Medical students’ achievements take centre stage at graduation 2023
The achievements of more than 350 undergraduate and postgraduate students in medicine and biomedical sciences have been recognised and celebrated at the University of Southampton’s graduation 2023.
Students donned their caps and gowns and received their certificates in front of proud family and friends.
The Faculty of Medicine ceremonies took place on Wednesday 19 July at Southampton Guildhall.
Professor Diana Eccles, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, said: “Graduation is always a very special time of year and provides a great opportunity to celebrate the significant achievements and dedication of both our students and their teachers. We are incredibly proud of all our students and would like to wish them every success for the future.”
Individual students finishing this year, have also received special recognition for achievement.
This year the Donald Acheson First Prize for the highest ranked performance in undergraduate medicine was awarded to:
- Juliette Scriven (BM4)
- Bethany Holmes (BM4)
- Nicholas Uren (BM5)
The Faculty of Medicine Dean’s Prizes, recognising excellence in overall contribution to the Bachelor of Medicine Programmes and the Faculty, was awarded to:
- Raymond Effah (BM5)
- Batrisyia HJ Ahmad Ghazali (BM(IT) BRU)
- Osasere Osayimwen (BM5)
- Isabelle Wood (BM5)
- James Woodward (BM5)
Raymond said: “My time at the University of Southampton will always be something I look back fondly at. I have had the pleasure of learning so much about the patients I will be treating, the teams I will be working with and medical education, by fantastic lecturers who have been so supportive. My peers were brilliant, their achievements inspirational and I look forward to working with them in the future. I am proud and grateful to be a Southampton Alumni.”
Around 7,500 students graduated from the University of Southampton over the last week and a number of honorary degrees were presented to leading figures in the fields of oceanography, business, law and biological sciences.
In the Faculty of Medicine’s ceremony, Professor Stephen Duckworth OBE, a vocal and passionate advocate for disability on the international stage, was awarded an Honorary Degree.
Professor Duckworth was studying his medical degree at Guy's Hospital in 1981, when he broke his neck in a rugby accident and was paralysed. Despite numerous complications post injury, he qualified as a doctor, but his disability made a conventional route through medical training impossible. Stephen moved to Hampshire and studied for an MSc in Rehabilitation Studies at the University of Southampton completing his MSc and thereafter a PhD titled Disability and Equality: The Imperative for a New Approach. In 2019 he reconnected with the Faculty of Medicine when he became as a mentor to one of our students who was left with significant physical disability because of life-threatening illness in her first year at medical school. And last year, 2022, he became an Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering in Southampton with a research team focusing on the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to help prevent pressure sore development in disabled and older people.
For more graduation news, visit our University of Southampton graduation page .