Chancellor honours Chinese students at Shanghai graduation celebration

The event, which took place at the Ritz Carlton, Shanghai, was attended by more than 1,000 graduates and their guests as students were applauded by their peers, teachers, friends and family on what was one of the proudest days of their academic careers.

Nobel Prize winner and Chancellor of the University of Bristol, Sir Paul Nurse, attended the event for the first time to present students with their degrees at a special celebration.

Sir Paul Nurse said: “I am really excited to be here, China is a country I know and admire and a graduation is a chance to celebrate a significant milestone in each student’s lives and to acknowledge the hard work they have put in to get their degree. It will be a proud day for us all.”

During his speech, Sir Paul Nurse left the students with some inspirational words of advice as they begin the next phase of their lives:

“Congratulations on achieving your degree and all the work which led up to it. Good luck with the next things that you do with your life. The world is a fascinating place; so let it inspire you.

“There is so much to know, so much to learn, and so much to understand. Maintain your curiosity, be excited, take on new challenges, help your colleagues, think of the world and humanity and what you can do for them both.”

This is the fifth trip the University of Bristol has made to China to host a graduation celebration to commend the achievements of its students.

A high-profile delegation accompanied the Chancellor, including the University’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Hugh Brady, and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement) Dr Erik Lithander.

A large cohort of senior academics and staff from across the University of Bristol also made the journey to Shanghai, giving many of the graduates the opportunity to celebrate with a member of their faculty.

“It is always an enormous privilege as President and Vice-Chancellor to visit China and to be able to honour our graduates for their degrees in their home country and with their friends and family present,” said President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol, Professor Hugh Brady.

“We are particularly delighted that our Chancellor was also able to join us this year to share this memorable event.”

Yanru Liu, graduated as party of the ceremony having studied for an MSc in Communication Networks and Signal Processing University. She said: “I am really thankful for the opportunity to graduate in China. Being able to attend this meaningful graduation ceremony means I do not have to travel thousands of miles to go back to Bristol and am instead able to be in my home country and have my family present.

“It is of great convenience of Chinese graduates to attend the Shanghai graduation, especially so for me as I work as an engineer in Shanghai, so I am thrilled because it only takes me 30 minutes to get to the event by subway.

“My family and my classmates are having a great time today and we are really glad to have the Chancellor here for the occasion!”

The graduates have accomplished studies across a range of faculty disciplines, including engineering, arts, science, law and economics.

This academic year (2018/19) just over 1,500 Chinese students completed their studies at the University of Bristol, including those receiving their degrees at the Shanghai celebration.