Hundreds of beaming parents and proud families celebrated the success of their sons, daughters, fathers and mothers as they graduated from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen yesterday.
Future nurses, midwives, pharmacists and scientists, among others, packed into HM Theatre to celebrate the end of their studies.
Once every student had picked up their degree, they were addressed by the university’s principal, Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski.
He told them: “Every graduation is a very important occasion for the university because every graduation is a sign of what we are able to achieve, and it’s important for you.
“The learner’s journey is a shared one, because we are a community.
“The university learns from the student and the student learns from the university, and every generation of students that passes through the university leaves behind lessons for the next, so we are full of admiration for you and what you have achieved at Robert Gordon University.
“But this is not a farewell ceremony, this is just the beginning of the first phase of our relationship, and the RGU community that we all share, and you will always be a part of RGU in the future.”
The principal took the opportunity to encourage the graduates to think globally as they go on to begin their careers, and highlighted the importance of an international outlook in the wake of the vote for Britain to leave the EU.
Prof Prondzynski added: “We are a community which stretches well beyond our region. We have students here from all over the UK and around the world, and this is something we are incredibly proud of.
“If you look at this in the context of the decisions which have been made recently here in the UK, with which you may or may not agree, we must remain an outward looking, European, global and international university where everyone is welcome.
“Scholarship and learning are not confined to borders. We need the whole world to be part of that journey and part of that excitement, and this university will continue to operate in this way.”
