Sunshine and celebration during Wednesday’s graduation ceremonies

Undergraduate students from Liverpool Business School graduated on the morning of Wednesday July 15, with postgraduate students from the same School joining graduands from the School of Law in the afternoon to celebrate their achievements.

Manesh Mistry, who achieved a first in BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance, said studying at LJMU was the best decision he ever made. He added: "The Accounting and Finance programme is exceptionally delivered, with the lecturers and academic staff coming from a range of professional backgrounds, which certainly adds an element of depth and professional experience to the learning. 

"This was the most appealing factor. The exposure students have to these experienced and seasoned professionals, and to hear their experiences of working in the field, is absolutely amazing and certainly has had a positive impact on my overall experience at LJMU."

Staff member Deborah Hughes, Programme Structure and Planning Officer, graduated with a high 2.1, in BA (Hons) Business and Human Resource Management. 

She commented: "I had an excellent experience on the programme. I met a really good group of people and, as a student, it has been very interesting seeing the other side of the University. I now know the whole process of learning and appreciate exactly what is involved."

Honorary Fellowship - Dame Philippa Russell

Also during the morning ceremony, the University conferred Dame Philippa Russell with her Honorary Fellowship for her outstanding contribution to disability rights.

Since 2007, Dame Philippa has been chair of the UK government Standing Commission on Carers, the independent advisory body providing expert advice to Ministers and the Carers Strategy Cross-Government Programme Board. 

She was formerly Director of the Council for Disabled Children and a Commissioner with the Disability Rights Commission. She was awarded an OBE for her work with children with special educational needs and their families, and a CBE for services to disabled people. In the 2009 Queens Birthday Honours List, she was made a Dame.

In 1990 she was awarded the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Centenary International Award for women who have contributed to the field of learning disability and in 2004 she was awarded the 4Children Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in developing childcare and other services for disabled children and their families. In 2005 she received the RADAR (Royal Association of Disability and Rehabilitation) Lifetime Achievement Award for furthering the human and civil rights of disabled people.

On receiving her Honorary Fellowship she spoke about how the Fellowship felt like a huge privilege and how honoured she was to watch the students making leaps into a new and wonderful life as they celebrated their graduation. Her speech covered her rich and varied life and her path into campaigning for disability rights, including her personal circumstances. 

Her inspiring words expressed the need to recognise the skills, talent and commitment of ordinary people to society and the importance of education. She concluded by telling the graduates "you have the power to change the world" and to "maximise talents and opportunities" and how she was looking forward to a long-standing friendship and relationship with LJMU. 

You can read the full oration for Dame Philippa Russell here

Cansel Alkinci graduated with an MBA in Executive Leadership. He is pictured above with other students who benefited from the University's collaboration with Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart in Germany plus Programme Leader Alastair Balchin and Professor Roland Dieterle of Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart.

He said: "The lecturers and staff have always been very helpful during my studies. Taking into account that I had a setback in my studies due to a medical condition, I would like to underline that the successful completion of my studies was only possible with the support of certain lecturers, including the Programme Leader, Alastair Balchin and former lecturer Dr Ian Lovegrove. I really enjoyed my time in Liverpool and at LJMU and I would happily do it over again – it was a life-changing experience.” 

Also graduating was staff member Jenny Craddock, Senior Admissions and Information Officer from the Faculty of Education, Health and Community. Jenny has gained her MBA in Executive Leadership while working full time and her dissertation, entitled The Effectiveness of the Personal Development Performance Review (PDPR) Process and its Purpose and Value, using LJMU as a Case Study, is being converted into a findings report for the University’s Senior Management Team.

Emily Revel, who graduated in LLB (Hons) Law and Criminal Justice with first class honours, gained the best overall degree mark in her year in the School of Law and received the Liverpool Law Society 1st Prize. 

Talking of her time at LJMU, she said: "I wouldn't change my student experience for the world. I have made friends for life and had the best times, while also getting myself a degree. I have been able to become independent and confident living away from home and I have grown as a person from day one. My current aim is to excel on the Legal Practice Course and Masters in Business and Law. I hope to become a successful city solicitor in London, potentially with an international firm."

Honorary Fellowship - Lady Grantchester

Also during the afternoon ceremony, Lady Grantchester received her Honorary Fellowship for her outstanding contribution to the arts, business and community. Lady Grantchester, Betty Suenson-Taylor (née Betty Moores) is a member of the Moores family and the daughter of Sir John Moores. 

Sir John Moores is the namesake of LJMU and is renowned as the founder of the Littlewoods empire and one of the great civic leaders of his time. Lady Grantchester was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge and was a Director of Littlewoods between 1977 and 1997. She is a great supporter of her alma mater and in particular the Lucy Cavendish College, which encourages mature women back into education.

Lady Grantchester is also the lead patron of the John Moores Painting Prize, a biennial competition celebrating contemporary art in the UK, and the John Moores Painting Prize China, supporting emerging artists in the country. LJMU recently hosted the winners of the John Moores Painting Prize China, culminating in a special exhibition at the University in June 2015.

Lady Grantchester addressed the graduates at the ceremony, congratulating them on their success. She spoke of her family’s involvement in the John Moores exhibition, which is held in partnership with the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust, supporting artists and bringing the best contemporary painting from across the UK and China to Liverpool. 

She concluded with the following words: "Like my father, this University is a great enabler, and as I look around I see today’s sparky graduating students and the many splendid staff who have enabled them to achieve their success . I therefore have supreme confidence that all of them will be successful and will in turn enable others to achieve their ambitions."

The conferment of Lady Grantchester’s Honorary Fellowship received coverage in the Liverpool Echo.

You can read the full oration for Lady Grantchester here

For more student stories and photos visit the LJMU Facebook page

Take a look at a round-up of the day's celebrations