Imperial Graduands flock to Royal Albert Hall for Graduation
More than 2200 undergraduates passed through the Royal Albert Hall to receive their degrees in three separate ceremonies that took part during Commemoration Day.
It was Imperial’s favourite day off this week, as graduands came back to touch the Gast hand and finally graduate completely. More than 2200 undergraduates passed through the Royal Albert Hall to receive their degrees in three separate ceremonies that took part during Commemoration Day.
This was the first Commemoration day for Imperial’s new President, Professor Alice Gast, who told students to “Take all that you have learned and put it to work,” during her speech.
“The demands of the world are daunting. We need well-educated leaders like you who can develop the new approaches, the clever solutions and the compelling ideas that will guide us in the future.”
The ceremonies also included the presentation of the Awards for Outstanding Achievement, which went to Caroline Wood from the Department of Chemistry (a former Felix editor) and Alireza Tahmasebzadeh from the Department of Bioengineering.
Medals for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching Excellence were presented to to Professor Mary Morrell from Faculty of Medicine and Dr William Knottenbelt from the Department of Computing. Dr John Gibbons from the Department of Mathematics and Dr Rudiger Woscholski from the Department of Chemistry will both receive Medals for Excellence in Pastoral Care. Medals for Supporting the Student Experience were presented to Dr Maria Toro-Troconis, School of Medicine, and Mr Ian Gillett from the Safety Department.
But why is it called Commemoration Day? The day is named in honour of a visit to Imperial by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1945, on the centenary of the foundation of the Royal College of Chemistry, Imperial’s oldest forerunner.
Chris Kaye, Deputy President (Welfare), said he was impressed when they played God save the Queen, although he said he got emotional “due to a separate matter.”
