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A spring success: Graduations return to Senate House

Staff and students from across Birkbeck came together to celebrate the academic achievements of over 1,000 students during the College’s Spring Graduations.

graduates throwing their caps in the air

Taking place in person for the first time since the pandemic, there were a total of eight graduation ceremonies across three days at University of London’s iconic Senate House. Guests and graduates unable to attend in-person were still able to share in the excitement of the occasion, by graduating remotely and watching the ceremonies via a live stream on the Birkbeck website.  

As graduates from all age groups, cultures and walks of life gathered with their loved ones to celebrate their successes, the diversity of Birkbeck’s student body was evident. Among those celebrating was Tasneem Abdur-Rashid, who, after landing a book deal whilst studying MA Creative Writing said: ‘I’m now living my dream as a writer’ 

Other success stories from the day include PhD graduate Cobus Van Rooyen, celebrating the completion of his third course at Birkbeck, and international student, Amanda Logan who moved from America to study MSc Human Resource Management, in order to further her career 

Also graduating was Dr Kirsty Lauder, who won the School of Business, Economics and Informatics prize for Best PhD Thesis for her ‘commended’ research in the field of Organisational Psychology, and Martina Innocenti, who overcame an initial language barrier to eventually win multiple prizes for her dissertation.  

Reflecting on the day, Professor David Latchman, Vice-Chancellor of Birkbeck, commented: 

It was a pleasure to meet so many of our graduating students and to be able to welcome new Fellows in-person again, after two years of virtual ceremonies. The achievements of our graduates are more remarkable than ever, given they had the added pressure of working remotely during part of their studies.” 

Over the course of the eight ceremonies, the graduates were addressed by the Vice-Chancellor; Baroness Joan Bakewell, President; Professor Joanna Bourke, College Orator; academic staff; alumni; and four new Fellows of the College: Lisa Nandy, MP; former Dean of Arts, Professor Hilary Fraser; Birkbeck Alumna and Chief Executive of Ofcom, Dame Melanie Dawes; and emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Dorothy Edgington.  

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