Tag: graduations

Graduation with a twist!

Edinburgh Napier celebrates graduates of 2020 and 2021

  • Edinburgh Napier celebrates the graduates of 2020 and 2021 by taking over the capital for a graduation with a twist
  • A unique city-wide takeover will showcase Edinburgh Napier’s graduate names across billboards, bus stops, trams and more

With physical graduation ceremonies being cancelled for the second year in a row, Edinburgh Napier University is today (26th July 2021) launching their ‘city takeover’ to celebrate the success of hundreds of students who missed out on their traditional graduation ceremonies.  

The names of the University’s recent graduates will cover billboards, bus stops, a classic Edinburgh taxi and even a tram in tribute to those who were unable to receive their degree at the Usher Hall because of the pandemic. 

This summer’s graduation ceremonies and last year’s summer and autumn ceremonies were all cancelled due to Covid-19 related restrictions, disappointing students who had put in years of hard work only to be denied their traditional day of celebration. 

However, the University was determined to find alternative ways to salute the achievements of the graduates of 2020 and 2021, who had overcome the most challenging study conditions in living memory to reach their goals. 

The city takeover, from July to late August, will see the names of graduates from all six academic Schools displayed across 18 billboards and 100 bus stops, accompanied by messages underlining the University’s pride in them and offering congratulations on their success.  

Strategically placed around the capital, graduates can find their names via the ‘Find My Billboard’ feature on the University website by using their student number to pinpoint the site displaying their name. 

Locations will be linked to academic disciplines: School of Health & Social Care names will be near hospitals, School of Arts & Creative Industries names near arts venues and School of Computing names near tech industry sites. 

The takeover campaign will be captured on film and complemented by social media coverage with dedicated #NapierNames and local radio advertising.

Students who missed out on the traditional day of celebration at the Usher Hall are also getting the chance to come on to the Craiglockhart campus to have gowned-up pictures with family and friends taken by the University’s regular graduation services partner so they have a permanent souvenir. 

Professor Andrea Nolan, Principal & Vice Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University, said: “The last 16 months have presented students with formidable challenges as they have had to adjust to different ways of learning while coping with all of the disruption the pandemic has caused to our normal way of life. 

“Our graduates have shown enormous resilience and strength of character in completing their studies during this period of upheaval and we wanted to show them just how proud we are of what they have achieved. 

“It’s a huge achievement to graduate and we wanted to give students the same euphoria you get when your names called out on stage.” 

CASE STUDIES 

Hayley Kane, 24, BSc Animal and Conservation Biology graduate 

A student who was diagnosed with a rare cancer at a key point in her studies has successfully graduated from Edinburgh Napier University with a first class honours degree. 

Hayley Kane recovered from the devastating news, and two operations, to complete her BSc (Hons) in Animal and Conservation Biology – even though at times she had to leave lectures to change her dressing following radiotherapy treatment.  

Hayley, of Fairmilehead in Edinburgh, was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma shortly before her third year assessments started – although she only learned about it after it had been removed. The rare form of cancer develops in cells around joints and tendons, often near the knee, and is most commonly associated with young adults.  

Hayley had had issues with her knee for almost a decade, which worsened to a point where she was in constant pain and struggling to walk without crutches. 

The 24-year-old is now set to continue her studies in September with an MSc in Statistical Ecology at St Andrews University. 

Hayley said: “I’m thrilled to have completed my degree and I hope my experience will serve as inspiration to other students who may be struggling due to external factors. 

“It is possible to overcome hardships and achieve your goals as long as you are willing to work for it.”  

Dr Gavin Ballantyne, lecturer in Edinburgh Napier’s School of Applied Sciences, said: “Hayley has done brilliantly at Edinburgh Napier. Not only has she overcome serious health issues, but she’s also remained engaged, motivated and has produced an excellent final year project.

“We’re so pleased to see her graduate with a first-class degree and now go on to start an MSc at St Andrews.” 

Hashani Gunasekera, 28, MBA Business Administration graduate 

A new Edinburgh Napier graduate’s path to an MBA was almost wrecked by Sri Lanka’s horrific Easter bombings. 

Health management student Hashani Gunasekera was finalising her research proposal for her online course when suicide bombers claimed the lives of 269 people in Sri Linka on April 21 2019. 

The atrocity sparked widespread tension on the South Asian island and a security crackdown which included a ban on public use of the internet. 

Then, just as the situation was stabilising, along came the Covid pandemic which forced Hashani to defer her research into patients undergoing elective surgery so she could work on the hospital frontline. 

In a year in which no graduate had it easy, the 28-year-old has many reasons to be proud of the Masters in Business Administration (Health Management) she was finally awarded this week by Edinburgh Napier. 

Hashani said: “Completing my MBA has been a physical and mental struggle so I am very proud to have got over the line, with particular thanks to my supervisor Libby Campbell, who showed the utmost support throughout all these crises.” 

Hashani’s course was delivered by the University in partnership with the Sri Lanka-based Business Management School, and Edinburgh Napier teaching staff travelled to South Asia for the orientation programme and some lectures. 

Hashani is now working as a medical officer in a government hospital in Sri Lanka, a role which combines medical and administrative work.  

Libby Campbell, lecturer in Edinburgh Napier’s School of Health & Social Care, said: “Hashani should be proud of herself, achieving an MBA from Edinburgh Napier and doing so entirely online, when it was available, while working in frontline healthcare, during a major incident and its fallout, and during the pandemic.

“I’m glad I was able to help support her and I wish her well for the future.”   

Double graduation celebration for father and daughter

Adrian and Jasmine show that academic success runs in the family

AN award-winning Edinburgh Napier researcher and his daughter have completed a graduation family double.

Adrian Smales, 52, who first attended the university in 1992, returned here to do a PhD in Healthcare Informatics.

And his second time around graduation this week has coincided with 22-year-old daughter Jasmine being awarded a first class BMus (Hons) music degree.

Adrian, from Lasswade, said: “Jasmine is very independent and didn’t need much guidance from me during her course, but we did meet up for the occasional coffee at the Merchiston campus which was always nice.

“Now we hope to celebrate our double graduation with a barbeque with family and friends.”

Adrian originally graduated from the University with a B Eng (Hons) in electronic and computer engineering in 1998.

He returned to Edinburgh Napier to research a PhD thesis titled ‘Test-bed and evaluation of a home-based adverse event prediction infrastructure‘.  He has won a string of awards for his work, which in simple terms prevents falls in the home by predicting the increasing risk of significant inactivity, and has led to the development of wearable technology in collaboration with commercial partners.

Jasmine, though like her father a well-known face at Merchiston, has gone down a different academic route.

She said: “I was drawn to the music course at Edinburgh Napier because of its versatility and wide range of module choices. In the past academic year I have written an inclusive music guide for children, and for my final project I have written and created a demo EP that explores mental health.”

Ali honoured for putting Edinburgh’s literary culture on the world stage

ONE of Scotland’s leading champions of literature and literary tourism was honoured by Edinburgh Napier University yesterday.

Ali Bowden, Director of the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters in recognition of her contribution to the promotion of reading, writing and literary heritage.

University of Stirling graduate Ali enjoyed a ten-year career in publishing with Polygon Books and Edinburgh University Press before becoming Director of the Trust in 2006.

She has played a key role in establishing and developing Edinburgh as a UNESCO City of Literature and founding city in a global network of creative cities.

Passionate about promoting Edinburgh as a literary city, Ali has created projects ranging from community-based writers’ residencies and international exchanges to Scotland’s first citywide reading campaign, the award-winning Great Scott! installation in Waverley railway station honouring Sir Walter Scott, and the Stars & Stories trail of illuminated quotations celebrating 500 years of Edinburgh’s publishing heritage.

In 2011, the City of Literature Trust joined forces with Edinburgh Napier to launch the annual Robert Louis Stevenson Day, the first of many collaborative projects with the University.

The hard work continues, with Ali’s current focus being the creation of a Literature House at John Knox House, as part of a wider development of the Literary Quarter on the Royal Mile. Scheduled to open in 2022, the Literature House is an ambitious project that will be a point of transformation for Edinburgh as a UNESCO City of Literature in terms of profile, access and engagement.

Today, she joined hundreds of students at the School of Arts & Creative Industries graduation ceremony in the Usher Hall to receive her Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters.

Ali, 46, said: “I am delighted and truly honoured to receive recognition of this kind. My work over the years has never been easy but has always been interesting, diverse and stimulating.

“Edinburgh is an outstanding UNESCO City of Literature and it’s a joy to play a part in supporting the reading and writing communities here, and connecting our literary city with like-minded cities around the world.”

Professor Andrea Nolan, Principal of Edinburgh Napier University, said: “Edinburgh is a city which is rich in literary heritage, from Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson to the Rebus novels of Ian Rankin, and as the birthplace of JK Rowling’s Boy Wizard, Harry Potter.

“Ali Bowden has spearheaded the drive to make reading part of our lives while promoting the city’s literary connections on the global stage, and it is a pleasure to have her join our celebrations today.”

Frances graduates in the city where she met her lost love

A WOMAN who was widowed at the age of just 35 has graduated from Edinburgh Napier University, with the cheers of her late husband’s friends ringing in her ears.

Frances Ryan lost the love of her life and her dreams of motherhood when Paul Ryan, who she had met by chance in a shop in Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, died suddenly of a heart attack in 2009.

The couple had been married just four years, and Paul’s death plunged Frances into mourning and put all her future plans on hold.

Her fightback began when she did a Masters course, and she was then offered the chance to pursue a PhD in the School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier, where she had earlier studied for a year as an exchange student from the USA.

Frances’s academic journey ended today when she walked across the stage at the Usher Hall to collect her degree wearing her thesis, about online information and personal reputations, on her FEET.

Frances, now 45, said: “Paul was the biggest supporter I have ever had and he encouraged my dreams from the moment we met – he was always there to celebrate or commiserate with me along the way.

“However, my support network – Paul’s old university friends, my in-laws, my family in America, and my supervisors at the university – have done their best to be there when he couldn’t be and have made this entire process possible. It is all the more poignant because Paul himself did a postgraduate diploma in computing at Edinburgh Napier before we met.

“I would love to stay in the city for the foreseeable future. This is where my soul found a place of belonging that I never felt before. If you’ve heard The Proclaimers’ song Streets of Edinburgh, that sums up my feelings for this place.”

Frances, originally from Washington State in the USA, first came to Edinburgh Napier for a year’s study in 2001/2. She fell in love with retail manager Paul after a random meeting in a tourist shop in the Royal Mile, where he was covering for staff who were off sick.

After finishing her BA degree in America, Frances returned to Edinburgh to be with him. Paul proposed to her during a break in Venice, and they were married in her rural hometown of Cle Elum in 2005.

The newly-weds settled in America but tragedy struck on 26 April 2009 when Paul, 47, who was weeks from his first marathon, had a heart attack in the middle of the night and died despite Frances’s efforts to save him with CPR. They had been due to adopt two children from foster care shortly after his death.

Frances endured almost two gruelling years of widowhood before she felt ready to study again, and, in line with their plans as a couple to return to Scotland one day, she came back to these shores, doing a Masters of Letters in Media and Culture at the University of Stirling.

Then, as the focus of her academic interests moved from media and communications work to human information behaviour, she turned down two other PhD opportunities to take up a place at Edinburgh Napier’s Centre for Social Informatics.

Frances said: “I knew the moment I accepted that I was doing the right thing for me on a professional and personal level.

“The PhD here was based on my research proposal which was something I was passionate about, and I was also promised opportunities for teaching and public engagement work.

“I have travelled the world presenting my research and have done fun public engagement talks, including at the Bright Club and the Fringe.

“I feel very proud to have got to graduation day, and to have some of Paul’s friends here to celebrate with me. Although, like me, Paul considered Edinburgh home, he was originally from Billingham in north-east England. We both came from large working-class families, and were the first from those families to graduate from university so my dreams for a PhD became Paul’s dream, too.”

Frances, a keen recycler, even added her own quirky touch to graduation day by revamping a pair of high heels which had seen better days.

She demonstrated a deft touch in decoupage by taking cut-outs from the printed draft of her PhD thesis and used them to decorate the shoes she wore for the ceremony.

She said: “I got the idea from a framed photo I made for Paul before we got married, and I will hopefully be wearing them for presentations for many years to come.”

Professor Ben Paechter, Head of Research for the School of Computing, said: “I was lucky enough to chair the oral exam at the end of Frances’s studies.

“It was an emotional time as we all knew that this was the culmination of something very important for Frances personally. I felt a special connection because Paul and I were involved in student politics together at university.

“Thankfully, it became clear very early in the exam that Frances was an absolute expert in her field, and that her dream, and Paul’s, was going to be achieved.”