Graduation review Thursday 12 July
The morning saw graduations from Maritime and Mechanical Engineering, the Astrophysics Research Institute, Electronics and Electrical Engineering and the School of Nursing and Allied Health.
Sir John Sorrell CBE and Lady Frances Sorrell also received their Honorary Fellowship for outstanding contribution to social empowerment and education campaigning.
The Sorrell Foundation was set up in 1999 by John and Frances with the aim of inspiring creativity in young people. It believes that creativity can change people’s lives and make the world a better place. The educational charity works alongside, but outside, the formal education system. It has worked with more than 100,000 young people across the UK on initiatives such as joinedupdesignforschools, the Young Design Programme, myplace and Design Out Crime. Over the last eight years, the Foundation has developed the National Saturday Club model and set up a new charity – the Saturday Club Trust – to take it forward. LJMU currently runs two Saturday clubs, focusing on arts and writing.
The citation was read by Zia Chaudhry MBE, the new Director of the LJMU Foundation for Citizenship.
Sir John addressed the crowd: “To all those graduating – never stop learning. You will find inspiration everywhere to help you have a part in making the world a better place”. Lady Frances followed with advice to on how ‘inspiration, energy and enthusiasm are the three important factors in working life.”
In the afternoon Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Engineering and Technology Research Institute, Civil Engineering and Built Environment all celebrated their graduations.
Steve Burrows CBE was awarded a Fellowship in recognition of outstanding achievement in engineering.
A graduate from the Liverpool Polytechnic in 1982, where he studied for his first degree in Civil Engineering, Steve Burrows is now based in San Francisco and has over 30 years’ experience in engineering buildings around the world. He has led the engineering team on many significant projects, including Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, CA; the Beijing Olympic Stadium (the Birdsnest); Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business; and the City of Manchester Stadium in the UK, Manchester Arena and Allianz Arena in Munich. Steve also has experience in forensic engineering and structural assessment of damaged buildings and made assessments after bombings in Manchester in 1996 and in Nairobi, Kenya in 1998. A committed ambassador for his profession, Steve also regularly presents engineering programmes on the Science and National Geographic TV channels and most recent in the IMAX movie Dream Big - Engineering our World.
His citation was presented by LJMU Honorary Fellow Lynette Beardwood
“Make the most of your talent, education and opportunities,’ he told the graduates. ‘A combination of hard work, education and luck has resulted in me being here today. Achieving this education milestone puts you in a place of great opportunity and obligation to make this world a better place.”
Daniel Libeskind gained his Fellowship for his outstanding contribution to international architecture.
A Polish-American Architect, with a global reputation for cultural architecture including the Imperial War Museum North, The Jewish Museum Berlin and Ground Zero. Daniel visited LJMU in 2016, to address an event in support of children’s charities in Syria and Israel.
His citation was presented by LJMU Honorary Fellow Jonathan Falkingham.
Daniel addressed the graduates: “The future is based on dreams. The doors are open, your dreams are there. You just have to create a path of integrity, go beyond your ego and think of something greater than yourself.”
