The students gathered at Venue 360 in Luton where they crossed the stage to receive their hard-earned awards in front of proud families and friends.

Among them was PhD student Francis Koce, whose study focused on understanding healthcare self-referral in Nigeria from the service users’ and service providers’ perspective, aiming to support the improvement of health services in Nigeria. His work has already been published in leading international health journal BMC.

Francis’ supervisor, Prof Gurch Randhawa said: “It has been an absolute privilege to support Francis with his PhD. His work has the potential to increase efficiency in international healthcare systems.”

The students were also joined by Chantal Fowler-Lockey the Founder and Chief Executive of The Foundation for Infant Loss Training, an organisation that provides education in infant loss and bereavement. Chantal was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science in recognition of her outstanding services to charitable services.

Beds SU Vice President for Education Justin Nwajagu offered some words of advice to the new graduates, saying: “The world is full of nice people and if you can’t find one; become one yourself. When you go out there, there will be very painful moments in your life that will change your entire world in a matter of seconds or minutes. These moments will change you, but only let them make you stronger, smarter and kinder.”

Bedfordshire Vice Chancellor Bill Rammell congratulated the Class of 2019, saying: “You are a credit to your lecturers, to the friends and family who have supported you throughout your studies, but most of all you are a credit to yourselves. I wish you every happiness in your well-earned achievement and I hope that you will each rightly celebrate in style.”