Graduates inspired by passion for subject and sense of place

More than 600 Art, Design and Media students were inspired by industry experts and encouraged to seize every opportunity as they graduated from University College Falmouth last week.

Graduands from the College's innovative range of undergraduate degrees - from Garden Design and Graphic Design; Fine Art and Film; and the whole gamut of Art, Design and Media disciplines in between - received words of wisdom from several distinguished speakers during the six ceremonies held at Falmouth's Princess Pavilion in the presence of friends, family and staff.

Award-winning anchor and correspondent on ITN's Channel 4 News, Alex Thomson, regaled the audience with amusing tales of spectacular journalistic mistakes and spoke of the reach of Falmouth's reputation throughout newsrooms across the world; former Rector of University of the Arts London and current chair of the Design Council, Sir Michael Bichard, expounded on the power of design to change lives and the role of creativity in finding solutions to complex social problems; and Chief Executive of the British Library, Dame Lynne Brindley, urged students to treasure their talents and embrace a bright future that combined knowledge, creativity and digital engagement.

University College Falmouth also conferred Honorary Fellowships on bestselling novelist, Rosamunde Pilcher, for her outstanding contribution to contemporary literature; on Head of Multiplatform Productions for BBC Vision, Richard Williams, for his outstanding contribution to digital media; on leading artist, Trevor Bell, for his outstanding contribution to British painting; and on the Director of Falmouth Art Gallery, Brian Stewart, for his outstanding contribution to exhibition curation.

"This is a time for celebration and reflection, as well as excitement and relief," said University College Falmouth's Rector, Professor Alan Livingston. "External examiners have, once again, complimented us on our high academic standards, which fuels our aspiration to become Arts University Cornwall by 2012/2013," he added. "As our reputation grows, so does yours. You are the heart and soul of UCF and your success is our success so embrace the ‘why not?' and seize every opportunity. Your passion for your subject, the attitudinal skills that you have learned from your engagement with the local community - working with schools, the infirm and the socially disadvantaged - and recognising the importance of your sense of place will all give you the confidence and optimism to make your mark on the world."

A number of scholarships and prizes were also awarded to students. From BA(Hons) Fine Art, Frances Williams was presented with The Denis Mitchell Sculpture Award and Laura Culham and Leila Watts were both awarded Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Scholarships; Toby Coulson and Matthew Parker from BA(Hons) Photography and Jenny Welwert Gil from BA(Hons) Fashion Design were awarded Ferdynand Zweig Memorial Scholarships; Sarah Bagouin from BA(Hons) Illustration and Jenna Glover from BA(Hons) English with Creative Writing were both presented with City of London Bursaries; and Lucy Bailey from BA(Hons) Photography, Lisa Fuller from BA(Hons) 3D Design for Sustainability and Adam Thomas from BA(Hons) Music were presented with Sorrell Awards for Widening Participation.

In April 2008, University College Falmouth merged with Dartington College of Arts to create a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing.

The merger paves the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall in 2012/13, creating a Higher Education institution unique to the South West.

University College Falmouth is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.

For further information about University College Falmouth, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 213880.

Ends

For further information about this press release, please contact Jilly Easterby MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs by telephoning 01326 213792 or emailing jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk

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