Graduation day for hundreds of city students

UNIVERSITY: Caird Hall hosts awards ceremony – with another one taking place today

Hundreds of graduands celebrated their achievements at Dundee University’s winter graduation ceremony yesterday.

Students who completed undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various disciplines including medicine, nursing, education, art, business and philosophy, collected their certificates at Caird Hall.

Among those receiving honours was the UK’S most eminent scholar on Halal branding, who returned to his alma mater to pick up a prestigious Doctor of Letters (Dlitt) – the first awarded by the university in more than a decade.

Professor Jonathan Wilson has more than 20 years experience specialising in what he calls the ABCDS of business and culture: advertising, branding, communications and digital.

During his career he has published more than 200 pieces of work and received acclaim for his latest book, Halal Branding.

Having first graduated from the university with a BSC in chemistry in 1996 and then an MBA in 1998, Prof Wilson received a Dlitt for his compendium of published work stretching more than a decade under the title Being Hip and Halal – The Just Balance and the Floating World.

Prof Wilson said: “Previously, there was a view that Halal (Arabic for ‘permissible’, according to Islam) really just lay within the domain of food sciences and religious studies, as it is largely concerned with dietary laws.

“Increasingly now, however, it is being seen as a lifestyle choice and identity former, in a similar way to the more recent rise in veganism.

“Therefore, I wanted to explore in more detail what role faith plays in business and consumer choices.”

The last Dlitt to be awarded from the university was more than 15 years ago, as the accolade requires candidates to provide evidence of being an established expert in their field, along with a body of publications.

They must also be able to demonstrate original and substantial scholarship over a sustained period.

Professor John Rowan, vice-principal (research), said it was a “genuine pleasure” to recognise the significance of Prof Wilson’s impact as an academic, business person and public educator.

Yesterday’s ceremony marked the first day of the graduations, with more due to take place today.

Pictures: Kim Cessford. From left: Rita Mestre, Apostolos Paschalidis and Karthik Manokaran.

Graduands outside Caird Hall in City Square before the Dundee University graduation ceremony.