H.E. Simon Featherstone delivers a speech at the graduation ceremony
H.E. Simon Featherstone CMG, British High Commissioner to Malaysia was conferred with the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by The University of Nottingham at a recent graduation ceremony hosted by The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC).
“Simon is an eminently worthy recipient of an honorary award from Nottingham. Since 2004, he has served as UK ambassador in China, Afghanistan, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Malaysia” said Professor Stephen Doughty, Vice Provost (Teaching and Learning) of UNMC at the graduation ceremony.
“As the British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Simon Featherstone has worked hard to develop strong educational ties between the UK and Malaysia” Professor Doughty added.
The graduation ceremony hosted by Professor David Greenaway, Vice Chancellor of The University of Nottingham and Professor Christine Ennew, CEO and Provost of UNMC witnessed the graduation of 247 undergraduate and post graduate students from the Faculties of Engineering, Science and Arts and Social Sciences.
In his speech, Professor David Greenaway said, “Nottingham graduates are shaped by excellence from an institution which is research intensive, engaged and global.
Nottingham has a history of recruiting high quality students from around the world for more than 130 years and we have an unmatched record of helping our graduates into productive employment.”
Graduates at UNMC receive a Nottingham degree which is the same as the ones offered in the UK and China Campus of the University.
According to Professor Christine Ennew, “We believe our graduates should be global citizens; they should be individuals who are aware of and appreciate the benefits of their education, but they should recognise their broader responsibility to contribute towards the greater good of the society in which they live and work.
"They should be sensitive to other cultures and be able to work effectively across boundaries. They must understand the great challenges that face global society – challenges relating to sustainability, to protecting our environment and to ensuring that we can feed a growing global population. And challenges relating to equality, to equity, justice and human rights,” said Professor Ennew while addressing the attendees at the ceremony.
Speaking after the ceremony, Professor Ennew observed that “A Nottingham education is characterised by an integrated approach involving curricular and co-curricular activity. It is student centred, encouraging creative, independent and critical thinking, delivering the skills that are so highly valued by global employers”.
The graduation ceremony was also attended by H.E. Luc Vandebon, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia; YBhg Tan Sri Datuk Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Deputy Chairman and Group Managing Director of Boustead Holdings Sdn Bhd; Professor Hai Sui-Yu, Pro Vice Chancellor for Internationalisation at University of Nottingham; Datuk Zainal Abidin Hj Ahmad, board member of University of Nottingham in Malaysia Sdn Bhd; Goh Hoon Huar, President of Nottingham Graduates Association; Gavin Anderson, Director of British Council and Professor Graham Kendall, Vice Provost (Research and Knowledge Transfer) at UNMC.
The University of Nottingham was targeted by the largest number of top employers in 2013-14; Cambridge University was the third most-targeted, and Oxford fourth according to High Fliers Research conducted in January this year.
In the latest ‘QS World University Rankings by Subject’ announced recently, The University of Nottingham features among the best in the world in a new ranking of individual subjects. This shows that Nottingham has improved its position significantly — appearing in the world’s elite institutions (top 200) in 29 out of 30 subjects.
The University of Nottingham has a global alumni community of more than 230,000 members. The University’s Alumni Office organises regular development and network events for its members. For further information, consult: www.nottingham.edu.my/alumni.
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More information is available from Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager on + 6 (03) 8924 8746, josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my.
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 42,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in China and Malaysia modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also one of the most popular universities among graduate employers, one of the world’s greenest universities, and winner of the Times Higher Education Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’. It is ranked in the World’s Top 75 universities by the QS World University Rankings.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. The University aims to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health. The University won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for its research into global food security.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest ever fundraising campaign, will deliver the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
Posted on 10th March 2014