A temporary reprieve from the recent heatwaves meant that the graduation ceremony held at Rochester Cathedral in Kent on Thursday 28th July was a pleasant and temperate affair. Friends and families of the NRI graduates filed into the pews to watch the ceremony in the cool grandeur of the ancient edifice.
The names were announced by Professor Ben Bennett, Interim Director of NRI, and Professor Jane Harrington, Vice Chancellor of the University of Greenwich, received the graduates one by one to confer upon them, their awards.
Peter Griffiths, Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering and Science, praised the “amazing research” happening at the University of Greenwich, which, he said, is making a real difference to people’s lives.
He singled out NRI for special mention, saying, “for example, the research done by the magnificent Natural Resources Institute, which is a leader in promoting efficient management and use of renewable natural resources in support of sustainable livelihoods. Their work has transformed cassava and improved livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa, eliminated river blindness and improved lives in Bioko Island, and informed sustainable supply chain initiatives. They have even been recognised by the Queen’s anniversary prize several times.”
NRI warmly congratulates all the graduates and award winners and wishes them well in their next steps.
NRI students receiving the Doctor of Philosophy award included: Maria Carcamo De La Concepcion, Manuela Carnaghi, Christina Conroy, Thomas Adadu Omachi, Michael Ndegwa and Zainab Oyetunde-Usman.
Manuela Carnaghi also received the Vice-Chancellor’s PhD Prize awarded in recognition of the Best Programme of Postgraduate Research leading to the Award of Doctor of Philosophy. Hearty congratulations to Manuela for this exceptional achievement, and for her PhD thesis which received “no corrections” from the examiners.
For the Degree of Master of Science in Agriculture for Sustainable Development, the recipients were: Ayodele Oluwaseun Adebiyi, Abimbola Mary Oke Ademola, Michael Idris Alao, Suha Alhaj Kassar, Yamuna Ghimire Neupan, Deborah Tolulope Giwa, Vijaya Sree Guduru, Talha Hanif, Olatunde Hassan and Kachong Yohanna Kaboshio.
Awarded the Degree of Master of Science in Applied Food Safety & Quality Management were: Aromal Anilkumar, Gurleen Arora, Dhakshinagowri Gundada Vijayakumar, Susan Swetha Gunasekaran, Ravi Chandra Charyulu Kasi, Bolaji Olusola Makinde-Tade, Faria
Nabi, Teeja Thomas, Ijeoma Millicent Udensi, Wayne Jeffrey Blything, Cynthia Joseph, Roger Reinhard Preissner and Bilal Naveed who also received the Natural Resources Institute Prize for Best Dissertation.
The recipients for the Degree of Master of Science in Global Environmental Change were Olubunmi Olubukola Odegbami and Richard John Page who also received the Natural Resources Institute Prize for Best Dissertation.
The Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Food Safety & Quality Management was awarded to Tracey Heather Goswell, the Degree of Bachelor of Science Environmental Science to Junlan Wu and the Degree of Bachelor of Science Physical Geography to Luke Nash.
Jane Harrington, who warmly greeted each recipient, made a stirring speech in which she said: “Wow you’ve done it, you’re here graduating and it’s time for you to actually reflect on all the massive hard work you did to get you here today. We know that the next journey for you will be a really exciting one and we’d love to stay in touch. Congratulations to all of you from the whole University.”
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