School of Continuing Professional Education (SCOPE), City University Hong Kong celebrates graduates in live-stream event.

Still taken from Youtube livestream of event at the School of Continuing Professional Education (SCOPE), City University Hong Kong

2 August 2021

In June this year, due to the ongoing global pandemic, City University Hong Kong held their graduate celebrations via livestream so that colleagues from the UK could join them virtually.

Due to the ongoing global situation, staff from the University of Bristol were not able to attend in person the celebration in Hong Kong of graduates from the EdD and MSc programmes on June 11th 2021. Instead, the ceremony was overseen by our partners based at the School of Continuing Professional Education (SCOPE), City University Hong Kong and viewed by us via live stream.

Outgoing Director of SCOPE, Dr Louis Ma, acknowledged the success of graduates across the world as well as our own students from the University of Bristol and the City University of Hong Kong. He praised the students’ response to these ‘unusually challenging times’ and commended the ‘hard work, resilience and tremendous efforts’ of all. His successor, Dr John W.K. Leung, PhD, EdD and a University of Bristol alumni presented those graduating formally to Dr Ma.

Head of the School of Education Professor Melissa Allen, and co-directors of the Doctor of Education (EdD) programme in Hong Kong Dr Janet Orchard and Professor Robin Shields recorded video messages congratulating and commended the students. Janet and Robin expressed their disappointment at not being able to join the cohort of graduates in Hong Kong and spoke of the great honour of teaching, supervising and overseeing the programs. Melissa/Professor Allen spoke of how graduation marks a rite of passage and of how the core values of the University are still very much with us however the world around us changes;

“Our programs are challenging and we make no apology for this. The University of Bristol fosters critical thinkers and independent learners. It is these attributes which make our graduates so sought after. Your degree will open doors you can not yet see or imagine. We hope that you will not be a passive observer of events but rather that you will use your abilities to make positive in your workplace, your community and your society.”

Two students, Thomas Clark and Mark Blackshaw,were awarded the Elisabeth Lazarus award for outstanding academic achievement. Elisabeth Lazarus was a much-loved former member of academic staff at the School of Education and Director of the Masters Programme in Hong Kong, who sadly passed away in 2017.

The full recording of the livestream celebration can be seen here.