Reflecting on our spectacular September Graduation ceremonies

A moment to remember for over 4,000 graduates and their guests at UCL’s September 2022 Graduation Ceremonies, held on campus in Bloomsbury

In September 2022, UCL’s most recent alumni joined together on campus with their UCL community, family and friends in 24 separate ceremonies over 8 days to celebrate their graduation. 

Our Undergraduate students came together with staff, friends and family for a joyous and celebratory series of in-person Graduation ceremonies in late August and early September 2022.  

The ceremonies took place at Logan Hall, an auditorium at the heart of IOE, UCL’s faculty of education and society. Further celebrations took place with drinks receptions in the UCL Main Quad, giving guests a chance to toast to their success and take photos of this memorable moment with one another. 

These events give our graduates the opportunity to celebrate all their hard work and effort over their time at UCL. Joining together with peers and the rest of the UCL community, they can reflect on their time at UCL and look forward to their futures, with their degrees in hand. 
 
Over 3,000 graduates and 14,000 guests attended these August celebrations, and livestreaming of the events meant that another 12,000 people from over 140 countries tuned in to share the celebrations with their loved ones. A further 800,000 viewed or engaged with UCL social media coverage of the celebrations on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, including this beautiful Graduations photo album on Linkedin.

Two of our fantastic graduates have written blogs about their Graduation experiences. Allan Yeung, BA English, has written about how his Graduation was such a huge event, a real ending to a specific chapter of life, and how there’s excitement and uncertainty for what lies beyond. You can read more from him here. 

Victoria Antoniou, Anthropology with a Year Abroad BSc, writes about how nervous she felt on Graduation morning, and how rewarding and amazing it was to cross the stage and graduate, with her family and friends in attendance. You can read more from her here. 

Two of our amazing graduates, Jane and Denise, graduated from PhD programmes they started at IOE in 2019, but weren't able to attend a ceremony until now due to Covid-19. "My grandson Tom escorted us to the photo session and brought me a bunch of flowers," says Denise. "So with the proof pictures in hand, we retired to the nearby Turkish restaurant to celebrate our doctorates at last!" 

At these ceremonies, we were also delighted to acknowledge the recipients of both Honorary Degrees and Honorary Fellowships at UCL. The recipients of the Honorary Degrees were Ms Vivienne Parry, OBE, Professor Bill Hillier (posthumous award), The Rt Hon the Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE FBA, Dr Richard Horton, Dr Sigrid Rausing and Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE. 

The recipients of the Honorary Fellowship were Mr Mark Howard JYA, Ms Millie Banerjee CBE, Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, Professor Dame Alison Peacock DBE, Ms Chantal Rickards OBE, Ms Nicola Brentnall MVO, Mrs Elizabeth Critchley, Professor Sir Anthony Finkelstein, and the Honourable Mr Justice Joseph Paul Fok.

You can watch YouTube interviews with three of our honorary graduates here: Lady Hale, Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz and Mark Howard. A playlist for them is available here.

Kirsty Walker, Vice-President (External Engagement), said:  “Graduations are an integral part of the student experience. They mark everything our students have achieved during their time at UCL, as well as all they are going to achieve as they go out into the world. Over the last few weeks, it has been a privilege to welcome our graduates, their families, friends and supporters onto campus to share and celebrate this important and joyous moment together."

“I would like to thank all the academic and professional services staff who have worked so hard to make these events such a success – including teams from the office of the Vice-President External Engagement, office of the Vice-President (Advancement), faculties, estates, Education & Student Experience and so many more.”

 

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