Provost Nick Miles gave a speech which welcomed the graduates to the global alumni community of the University of Nottingham, one which underlined the conclusion of an influential period of personal development, to envelop the talents and potentialities of every graduate who took the initiative to embark on this crucial journey.

“The skills and experience you’ve gained here – whether in the classroom or laboratory, with a club or society, through volunteering or social enterprise – these will be of immeasurable value in the years ahead,” he said.

Students are graduated with the cutting-edge science and engineering knowledge as well as transferable skills, which will benefit for their whole life. Some of them have received job offers from both domestic and international companies. Some of them will continue their research in the top institutes.

Zhen Peng, a PhD graduate from Built Environment emphasised that the most valuable thing he learned from the UNNC is the method to do research. A Chinese saying goes “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Linjun Xie, a PhD graduate, has already secured a postdoctoral research associate position at Durham University. She won the “Green Talents” award among other young scientists in Germany while conducting her research on Governance and Urban Sustainable Development at UNNC, which was to contribute to the international collaborative project titled “Smart Eco-cities for a Green Economy”.

Her reflection on the research journey made her feel grateful for the broad opportunities of working with leading experts from around the globe. Linjun touched on the openness and inclusiveness of UNNC, as two appreciable qualities the university holds, “which are also the reasons why I would recommend it to many others who would like to pursue an academic career.  Here you can get support for studying abroad, conducting fieldworks, and participating in international conferences. Most importantly, you can enjoy the freedom of thoughts and the space to develop your own intellectual curiosity.”

We sincerely hope every graduate all the best. Let’s keep in touch.