July Ceremonies 2016

Hundreds of students from Goldsmiths, University of London celebrated reaching a true milestone as they graduated from the university.

The Great Hall became a place of celebration for more than 900 scholars taking part in four ceremonies across two days.

Joining them were some 2,000 family members, friends and supporters who shared the landmark moment.

Patrick Loughrey, Warden of Goldsmiths, said: “We are so proud of our graduates. Goldsmiths is a place defined by its scholars and your successes. 

"It has taken so much hard work for everyone to reach this moment – for the students, their family and supporters and for their teachers. It is a time to cherish and celebrate.

"I offer my hearty congratulations to all who have graduated this week." 

When they crossed the stage of the Great Hall the graduates joined an alumni community of 50,000 people worldwide. Our alumni are among the jewels in Goldsmiths’ crown: they include Oscar-winners, artists, musicians and leaders in the worlds of culture, business and politics.

They are all different and defined from one another but they are all connected by one thing: their shared experience of learning and growing at Goldsmiths. 

Across the four ceremonies the students were joined by four distinguished figures from the worlds of sociology, literature, design and journalism who were also honoured by Goldsmiths.

Designer Thomas Heatherwick, journalist Zoe Williams and writer Sarah Waters were all made Honorary Fellows of the university.

Sociologist Professor Lord Anthony Giddens received an Honorary Degree of the University of London. 

Student-led Teaching Awards

This summer also saw the inaugural Student-led Teaching Awards which celebrated excellence in teaching and staff members for making the extra effort for students.

The awards were run in partnership between Goldsmiths Students’ Union and the university.

The award for Challenging and Inspiring Teaching went to Matt Ward, head of the Department of Design. He was hailed as a “formidable educator” who encourages independent learning by challenging students in a “constructive and gentle way”.

The award for Outstanding Use of Research in Teaching went to Dr Rebecca Charlton from the Department of Psychology. Dr Charlton was praised for including students in her published work, with one tribute to her saying: “I’ve not seen someone make research so vital to teaching in such an effortless way.”

The award for Compelling or Diverse Curriculum Content was won by Dr Yasmin Gunaratnam, from the Department of Sociology. Her work was highlighted for making a “much-needed effort to diversify the curriculum and talk about theory and works from people of colour both prominent and lesser known, making the course so much more exciting”.

The award for non-academic or support staff member who has gone above and beyond the call of duty went to Mr Ibrahim Seak from the security team at Goldsmiths. A nomination for Ibrahim said he was the “one of the warmest presences” at the university. The nomination continued: “Ibby never cared whether you were staff or a student, he still treated everyone with the same level of respect and love that made him such a great guy.  He is a treasure at Goldsmiths!”