Thousands of University of Brighton students are graduating at the Brighton Dome this week.
More than 4,000 students are graduating, and many will be attending week-long ceremonies Dome which started on Friday.
Hundreds of relatives and friends will be attending and many more will be watching the presentations from their homes throughout the UK and the world – the ceremonies are being streamed live here.
Professor Julian Crampton, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, said: “The university is pleased to be able to play its full part in developing the next generation of key professionals this country needs for its future success – and in fostering the creativity and skills which will generate the new ideas and enterprise required to face the global challenges of the 21st century.
“I wish each and every graduate success in their chosen career.”
Friday’s ceremony included graduates from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), jointly run by Brighton and Sussex universities. The school, celebrating its tenth anniversary, has produced more than 700 doctors and has established itself as one of the most popular medical schools in the country.
The second cohort of BrightMed students will be among the graduates. BrightMed is a BSMS outreach programme which seeks out young, talented people who have the potential to become doctors but who may not have considered it as a possibility.
A unique course, run by the University of Brighton and backed by local authorities and contractors, has produced its first graduates. The Highway Engineering Management MSc is sponsored by the SE7 group of local authorities, comprising seven county councils – Surrey, East Sussex, West Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Brighton and Hove and Medway – and highways contractors, Kier Group, Balfour Beatty Living Places, EM Highways, and Amey.
Other students have been raising money all year for Chestnut Tree House, a local children’s hospice which also marked its 10th anniversary this year, and a cheque will be presented during their graduation ceremony.
Graduates will collect their awards from Professor Julian Crampton, Lord Mogg, Chairman of the Board of Governors, and John Harley, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors.
There is a host of individual successes stories from this year’s graduating students including:
- Gabriella Capel-Williams (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) won a Barry Kay Award from the British Society of Allergy & Clinical Immunology for her Research Project on the readability and quality of patient information leaflets. Gabriella achieved the highest score in the Undergraduate Research section.
- Hannah Peters (Sport and Exercise) has won a place on the prestigious NHS Scientist Training Programme.
- Adam Englebright (Mathematics) presented his research findings at an Astronomical Society national conference after observing a rare Ultra-Low-Frequency “3-second” wave. There have only been two reports of these waves in the literature since their discovery in 1992.
- Camilla Lambert (Design and Craft) won one of the UK’s top awards for young designers and has been described as “one of Europe’s most exciting craft designers”.
- Charlie Schaffer (Fine Art Painting) beat a field of 2,000 entrants to win the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, Young Artist Award 2014.
- Nik Hannay (Sports Product Design) has developed a smart helmet for American football players. It contains pressure sensors to indicate any potential concussion injuries after tackles.
- Angela Murray (Postgraduate Certificate of Education) has been placed as an education officer at HMP Lewes after showing “exceptional progress working in a challenging environment”.
