A graduate at the º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London graduation ceremony.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London celebrates second graduation ceremony

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London celebrated its graduation ceremony yesterday (Thursday 14 December), honouring the achievements of more than 400 students.

Pictured is Simon Smallbone.

Simon Smallbone.

The postgraduate campus, based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, first opened its doors in 2015. It offers programmes which bring together world-leading scholars, dynamic organisations and creative individuals with the emerging talent and leaders of tomorrow.

The graduation ceremony was presided over by º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Chancellor Lord Sebastian Coe. It was an opportunity to celebrate and honour º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London’s second cohort of students, many of whom have shown tremendous commitment to their studies.

One such student is 42-year-old Simon Smallbone, who graduated with an MSc in Sport Business and Leadership. The dedicated father-of-two commuted to the University from his home in Luxembourg for the duration of the course.

Simon, who also graduated from º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ in 1997 with a BA (Hons) in European Business, made the five-hour-round trip on a weekly basis and juggled studying and working full-time as the Director of a marketing consultancy.

Since completing his Master’s degree, Simon has been working with football charity Kick4Life FC and he was given the opportunity to speak at the World Football Summit in Madrid.

He has also started AktivKidz - a business that aims to get more children active by creating participative and non-competitive sporting challenges - which has been selected to be part of London Sport’s Sport Tech Hub.

Speaking of his time at the London campus, Simon said: “It was worth all of the travelling and time away from my family, not to mention the workload I had to complete at home.

“The experience at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London has been fantastic. I highly recommend it. The staff are of a very high level and they could not have done more to make the experience enjoyable.”

Twenty-three-year-old Sumaï Bertrand, who graduated with an MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, moved from Lille, France, to study at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London.

Sumaï, a Dean’s Award for Enterprise student, won the Immediate Impact award for her work as Vice Chair of the º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Students’ Union London committee and came first place in the London Entrepreneur's Challenge with her industry-leading business idea SPKTRA - a free-from, odourless nail varnish that has an easier application thanks to a pen-like bottle.

Next year Sumaï will be launching the product - which also made it to the semi-finals of the Varsity Pitch 2017 - and starting a new job at a leading global consulting and professional services company.

When asked if she has benefited from studying at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London, Sumaï said: “Definitely! I have benefited from my course, the lecturers, the activities I took on and the people I’ve met. As a whole it has been great.”

Speaking after the graduation ceremony Professor Robert Allison, Vice Chancellor of º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, said: “Today marks the culmination of months of hard work for our º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London students. Congratulations graduates, we wish you the best of luck.”

Professor Mike Caine, Dean of º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London, added: “It has been a wonderful day celebrating the successes of our second cohort of London students. It’s great to see graduates and colleagues share in celebration and reflect on what has been achieved over the last year.”

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 17/176

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º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world to study sports-related subjects in the 2017 QS World University Rankings and top in the country for its student experience in the 2016 THE Student Experience Survey.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 6th in the Guardian University League Table 2018, 7th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018 and 10th in The UK Complete University Guide 2018. It was also named Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

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