social science is a real challenge especially when fitting in part-time study around busy personal and professional lives the work you have done in the med has been hugely impressive i'm proud of all your efforts and amazed by all you have achieved i hope the med provides a path to further scholarship in education and i look forward to future discussions and collaboration huge huge congratulations really really well done enjoy this celebration center for higher education research and scholarship diploma of the imperial college master of education louise blakemore [Music] catherine carpani nicholas sinosi gabriella de silva xavier [Music] beryl de souza [Music] janet de wilde winner of a reese rawlings prize peter fitch emma metters carolyn miller mabel nakabura winner of a diploma library project prize and an med dissertation prize ravi perek winner of a routledge education prize emma passmore mark pope noreen ryan mark sullivan argeta zali that now concludes the graduates from the center for higher education research and scholarship hi i'm anna costa preda and has the director of the center for languages culture and communication it is my great pleasure and privilege to congratulate you on your graduation in 2020 we celebrate your accomplishments and we recognize your many skills which this year more than ever have been put to the test by the coffee epidemic now this is not the way we would have chosen to celebrate with you your success and it pains us us as much as yourselves not to be together but please believe me when i say that this does not in any way diminish what you've accomplished you should be so proud of yourselves we certainly are and you know what if there is one thing this epidemic has shown us is that the world needs you good communication has never been in higher demand the world needs reliable trustworthy engaging and accessible information so fly high and be happy and whatever you do please do keep in touch so that we can continue to celebrate your successes together from the bottom of my heart myself and my colleagues all wish you the very best of luck in your future endeavors bye ether bennett rebecca bloomfield katrina brain claudia cannon andrew daniel dixon liam bob julian juan danielle ellenby hannah cormly catherine greenville hillary francis guides margaret hardesty noel hini jason hoskin tanya hughes takuma cattle annabelle king skylar knight antea lakia harry lampert julia langer harrison lewis elizabeth mahese lilly matson anthony mcgarry emily metcalfe [Music] valentin manevo sarah mooring [Music] jason morigasso rachel negu celeste niggles [Music] madeleine oppenshaw jacqueline oppoku darqua [Music] katie pallister ruby gelsler [Music] katie smith [Music] sadie striker sadie sweetland [Music] gemma alice pearl titter ridge [Music] louise van der linden tristan varela [Music] pimchanok sophie ward [Music] [Applause] [Music] i'm thrilled to be joining you today to celebrate your graduation and the onward journey of this wonderful academic institution this is actually my first imperial graduation as i joined as chair of council in january this year i've always been impressed however by imperial i've long admired your way of working across disciplines of embracing opportunities within academia but also with industry the chance to work with so many outstanding thinkers and innovators is what brought me here and what a year to start this isn't the 2020 any of us planned and perhaps nobody knows this more than you but here we are learning enduring changing succeeding together i take great inspiration and comfort from what you our graduating students have achieved in getting here and i'm so excited to hear about what you'll do next i imagine you'll be feeling apprehension at your next steps we're living in a different world it's true the future is a challenging and changing one but it's one full of opportunities both well-established ones ready for you to step into but also completely new ones for you to venture out to in getting to this point you've proven yourselves to robust talented motivated individuals who are poised to grasp these opportunities now throughout my career i've become aware of a defining feature of success i believe it comes to those who have a burning desire to make things happen the determination to achieve and the interpersonal skills to bring people together and from what i've seen with my own eyes at imperial and the achievements i've heard today i know you have those qualities and that you will go on to make great and positive changes in the world but please know this is not goodbye far from it instead it's welcome welcome to the next chapter of your lives but also welcome to the worldwide network of imperial alumnae of whom you are now a vital part we'll be here for you as you go on to exciting careers following you supporting you celebrating you every step of the way so please do stay in touch you're now members of the imperial family and we can't wait to see what you do [Music] [Applause] you
2021-04-28 21:00
