ÑÇÖÞÇéÉ«

Download and watch online

Watch the recording of your graduation ceremony online or download it to view later.

Viewing ceremonies

You can watch each ceremony live on the graduation homepage.

Transcripts and subtitles for each ceremony video will be added as soon as possible after each ceremony has finished.

If you would like to know when a transcript is ready, email dcm@sussex.ac.uk and we will alert you.

For more details, read our accessibility statement.

Ceremony schedule for winter 2025

Wednesday 22 January 2025

Ceremony 1 at 10am

• Video transcript

  [‘Trumpet Fanfare’ music playing] (A procession of University senior academics and staff in ceremonial robes enter the auditorium, walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduands and guests, ascend the stage via staircases on the left and right respectively, and take their seats. At the end of the procession are two academics/staff with ceremonial torches who on stage bow to each other, the rows of academics/staff, and then place the torches on a small, raised table with a cloth at the very front of the stage.) 

  [Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:

  Good morning. I declare open this congregation of the ÑÇÖÞÇéÉ«. I'm delighted as chancellor to welcome you formally to this graduation ceremony. A warm welcome to our honoured guests, our distinguished faculty members, and to those of the professional services here at Sussex. But the warmest of welcomes are for you, our graduands and your family and friends who join you here today. And to those who couldn't make it in person and maybe are watching this via a live video stream around the world.

  Graduation is one of the highlights of the university year. As such, as you can see up here on the stage, we've made a bit of an effort with our gowns, our bow ties and dressing up. Some have even brought forward their weekly baths and invested in deodorant. And this is all in honour of you and our pride in your fantastic achievement.

  The ÑÇÖÞÇéÉ« motto is "Be still and know" and I hope that at some point today, you can find a quiet moment to reflect on your accomplishments and the journey that brought you here. And I know that many of you have had to overcome many challenges on that journey to get to this day. Struggling to balance your studies with home life in some cases whilst raising children or supporting loved ones, experiencing loss and health issues, trying to survive on overdrafts loans or family help, perhaps battling loneliness, anxiety, self-doubt, and even sometimes the doubts of others. But you didn't give up. You didn't give in, and you've seen it through.

  For many, today will mark the end of your academic journey, a journey that started all those years ago at nursery or kindergarten where you learned that teddy bears could be real friends, that throwing things on the floor could be fun, that splashing in puddles was even more fun. That half your food on your mouth, the other half on your face was a perfectly acceptable ratio, and the hated phrases were "no more ice cream" and "time for bed". Through all your school years and exam pressures that led you to Sussex, where you learned that last night's pizza was a perfectly acceptable breakfast, that you could indeed make it to a 9:00 AM lecture if you woke up at 8:55. Late night chats fuelled by Dr. Caffeine or Miss Chardonnay, where you found the answer to life, the universe and everything, and you too have forgotten it the next morning and hated the phrases, "wifi not available" and "the assignment deadline is tomorrow". But at least there was no one to say "no more ice cream" and "time for bed".

  Which brings us to today. Your glorious day. And thank you families and friends I know from experience how much you've supported and sacrificed for your graduand and to be here and we're humbled and honoured that you now all have a connection to Sussex. So graduands in a short while, a name will be read out, hopefully approximating to yours, and you will take the mere 20 or so steps across this stage, terrified that you're gonna lose your hat or mortarboard, wondering whether the heels were a good idea, or whether your flies are open. And praying that you don't trip over your gown and end up in the lap of someone in the front row. But what an array of laps we've arranged for you this morning. It's like Squid Game meets the Antiques Roadshow.

  Now I'm beholden tell you or remind you, I know some of you have been up here before, but you haven't actually got your degree yet, and you getting it might just depend on how much love you show me when you come up here. No love for the Chancellor, no degree. But seriously, feel free to express yourself when you come up here in whatever way you want, as long as it's within the bounds of decency and legality.

  Over the years we've had handshakes, hugs, high fives, fist bumps, dabs dancing and press ups. I've gone along with all of them, but please, if you do press ups, that you're most welcome to do, don't expect me to do them with you. I can get down, I'm not sure I can get back up at my age. And family and friends, this is your day too. So when the time comes, please have your cameras ready and feel free to make some noise as your loved one crosses the stage. And if anyone is here on their own today, then I'll be your family or friend. So no one's here alone.

  Okay. I call upon the Vice Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, to address the congregation.

  [Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, stands and approaches the lectern to make an introductory speech.]

  Professor Sasha Roseneil:

  Mr. Mayor, distinguished guests, members of the university, parents, supporters, friends, and above all our graduands Sussex class of 2024. It's my great honour and enormous pleasure to welcome you here today. I'm Professor Sasha Roseneil. I'm the Vice Chancellor and president of the ÑÇÖÞÇéÉ«.

  As our chancellor Sanjeev Bhaskar has reminded us, today is all about you, our graduands. Today is celebration for you and of you and of all that you've achieved during your time at Sussex. It's also a moment to acknowledge that many of you have benefited in countless tangible and intangible ways from the love and support of your family or guardians and carers, and from the encouragement of your friends and of course from the teaching and guidance of staff at the university.

  You may also have had support from our alumni community and donors who've generously provided scholarships that have enabled you to study at Sussex. So I'm now going to ask for some participation from you. Our graduands, if you are able, would you please stand up and turn and face the audience, your friends and loved ones behind you, and offer your thanks with a big hearty round of applause? Thank you. Please do be seated again.

  As a university, we at Sussex are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for every member of our diverse and international community. And that extends to our celebrations today. This is an important event, not only in the lives of our graduates, but for everyone in the auditorium, some of whom have traveled a very long way to be with us. Sussex students represent the most wonderful variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. You come each year from over 130 countries around the world, and we have people in the audience of many different nationalities and faiths. And amongst everyone gathered here, there will be a huge diversity of opinion and belief about almost every matter under the sun. And that diversity of thought and belief is a very special thing, something that Sussex as a university seeks to uphold and support.

  We have a foundational commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom. It's our job as a university to create an environment in which diversity of belief and opinion can be explored. And so we nurture the conditions under which people can respectfully discuss and debate difficult ideas, where propositions can be tested, analysis undertaken, theories developed, and where minds can be expanded and changed. We are living in deeply troubled times with war and conflict, terror, death, and the destruction of habitats, economic hardship, hunger and inequality, as well as climate crisis and environmental degradation, giving enormous concern amongst Sussex students.

  Many Sussex students and their families and loved ones I'm sure hold passionate opinions about the causes, consequences and solutions to these issues. And so as we gather here today to celebrate graduation, I would like to emphasise that the university supports and will always support freedom of expression that is lawful and respectful of others, mindful of the humanity and diversity that's at the heart of our university community. And that is what binds us together across nations and faiths as a global community.

  So Sussex graduands, I'd like to thank you all for all that you've contributed to making our university a place of community inclusion and diversity, a warm, open and welcoming place. In the two and a half years since I became vice chancellor, I've come to realise that Sussex students are the very embodiment of energy, hope, and possibility alongside your academic work. Many of you have taken part in an impressive range of other activities as members and leaders of student societies and groups, and as volunteers helping and supporting other people on and off campus. Many of you are today receiving a spirit of Sussex Award for positive involvement with the community. From serving as campus ambassadors to fundraising for local causes and creating new ways for our campus to be more environmentally sustainable. I commend your commitment to your extracurricular activities well done on all that you've achieved alongside your formal studies.

  Over the past few years, I've had the great pleasure of meeting many Sussex alumni, not just from the UK but from across the world in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. And I've been overwhelmed by how many of them told me how much they loved their student days at Sussex and how the experience of studying at Sussex had fundamentally shaped their lives and careers. They record encountering new ideas and ways of thinking that transformed their worldview, as well as making friendships and building networks that have accompanied them ever since. I sincerely hope that you, our graduates will feel the same in the years to come.

  Whether you already have a job or are taking time to explore the world or looking for your next opportunity, you can be confident that you are leaving a university with a global reputation, a university that has equipped you with the knowledge and skills to think critically and creatively, to work across the boundaries of established knowledge and to understand the importance of a global perspective. You've been tutored and supervised by academics who are internationally recognised for the quality of their research and scholarship. The breadth and depth of their research has directly informed your education across the disciplines and in the spaces in between. Our research focuses on the urgent concerns of our time.

  Some of you might have seen our "Impossible until it's done" campaign on our website, on banners and buses. Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela, we are highlighting the work we are doing to tackle pollution in rivers, to find new ways to treat dementia, and to improve young people's mental health using AI and digital tools. We know the great value of our research, but we also recognise the importance of sharing our successes and ambitions with wider audiences.

  And Sussex has much to celebrate. For the eighth consecutive year, we, along with our campus partner, the Institute of Development Studies, have been ranked first in the world for development studies. This is outstanding achievement by our academics. Development studies seeks understandings of and progress towards global equity, social justice, and sustainability, and is very much at the heart of what Sussex is about right across the disciplines. One of the key measures of the strength and impact of a university is the extent to which the publications of its academics are cited by other academics.

  And Sussex really does punch above our weight in many areas in this respect. In the world's most prestigious university league table, the QS World rankings. This year we have nine subject areas in the top 10 in the UK for citations with two subject areas, history and physics and astronomy. Each ranked first in the UK. We were also recognised as the eighth most sustainable university in the UK and 16th for employment outcomes in the UK. And for the past three years, the ÑÇÖÞÇéÉ« Business School has been ranked top in the UK for Business and Management research income. This funding is being used to tackle global challenges in sustainability, energy demand, trade policy, equality, innovation and digital technologies.

  All this means that Sussex research is improving the lives of people around the world, enhancing and advancing developments in technology and influencing the policies of governments, as well as making a positive difference to the protection and regeneration of our natural environment. Now I know that many of you graduating today have had extraordinary and sometimes difficult life journeys. All of you have been through the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of you have struggled with mental and physical health issues. Some of you have faced loss and family disruption during your student days, but each of you has had a unique journey through your time at Sussex with its ups and downs.

  Whatever your Sussex story though, I hope when you look back at your time with us, you feel your studies were challenging, intellectually rigorous, that you were stretched, stimulated, and supported to achieve your best. And that you are leaving with knowledge, skills, and personal resources that will stand you in good stead. And also that you've made connections and friendships that will stay with you long into the future. You'll take many different paths now as you join our community of more than 200,000 alumni around the world.

  Our alumni include Nobel Laureates, grassroots, campaigners and activists, heads of state and vice presidents, leaders, influencers and creative practitioners in the arts and entertainment, writers, journalists and academics, chief executives of national and multinational organisations. And those with less high profile but no less significant lives and careers. People whose actions and relationships remake and renew the social fabric in small positive ways every day across the globe. In more than 160 countries and in all walks of life, Sussex alumni are sharing the benefits of their experience here to make the world a better place. I know you will do that too.

  So graduands celebrate who you are today. Celebrate the commitment you made to achieve your degree, the fact that the sacrifices you made were worth it. That the belief in yourself that made it possible has come true. And celebrate those who helped you reach this point in your journey. In short, celebrate.

  (Graduands and guests applaud.)

  I call upon the Head of the School of Global Studies, Professor Geert De Neve.

  [Head of the Head of the School of Global Studies, Professor Geert De Neve, stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar]

  Professor Geert De Neve:

  Chancellor, I present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology...

  Laurie MAY-MILLER

  For Anthropology and International Development (with a study abroad year)...

  Bishoy ZAKI

  For Geography…

  Charlotte HEENAN

  For Geography and International Relations…

  Daisy YEO

  For International Development with a Language…

  Maria Antonette BAYA

  For International Relations…

  Finn WRIGHT

  For the Postgraduate Certificate in International Security…

  also awarded the prize for the Best Dissertation in International Security Oluwatobi Daniel OYETOKI

  For the Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations…

  Eunji KIM

  For the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology of Development and Social Transformation…

  Emily Brooks,

  Morgan GIAMPAOLO

  Luba KHALILI

  Jessica Jade ROCHESTER

  For Conflict, Security and Development…

  Thomas AFFORD

  Also the recipient of the Jesse White Masters Scholarship Hamzah AHMED 

  Khulood Ahmed Sheikh AL-LABANI

  Ibrahim Fathi Ibrahim ALGHADAMSI

  Koshin Abdi HASHI 

  Diepriye Tonjo KORUBO

  Also jointly awarded the Lisa Smirl Prize for the highest Dissertation Mark in Conflict, Security and Development Daniela Alexandra QUINCHE PACHON

  Ryad SHKAIR

  For Environment, Development and Policy…

  Sapargul Abdinabievna ABDINABIEVA

  Ryoka BETTO Marie CLERC

  Iva MARKOVIC

  Tshoganetso MASUNGA

  Isaac MCHALE

  Ayomide Michael OJO

  India PEARCE

  also jointly awarded the the Ann Whitehead prize, for the best Postgraduate International Development Dissertation Betul Aybike SAHIN

  Ashqua Muqueem Ahmed SHAIKH

  Petar TABAKOV

  Millie WALLACE

  Yang ZHANG

  For Food and Development…

  Maria Cristina AYALA NIOCHET

  Yuk Tong CHAN

  Also awarded the prize for the best dissertation in the MA Food and Development Oliver Martin

  Zachary Louis

  Dale Morris

  Dohyeon MUN

  Samuel Oluwaseun OLATUNJI

  Helen RUSSELL BROWN

  For Gender, Violence and Conflict…

  Basudha GUHA KHASNOBIS

  For Geopolitics and International Affairs…

  Lela Jasmine Furaha AHMED BOURDETTE

  Theo DYER

  Petra JIRANKOVA

  Charlie LOCKE

  Toby POWLSON

  For Human Rights…

  Sophia BARKWAY

  Hannan EDDE

  Also jointly awarded the Ann Whitehead Prize, for the best Postgraduate International Development Dissertation Paulina Patricia ILABACA MENDEZ

  Azusa KATO

  Ekram Adem MOHAMMED

  Also jointly awarded the Ann Whitehead prize, for the best Postgraduate International Development Dissertation Kaori MUTSUKADO, Congratulations.

  Ayane SANDERS L A D

  Shavinda Pumudi SISIRAKUMARA

  Krisztina Katalin SZEKELY

  For International Political Economy…

  Dilsu Oyku AYDIN

  Ayrton FAGG

  Christopher MARTIN

  Francesca WOOD

  For International Relations…

  Athija ALSERKAL

  Kayode ANIFOWOSE

  Sunday EGBUNWA

  Israa Malik ELFARMAWI

  Axel William Eric MCMULLEN

  Mai NISHIYAMA

  Peter PHELPS

  also awarded the prize for the Best Dissertation in International Relations. Sangeetha SUNDARARAJAN

  David Oluwafunsho TAIWO

  Juba THIEP

  Jantarathimas WATCHARASIRI

  For Migration and Global Development…

  Joan Alejandra Sophia DAVIES

  Bethany DURLEY

  Yucel KAPLAN

  also awarded the prize for the best dissertation in the MA in Migration and Global Development. Ying Yee LI

  Francesca PAINI

  For Migration Studies…

  Kyoka OIMATSU

  For Social Anthropology...

  Emily COLLIS

  Nozomi IMOTO

  Cristina MACKERRON

  Tegan MCLEAN

  James William TURNER

  Xinglan WU

  Figen CELIK KARAASLAN

  For Social Development…

  Regina MEDINA MORA URQUIZA

  Yuki MORIKAMI

  Rose NABALAYO WABUKE

  Megan O'NEILL

  For the degree of Master of Science in Climate Change, Development and Policy...

  Jonathan Mickael ANDREAS

  Max Fox

  Onaolapo GBENRO

  Laurence JOHNSON

  Edwin KIPSANG

  Moira MANGALINDAN

  Joy Blessed MUGANDA

  Katie MUSGROVE

  Ekeoma Malvina ONUOHA

  Edward RIMAN

  Also the recipient of the Peter Carpenter Prize for Climate Change

  Sebastian RODRIGUEZ VARGAS

  Lucy VARLEY

  Diarmid WALKER

  For Social Research Methods…

  Laurel Dean Jo HILLS

  Peter Martin Creffield RIDDELSDELL

  Abigail SEWELL

  Orlagh STEVENS

  Tanya WIJESINGHE

  Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy...

  For the thesis;

  Incidental War: Targeting, Software, and Bureaucracy

  Rupert BARRETT-TAYLOR

  For the thesis;

  Characteristics, Drivers and Predictability of Flood Events Events in the Tana River Basin,

  Kenya Augustine KIPTUM

  For the thesis;

  ¡Mujer y Taxista! Analysing the experiences of women in Malaga's male-dominated passenger transport sector.

  Belen MARTINEZ CAPARROS

  For the thesis;

  How 'global' is Global Health Security? Subaltern agency in International regimes of infectious disease control

  Dean Matthew James MOULL

  Chancellor, this concludes the list of graduands from the School of Global Studies.

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:

  I call upon the Professor Law and Social Justice, Amir Paz-Fuchs, to present Caroline Lucas,

  Professor Amir Paz-Fuchs:

  Chancellor, vice chancellor, colleagues, graduands, friends and families. The recipient of today's award really truly needs no introduction. So I'm gonna talk about myself. When I accepted the offer to join Sussex Law School and we moved to Brighton, we did the customary thing where I come from. And that is to make everyone else jealous. So we explained that we're between the Sea and the South Downs National Park, that the city hosts the most popular international pride festival, but we saved the kicker for last, that it has the only green MP in Parliament. True story. QED.

  Caroline Lucas, of course, recently stepped down as that green MP because she probably heard that sitting MP's can't receive this award so she could finally receive this honour today. It was only in 1989 that Green Party local counsellors were first elected. Caroline Lucas was elected as local counsellor in 1993, became a member of the European Parliament in 1999, the first leader of the Green Party in 2008, the first member of parliament representing green member of Parliament representing Brighton Pavilion, where we currently are in 2010. The fact that she was a Green Party's sole MP was not an obstacle to her receiving awards, including The Most Influential MP, The Most Ethical Politician - maybe that's a low bar, MP of the Year, People's Choice MP of the Year.

  But beyond her individual work, Caroline Lucas built the foundations for the next generation of dreamers and activists as she stepped away from parliament. The Green Party now has four MPs and over 800 local counsellors. More broadly, green agenda seems to be integrated into public discourse, education, and consciousness, although it has never been obvious. Caroline Lucas's story and legacy offers one of the most striking examples of the saying, often and wrongly attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win. How did and how does she do it?

  I'm going to suggest here that the secret lies in a less known fact about Caroline Lucas. And that is she's already even before this ceremony, Dr. Lucas. Indeed, as you would expect, Dr. Lucas wrote her PhD on Elizabethan literature. Now, you may think that her future political path diverged dramatically from the state inquiries into Shakespeare, Marlowe, and the like. But you'd be wrong. There is a clear line between the motivation that drew Dr. Lucas to the study of women in Elizabethan romance and her politics from then onwards. And that line is entrenched in the literal and metaphorical understanding of storytelling in the conviction that sometimes what separates imagination and reality is only time. And in the humility that leads to curiosity about people's lives, concerns and perceptions without which there is no empathy. And thus no good literature and no good politics.

  As she notes Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell did not only change Victorian's perception of the reality of urban poverty and public health, it led them to imagine a different one. That motivation has led Dr. Lucas to imagine not only a more sustainable planet, as we all know, but also very early on a world without nuclear weapons, then an economy that does not slavishly follow growth metrics. And most recently a world in which we can address death itself differently. It is no surprise that her book, which weaves together our literature, literary heritage in our political future is titled "Another England". Few people have encouraged, probed, and inspired us to in her own words in the book, imagine and pursue new and better hutures than the recipient of today's degree.

  Chancellor, I present to you for the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa, Caroline Lucas.

  [Applause]

  [Caroline Lucas shake hands with Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar.]

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:

  By the authority of the Senate. I'm delighted to confer upon you the degree Doctor of Laws honoris causa. Many congratulations.

  [Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Caroline Lucas goes to the lectern to deliver her oration.]

  Doctor Caroline Lucas:

  Thank you so very, very much Chancellor. It is a huge privilege to be awarded this honorary doctorate by the ÑÇÖÞÇéÉ«.

  I am truly grateful you've kindly said that the award is in recognition of my achievement in politics. Although you did also hint at the literary background. But in fact, I'd like to share a few thoughts about the importance of my first love and the focus of my first doctorate, which as you've heard was in English literature. And I hope that doesn't seem too perverse. I know awards in art subjects are being made tomorrow, not today, but in the words of one of my favourite novelists, Emma Forster, only connect. I passionately believe that if more politicians spent more time reading fiction and poetry, we would have a far wiser and a far more compassionate politics. Thank you. And here is why.

  First, because literature cultivates our imagination. And in many ways, you know, political failure is I think a failure of imagination. A failure to imagine, for example, what it's like to be a refugee so desperate to flee persecution that you are willing to take your life in your hands and step into a dangerously overcrowded dinghy. Because in the words of the British Somali poet Warsan Shire. No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark. No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land. Anyone, anyone at the home office or anywhere in government who has anything to do with drafting refugee policy should be required to read Warsan Shire.

  And second, literature embraces complexity. You know, my favourite words in the whole of Shakespeare, are from King Lear, where the Earl of Gloucester says to Edgar, “And that's true, too”. The siren voices of right-wing populists would have us believe that there are simple answers to the multiple crises that we face today. They seem unable to understand that several things, multiple things can be true at the same time. And that's true to four little words that I believe could work wonders in helping to diffuse the polarisation and intolerance that scars today's political discourse.

  And third, literature nurtures hope. Hope that things can and will be better. Not the kind of hope that's little more than a gamble, like sitting on your sofa clutching a lottery ticket. Rather the kind of hope that gifts us a profound sense of purpose. The kind of hope that the US writer Rebecca Solnit, describes as strong enough to propel you off the sofa, outta the house. And in her words is like an axe to break down doors with in an emergency because as she says, to hope is to give yourself to the future. And that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable. Making the present inhabitable right now means urgently tackling the accelerating climate and nature crises.

  And our challenge is not to accomplish as much as possible, it is rather to expand the very limits of the possible so we can accomplish what is scientifically necessary, not what is just deemed to be politically convenient. And that means cultivating hope building tomorrow, today in our actions. And in so doing, accelerating the better future that we know is out there As the Booker Prize-winning novelist, Aati Roy reminds us; another world is not only possible, she is on her way and on a quiet day I can hear her breathing. I hope everyone receiving an award today can hear that other world breathing.

  And I hope that they have every possible opportunity to help create that better world. And so I'd like to end by thanking you again for the honour of this degree by congratulating all those who are receiving awards at this time. And by expressing my very best wishes for the future success of everyone associated with this wonderful ÑÇÖÞÇéÉ«.

  [Applause]

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:

  I call upon the Director of the Institute of Development Studies, Professor Peter Taylor.

  [Director of the Institute of Development Studies, Professor Peter Taylor stands and approaches the lectern to present the graduands. As he reads the names aloud, the graduands walk across the stage to applause and shake hands with the Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar]

  Professor Peter Taylor:

  Chancellor,

  I present to you for the degree of Master of Arts in Development Studies...

  Prince ADU-APPIAH

  Ishita AGARWAL

  Andres Felipe ALEGUE GIRALDO

  Arifa Mamane AMADOU ARIFA

  Bernardo ARCE FERNANDEZ

  Raheel ASLAM

  Lucia AWAD GUTIERREZ 

  Aliha Jannah BABAR

  Michaela BECCONSALL

  Mohammad Shafiq BESMIL

  Deeksha BILLA

  Lauren CASHMORE

  Chitranshi Charu DHAMI

  Ross DUNCAN

  Emma EVANS

  Bianca FORMENTON MACOLA

  Chuchu FU

  Shiyona Ann GIJO

  Syed Hammad HAIDER

  Thomas MARSDEN

  Christopher Harding MAYHEW

  Deep MEHTA

  Tara MOHANDAS

  Salome MONTERO SOLIS

  Mandira MURALI

  Nooreen MUSHEER

  Aishath NAHUMA

  Simon Kariuki NDUNGU

  Van Ngoc Tuong NGUYEN

  Antonin Lucas Quentin OLSZAK-OLSZEWSKI

  Rebecca Anuoluwapo OLUWAPONMILE

  Kirti PATIDAR

  Aleksandra PIATEK

  Jose Alejandro RODRIGUEZ DIAZ

  Ibanrapsbun RYNJAH

  Than Zin SANN

  Woo Palak Jignesh SHAH

  Ali Afnan SYED

  Tomoko TAZAWA

  Chintya TJUSANTO

  Lingmin XU

  Mariia ZAKHARCHENKO

  For Gender and Development…

  Jyldyz ABDYLDAEVA

  Aisha Ahmad

  Marian ANSAH

  Natalie Claire

  Arnold Amna Ashraf Ronisha BHATTACHARYYA

  Faith CHIAZOR

  Simin Ibnat DHARITREE

  Arina HATATE 

  Aminata JAITEH

  Honoka KANEKO

  Naa Komley KLEMESU

  Sunderta LASHARI

  Nelly Wanjiku MUNGE

  Frida Mariana QUEVEDO COVARRUBIAS

  Emma Simon Shreya TAMRAKAR

  Firewoyni Solomon TEWOLDE

  For Globalisation, Business and Development…

  Yuwa ARIMOTO

  Anushka BHANSALI

  Soru HIRATSUKA

  Durdana MAHFUZ

  Ellena MOUZOURIS

  Jada ORLEBAR-EARLE

  For Governance, Development and Public Policy…

  Esther Temitope ADEYEMO 

  Mary Ebube CHIEJINA

  Maria Cecilia FIOCCHI

  Nikita JAWA

  Ya Fatou B JOOF 

  Ana KOURCHENKO MENDOZA

  also the recipient of the IDS award for the best overall result and for the highest dissertation results, Caitlin Anne MCCOY

  Maria Alejandra ORMENO OVIEDO

  Josedomingo PIMENTEL CAVALIE

  Aarushi SHARMA

  Hemangi SHARMA

  Rachna VYAS 

  For Poverty and Development…

  Nancy LEGGETT

  For Power, Participation and Social Change…

  Ximena CANSECO MICHEL

  Mariel MIRANDA MIRANDA

  Daniel ORREGO CABANILLAS

  Chancellor, I will now present to you for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

  for the thesis;

  A gendered ideational political economy analysis of policy reforms in India's Maternity Benefit Act (1919 to 2017)

  Meenakshi KRISHNAN 

  For the thesis;

  Intersectional-Subjectivities, Embodied-Experiences and Everyday- Responses among the Maasai Community amidst Environmental Changes: A Mara Ecosystem Insights

  Eunice Eunice MUNERI 

  For the thesis;

  Illegal gold mining in Ghana: Revealing the hidden face of South-South collaboration,

  Akua TWUMASI-ANOKYE

  Chancellor, this concludes the list of graduands from the Institute of Development Studies.

  [The Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Keith Jones, goes to the lectern to present any late graduands]

  Professor Keith Jones:

  Chancellor,

  I present to you for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in International Relations...

  Ali SOHAIL

  For the postgraduate diploma in Climate Change, Development and Policy…

  Ugwunna Godswill Iroegbu

  For the degree of Master of Arts in Conflict, Security and Development...

  Diepriye Tonjo Korubo 

  Temitope Oluseun Olayiwola

  In International Relations...

  Salman Assaf S Aboethnin

  For the Doctorate of Philosophy...

  For the thesis;

  Going nowhere fast: Infrastructure, place and power in the Western Italian Alps

  Gabriel Popham 

  Chancellor, you have now met all the graduands at this ceremony, and the moment has come for the formal conferral of degrees of the ÑÇÖÞÇéÉ«. I therefore ask you to confer degrees on those presented to you and to the other graduands who have indicated their wish to graduate in absentia at this ceremony.

  [Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar stands in the middle of the stage.]

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:

  Graduates, if you are able to, I'd like to ask you to all stand and on the stage as well.

  [Graduands and staff stand]

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:

  Thank you very much. I formally confer degrees on all those of the aforementioned. Congratulations Sussex graduates.

  [Applause]

  Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar:

  Thank you. Please take a seat. Well, congratulations again. Wow, that was quick. Congratulations everyone again, including our honoris causa Dr. Lucas, Thank you for your inspiring words as ever. Interlaced more with literary references that, I've heard before, which is fantastic and a joy, but it also reminded me about with regards to hope, which is so crucial and even more crucial at the moment when you're dealing with kind of, they're reading the dogs, they're reading the dogs. If you knew who that was, well done. 

  Hope is incredibly powerful and necessary. And I remember reading this is what reminded me when you were speaking, uh, a fantastic definition of positivity, which is positivity is not thinking it's all gonna be great. Positivity is thinking, whatever it is now, it can get better. And so that's a fundamental thing to hang on to. So thank you for reminding me of that as well. The other two takeaways I've got from this morning ceremony are one, you know, Jose came dancing on and I responded with possibly the worst dad dancing that I've done in years. I am a dad, so I can hide behind that, but nevertheless, and also, I'm gonna get a baby. I'm just gonna carry a baby around because immediately people want you.

  Anyway, you all smelled lovely as well, which is a bonus for me. So as your time here at Sussex draws to a close, we hope that you will remain connected to us and to each other as alumni and see your relationship with Sussex as a lifelong one. And whether your next step is gainful employment, the search for it, even further academic study, or simply some time out, I wish you all the best.

  In closing the ceremony the chancellor is supposed to say something inspiring or impart some wisdom. I'm never more conscious than I am at the winter graduations of being the least smart person in the room. But here's some thoughts that you are free to ponder, ignore or even better approve, improve upon. As your Sussex chapter ends, the future begins and it's imperative that you get to write your future, that you have some say in your story, because if you don't, someone else will.

  There is one thing that you can and will always be better than anyone else in history. And that's being you. That's what makes you special. And you get the opportunity every day to be a better you. That is your gift. Another word for gift, of course, is present. And being present is a really healthy place to be. You all have, we all have a wonderful personalised resource, a handbook made, especially for you, just for you full of pointers, how to be a better you. It's called your past. You can access that to learn on, to improve on choices that you made before, that weren't so great, and repeat things that you did really well. And if you read and listen to other people's past, you can learn from that too. So dip into those whenever you can, but don't live there. Regrets are pointless. Living is now the present. And that gift is that you get the chance to be better every single day. And then there's your future, as I said, it's yet unwritten, but waiting for you to write it and write it with as much positive language as you can muster. Fill your future with ambition, hope, dream and joy. Resist filling it with guilt, fear, anger, regret. I'm not sure if you can manifest physical things, but you can manifest a mindset.

  A few days ago I spoke to a really close friend of mine that I've known since my university days, and she just lost her home in the California fires. And she's not a wealthy celebrity or anything like that. She's an everyday lawyer and lived in a normal neighbourhood. And she's been told that it'll take between three to five years to rebuild her house and her community. And I asked her how she was feeling right now. And she said that she was upset that she couldn't save personal things like photographs, but everything else could be replaced. But she added, I believe that my life will get better. And I said to her, well, then it will. 'cause you just decided it will. She could have said, I'm scared of the future. I'm worried about how we're going to effectively start again at this age. And that would've been her present, and that would've been the direction that ahead would've been pointing. It would take a lot more effort to get to a positive place from there.

  So whenever you can try to give yourself the most positive, hopeful platform to start from, it's challenging to find perspective when one is overwhelmed. So, like my friend, I tried to reach for a simplicity that I think that helps me. I found the healthiest place to be in is one of gratitude. Feeling grateful makes you feel lucky all the time. It brings a semblance of calm that opens doors to your own, vast reserves of empathy and compassion. When negative stuff happens to a lucky person, it's just crappy life stuff, you know, you just, you deal with it and you move on. When it happens to someone who feels unlucky, it feels personal and defining and stressful, and it compounds. Yet, why does it always happen to me? What did I do wrong? Why am I so unlucky? An existent existential cry to the universe for help? A lucky person doesn't ask those questions. They're just too busy looking for solutions and to their next decision.

  Sometimes it is a challenge to find gratitude, but the more you look for it, the easier it becomes to access until it's just a habit. It's just who you are. So take hold of your narrative and use it to consistently improving. Be unconditionally you. Now I often hear people say things like, well, they're nice to me, I'll be nice to them. You know, if they respect me, I'll respect them. If they're not gonna show me respect, I'm not gonna show them respect. All of these things are conditional. What it says to me is that you, they're all based on the act of someone else. So in that, in those scenarios, who's really controlling the narrative? Be nice, listen, respect, because that's just who you are. If the other person doesn't reciprocate, then that's them being them. You be you.

  When we feel overwhelmed by anything, grief, anger, anxiety, regret, fear, envy love, beauty, we can lose even momentarily perspective. If we then have to make a decision in that head space, we may make decisions that we wouldn't have made if we were feeling calmer. So feel all the emotions, because you have a right to every one of them. But find a route back to perspective. The quickest route is to talk to someone, get another viewpoint. Even just hearing yourself saying it out loud, can help clarify things and then find your way back to gratitude. Then make your next decision. I mean, that may sound like a long-winded process, but the more you do it, the quicker it becomes just a word on planning and life.

  A lot of people will be thinking about planning and stuff. Now, planning is great. It's really, really useful. It allows you to see and build your steps towards a goal. But planning is linear, right? It has to be. It's one sort of rung of a ladder falling the next, life is the exact opposite. Life is a disruptor full of curve balls, the unexpected weird coincidences, the WTF World Tennis Federation, in case you're wondering, that's normal. So be okay with your plan and okay, when it's disrupted, that's just life. As I've intimated before, you have no idea what your future holds. So you may as well fill it with positivity. It may not change the outcome, but your journey to it at least, will be far healthier.

  Now, I've got lived experiences of these, some of which you may know. Now, you may be aware that Sussex was my first choice many years ago when I first applied to universities. And I didn't get in. Apparently my grades weren't good enough. So I waited 25 years till all those people who were responsible for me not getting in, had either retired, were in prison, been deported, or just died. And I just came back in as chancellor. So, you know, where was linear planning then? I wanted to act right since I was five years old. And I know this because when I was five, some uncle that came to the house said to me, well, young man, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I said, actor. And my dad said, it's pronounced doctor. Sadly true. So a career seemed absolutely impossible. But the dream was always sitting there behind, you know, a sea of fear and doubt. And at the age of 30, I sued the last company I was working for, for breach of contract. Couldn't get any kind of job for two years while that rattled through the legal process. And at 32, I thought, well, I'll have a go. I've got nothing to lose. And I or anyone else could not have foreseen that. Two years later I'd been a successful TV show, and it would be the start of a joyous career. Again, take that linear planning.

  So don't define yourself by a bad day, a bad week, a bad month, or a bad year. I had a bad decade once. I came out of it. And don't be afraid of making mistakes. It's the human condition. Just make sure that each mistake you make is a new one. Don't keep making the same old mistake. That's the definition of an idiot. And I can't fail. I just can't. So I don't, 'cause I haven't given myself that option. I can learn or succeed, or even better, both.

  Gary Oldman, the actor, said; I worried for so long about what people thought of me until I realised that what people thought of me was none of my business. So again, let them be them. You be you. And a quote attributed to George Elliot says, "It's never too late to be what you might have been." It's never too late. So in short, strive every day to be the best you. But who are you by the way? And who are we? We are always our next decision. And if that decision is kind and compassionate about other people, about ourselves, then we are being a better us.

  As I say to my kids, whatever situation you find yourself in, whatever people you meet, leave that situation, leave that person in a better place than how you found it. Whether that be your neighbours, your friends, strangers, yourself or the planet. It hasn't worked with my kids' bedrooms yet, but I'm, I'm still picking up after them, so I'm working on that one. So I hope you take your gifts of uniqueness, your achievements, your kind, compassionate choices, your empathy, your humour, and express it to the world, to each other and yourselves so you can live a life of gratitude and humility and be the lucky you that you have the choice to be. And by the way, the answer to the life, the universe and everything is 42. If you know, you know. Good luck. We're super proud of you. I am and will remain always grateful to you. For this day, I officially declare this graduation closed.

  [Music playing] (Senior academics and staff on stage tip their hats as two academics/staff walk across the stage to pick up the ceremonial torches from the small, raised table. They bow to one another before bowing to the rest of the academics/staff. Both lead lines single files of all the professors in separate directions down the staircases on the left and right. The academics and staff walk down the aisles betwixt the audience of seated graduates and guests and exit at the back of the auditorium.)

Ceremony 2 at 1.30pm

• Video transcript

  A full transcript of this ceremony will appear here shortly.

Ceremony 3 at 4.30pm

• Video transcript

  A full transcript of this ceremony will appear here shortly.

Thursday 23 January 2025

Ceremony 4 at 10am

• Video transcript

  A full transcript of this ceremony will appear here shortly.

Ceremony 5 at 1.30pm

• Video transcript

  A full transcript of this ceremony will appear here shortly.

Ceremony 6 at 4.30pm

• Video transcript

  A full transcript of this ceremony will appear here shortly.

Friday 24 January 2025

Ceremony 7 at 10am

• Video transcript

  A full transcript of this ceremony will appear here shortly.

Ceremony 8 at 1.30pm

• Video transcript

  A full transcript of this ceremony will appear here shortly.

Help with download

You may need Quicktime player to view a video, which is available as a free download from the .

Contact the university digital team by email – dcm@sussex.ac.uk – if you have any queries.

It can take a few hours after a ceremony finishes for videos to become available.

View past ceremonies

.

You might also be interested in:

• souvenirs
• alumni information
• future graduation dates.