Graduation 2013. Friday 19 July 2013 The University of Sheffield Your graduation day is a special day for you and your family, a day for celebrating your achievements and looking forward to a bright future. As a graduate of the University of Sheffield you have every reason to be proud. You are joining a long tradition of excellence stretching back more than 100 years. The University of Sheffield was founded with the amalgamation of the School of Medicine, Sheffield Technical School and Firth College. In 1905, we received a Royal Charter and Firth Court was officially opened by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. At that time, there were 363 students reading for degrees in arts, pure science, medicine and applied science. By the time of our centenary, there were over 25,000 students from more than 100 countries, across 70 academic departments. Today, a degree from Sheffield is recognised all over the world as a hallmark of academic excellence. We are proud of our graduates and we are confident that you will make a difference wherever you choose to build your future. With every generation of graduates, our university goes from strength to strength. This is the original fundraising poster from 1904/1905 which helped raise donations for the University of Sheffield. Over £50,000 (worth more than £15 million today) was donated by steelworkers, coal miners, factory workers and the people of Sheffield in penny donations to help found the University. A century on, the University is now rated as one of the top world universities – according to the Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities. The University of Sheffield Graduation: Friday 19 July 2013 1 Welcome from the Vice-Chancellor For all of us here at the University, this is one of the high points in the year, as we congratulate you on your achievements and share with you in your hopes and plans for the future. But this is by no means the end of your association with the University. Today you are joining the ever-growing global community of University of Sheffield alumni. We hope that you will keep in touch with us, and with each other, in the years to come. Congratulations to you and a warm welcome to your family and friends. We hope everyone here today enjoys this very special occasion. Professor Sir Keith Burnett The Chancellor The Chancellor, Sir Peter Middleton, GCB, is the Chief Officer of the University and is the President of its Court, Council and Convocation. He is the figurehead of the University, advancing its interests wherever he can. Sir Peter Middleton was born and educated in Sheffield. He is a graduate of the University of Sheffield (BA 1955, Economics) and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 1984. Sir Peter has served as Chancellor of the University of Sheffield since 1997 and is Honorary Professor of the Management School. Sir Peter spent nearly 30 years as an official in the Treasury, working closely with nine chancellors and was Permanent Secretary from 1983 to 1991. He was knighted in 1984. He joined Barclays Bank in 1991, serving until 2004 as Deputy Chairman, CEO and Chairman. From 2004 to 2006 he was President of the British Bankers Association. He is presently UK Chairman of Marsh & McLennan Companies. 2 The University of Sheffield Graduation: Friday 19 July 2013 Reasons to be Proud Celebrating success at The University of Sheffield Graduation is a time to recognise achievement and success, and each graduate has a story to tell of effort and attainment. Today’s graduates also have every reason to feel proud, not only of their own success, but that they are graduating from a world-leading university which is making a powerful difference in the world and helping to address some of the most urgent challenges facing society. The University of Sheffield is proud of its Nobel Prize winners and to have been awarded the honour of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher Education on no less than four occasions. It was also named Times Higher Education ‘University of the Year’, with expert judges from UK higher education, industry and government recognising the outstanding achievements of The University of Sheffield as a top international university, describing qualities of ‘grit and determination’ in applying our expertise to real world challenges, and developing the talented young people whose skills will be so crucial to all our futures. Research which changes lives So what are some of the highlights in a university which is committed to putting knowledge into action? Here are just a few reasons to be proud of your university: Sufferers of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are benefitting from a unique new home for research relating to these devastating conditions. The Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) was opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 2010 and is a £12M development funded by benefactors eager to see a step change in the treatment of patients. Within just two years, researchers with expertise in neuroscience, computer modelling and pharmacy are developing treatments which are already giving hope to sufferers, including a new treatment for the childhood Sheffield students – putting knowledge into action in ways which make form of Motor Neurone Disease. a difference. Patients are also being supported by life-changing work at Expertise which supports our economy The University of Sheffield to develop cures for deafness, regenerate parts of the eye for those who have lost their The UK’s manufacturing supply chain is being helped sight, develop adaptive technologies for people who to thrive in a global market through the University’s have suffered strokes and to develop ‘engineering for Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, which was life’ solutions which will give greater independence and recently named Boeing’s Supplier of the Year – the dignity to people in need, especially elderly patients living first time such an award had been made in the UK. The with challenging conditions at home. Government has also announced its support to develop a £43M Factory 2050, which will be the world’s most The interface between molecular science, engineering advanced factory. The AMRC is also expanding to include application and social impact is being transformed a major centre for engineering design and is recruiting following the opening of the Kroto Research Institute, 250 technical apprentices to work and study, developing named after our Nobel Prize winner Sir Harry Kroto. the talents of young people ready to support the high Researchers are uniting to improve lives, through stem tech manufacturing of the future. cell therapies which can help to repair nerve damage. And Sheffield staff, students and graduates were part of the Meanwhile, the national and international challenge great achievements of the past year, from helping design to develop politics and economics in the 21st century the equipment used to find the Higgs Boson at CERN, to are being addressed by the Sheffield Political Economy the design of the Olympic Park where Sheffield graduate Research Institute (SPERI). This new Institute brings Jessica Ennis-Hill took gold for Team GB! together leading international researchers in the social sciences, policy-makers, journalists and opinion formers to develop new ideas and policies following the global financial crisis and its legacy. The University of Sheffield Graduation: Friday 19 July 2013 3 People with creativity and passion Yet without doubt, the University’s greatest asset is its people, and that, of course, includes our students. In the past year, more students than ever have been involved with Sheffield Volunteering, turning their expertise and enthusiasm into active citizenship. Around 1,300 students have volunteered in projects across the City and region ranging from mentoring and environmental projects to legal advice and work with children facing disability or bereavement. Our Students’ Union RAG (Raising and Giving) charity raised £178,000 to benefit local charities. This creativity and energy also unites the University with the people of Sheffield. In September last year, Memories of making a difference – over 1,300 students each year take part in Sheffield Volunteering, and raise almost £200,000 for local charities. the University and City’s creative community came together to hold a ten day ‘Festival of the Mind’. The first ever collaboration of its kind. 16,000 people of all ages attended over 70 events in venues across the City and at the University, with topics ranging from science to philosophy, from robots to poetry. The awards which came in celebrated our efforts. We were proud to, once again, take the title of ‘Best Students’ Union in Britain’ as voted for by students, with an outstanding satisfaction of 90% in the National Student Survey. Our Student Services, IT and Library were named national, and even international, leaders. But the accolades which mean the most are those which come from the people who know us best. Engineering and medicine come together as Sheffield leads the way in work on The University of Sheffield was described as the personalised medicine and using the power of the latest innovations in computing UK university which students were most likely to to help make a difference to treatment and diagnosis. recommend to their friends. The reasons are as diverse as our students and graduates, but we are proud that a degree from The University of Sheffield continues to be the hallmark of quality. We wish you all the very best for the future – and we do so knowing that you are a University of Sheffield graduate with every reason to be proud. 4 The University of Sheffield Graduation: Friday 19 July 2013 Honorary Degrees The University of Sheffield confers honorary degrees (or degreeshonoris causa – as a ‘mark of honour’) on people who have given distinguished service or brought distinction to the University, the City of Sheffield or the region.