More than 800 undergraduates to graduate next week

Next week, 820 Birkbeck undergraduate students will mark an important milestone in their academic journeys. Their achievements will be celebrated across seven ceremonies taking place over three days, from Tuesday 2 to Thursday 4 December. Held at the University of London’s iconic Senate House, the events will also be live-streamed for friends and family who can’t be there in person.

Professor Sally Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor of Birkbeck, shared her congratulations: “It is a privilege to honour the remarkable achievements of our students. Their hard work and dedication have led them to this significant moment, and I am delighted to welcome them into our alumni community as they begin the next chapter of their lives.”

Graduating students will also hear from an inspiring line-up of guest speakers, including:

Abi Dare

Abi Dare is a Nigerian-born award-winning novelist who received critical acclaim for her first novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice, which became a New York Times bestseller. Her second novel, And So I Roar, received the prestigious Climate Fiction Prize in 2024. Abi studied Creative Writing at Birkbeck, receiving her MA in 2018. The Girl with the Louding Voice was created as part of her thesis and she credits Birkbeck academics for supporting her to seek publication. A highly sought-after speaker, she was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters from Glasgow Caledonian University for her contributions to literature, education, and women’s empowerment.

Julie Verdon

Julie is a Registered Psychologist with twenty-five years’ experience of helping individuals and organisations to flourish. She has worked across the public and private sectors, nationally and internationally, and across the leadership assessment and development arena. She helps organisations to select and develop their current and future leaders as well as providing coaching support to private clients. Julie has a passion for lifelong learning and has undertaken three post-graduate qualifications at Birkbeck: she has a MSc in Occupational Psychology, a Post Graduate Certificate in Career Management and Coaching and has recently studied for a Post Graduate Certificate in Neurodiversity Coaching. She is an active member of the Birkbeck Alumni and supports current and prospective students through the Mentoring Pathways and Global Buddies initiatives.

Charles Gurassa

Charles Gurassa is a senior business leader with experience in the travel, media and communications sectors. He currently holds a number of Board level roles in the private and not for profit sectors. He is currently serving as Chair of the Guardian Media Group, the holding company for newspapers including the Guardian and the Observer. He is also Chair of Oxfam GB, the British arm of the global NGO Oxfam, and of the Migration Museum, a heritage and cultural centre based in Southeast London that explores the history and impact of migration to Great Britain.

He has previously held roles including Non-Executive Chair of media company Channel 4, Deputy Chair of Easyjet Plc, Chair of Virgin Mobile, and Senior Non-Executive Director at Merlin Entertainment Group. Charles is a Birkbeck alumnus, graduating with a BA (Hons) in French and Italian in 2023.

Sarah Mason

Sarah Mason is the Chief People Officer of SThree, a leading global recruitment company focused on the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. In this role, Sarah leads on areas including performance, reward, DEI, learning and development, talent acquisition, and ESG. She has held several senior human resources and people management roles, including at Foxtons Group and Phaidon International. She is a certified Business Psychologist and brings her learning and experience in psychology and organizational change to bear across her work. She has been named one of the most influential practitioners in HR by HR Magazine. Sarah is a Birkbeck alumna, receiving her MSc in Management Consultancy & Organisational Change in 2016. She is an experienced alumni volunteer, who has volunteered on a range of the College’s volunteer programmes and she is a passionate supporter of and advocate for social mobility.

Anthony Culligan

Anthony Culligan is Chief Executive Officer of SETL, an international payments platform for digital assets. He co-founded the company in 2015 and served as its Chief Engineer. His earlier career was in asset management, holding senior roles at JP Morgan and the hedge fund management businesses F&C Partners and Aida Capital. He began his career as a computer programmer and has had a long interest in the application of new technologies to financial markets. Anthony is a Birkbeck alumnus, completing his certificate in Mathematics in 1995. He has recently helped the College on the development of its Degree Apprenticeship offering, and endorsed Birkbeck's bid to offer Lifelong Learning Entitlement courses, including modules in our BSc Mathematics.

Bella Ikpasaja

Bella Ikpasaja is the Founder of The Intentional Neighbourhood Consultancy CIC and a Work Culture & Governance Specialist based in London’s West End. She helps forward-looking organisations build resilient workplaces through governance-led culture strategy, risk mitigation, and systems design. The majority of Bella’s career was spent in global brand development before she transitioned into corporate strategy and governance. She has advised across banking, property, local government, the creative industries, and NGOs - including Brown Shipley Private Bank, UK Green Building Council, Camden Council, and the British Film Institute. She completed her PGCE in Corporate Governance and International Business Ethics at Birkbeck in 2018, selecting International HR Management as an additional module. This choice continues to inform her consulting work on internal brand culture and the governance of organisations under any condition — whether in times of stability, disruption, or rapid change.

The ceremonies will also feature orations about newly elected Fellows of Birkbeck. The Fellows at the winter 2025 ceremonies will be:

Marcel & Muriel Jongen

Marcel and Muriel Jongen are London based philanthropists. Through the Jongen Charitable Trust, they support causes that further access to education for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Marcel and Muriel’s philanthropic support for Birkbeck makes them one of the College’s largest donors. Their giving has transformed the lives of hundreds of Birkbeck’s most vulnerable students, providing financial support to enable them to complete their studies and progress to further education or employment.

Marcel Jongen is founder and former managing director of Adelphi Capital. After a distinguished career in global finance, Marcel now dedicates his time to humanitarian and philanthropic causes.

Muriel Jongen is a Birkbeck alumna, having completed a Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychology and an MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy in 2015. She has also recently studied History of Art at the College. Muriel has described the Birkbeck experience as “unique…a melting pot of ambitious, resilient students that come together from all professions, backgrounds, nationalities and stages of life”. She has noted that “A Birkbeck education helps people follow their passions and take control of their future, and that is something we greatly need more of”.

Amanda Pinto, KC

Amanda Pinto KC is a leading barrister at Three Raymond Buildings and a part-time Crown Court judge, specialising in major financial and corporate crime cases. In 2020, she chaired the Bar Council of England and Wales, leading work to modernise the profession and improve equality of opportunity. She also played a key role in ensuring the justice system continued functioning during the Covid pandemic.

Amanda has held a wide range of governance roles, including trusteeships with Paintings in Hospitals, the Race Equality Foundation, the Slynn Foundation, and Deputy Chair of Tate’s Members’ Council.

A Birkbeck alumna studying History of Art, she is a long-standing volunteer mentor on the University’s Mentoring Pathways programme and was named Birkbeck’s 2024 Mentor of the Year. Her mentee praised her as “an outstanding lawyer and mentor” who provided vital support and encouragement.

Naheed Memon

Naheed Memon, a Birkbeck alumna with an MSc in Economics (1994), is CEO of Oracle Power Plc, a London-listed developer of energy and natural resource projects. She currently leads major initiatives including a green hydrogen project in Pakistan and a gold mining project in Western Australia. She is also an Executive Director of the Kings Group of Companies and sits on the Board of the Privatization Commission of Pakistan, alongside other non-executive directorships.

Naheed has held significant public roles in the Sindh province, including Chair of the Sindh Board of Investment, where she advanced projects in investment, research, innovation, and Special Economic Zones. She has also served as an Advisor to the President of Suriname.

An adjunct faculty member at Karachi’s Institute of Business Administration, she is a vocal advocate for higher education and the role of universities in driving innovation and economic development.

Eric Salama

Eric Salama is a senior leader in marketing, research, and data analytics. He previously served as a Board Director at WPP and as CEO of Kantar from 2003 to 2020, expanding it into a global organisation of 30,000 employees with over $4bn in revenue. He is currently Chair of Verian Group and an advisor to the venture capital firm Phoenix Court.

Eric also chairs Multibank, a charity founded by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to support people in poverty by redistributing surplus corporate goods. He has long been active in international development, serving as Chair of Comic Relief and as a Non-Executive Director at the UK Department for International Development (DFID). He has also been a Trustee of The British Museum.

A Birkbeck alumnus (MSc Economics, 1986) and former Governor (2016–20), he is a major supporter of widening access initiatives, including Birkbeck’s award-winning Compass Project.