Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University will this week award 1,012 qualifications at its Te Whakapōtaetaka Graduation Ceremony – the largest in its 146-year history.
The 2024 total of 1,012 qualifications conferred is an increase of 35% on the 2023 total of 753 qualifications conferred, the University confirmed in a statement.
The graduation ceremony will be held over morning and afternoon sessions at the Christchurch Town Hall on Friday, preceded by full-regalia processions in which graduating students march to the Town Hall from the Christchurch Art Gallery, accompanied by their academic mentors and members of the wider Lincoln University staff whānau.
In addition to the ceremony, the University will host several ancillary events, including a dinner for PhD graduates on Wednesday 8 May and a function for Sport and Future Leaders and their friends and whānau on Thursday 9 May. Rā Whakamana, a celebration of graduating Māori and Pasifika students, will be held on Thursday 9 May, with large numbers of the students’ whānau coming from all over Aotearoa to support the tauira in celebrating their academic achievements.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Grant Edwards said the pleasing growth in graduate numbers mirrored the strong growth in enrolment numbers and underscored the University’s strategic approach to addressing industry demand for skilled graduates while meeting the needs of students pursuing an education in specialist land-based disciplines.
Lincoln University has enjoyed a year-on-year increase in student enrolments over the last five years, with the Semester 1 2024 cohort up 20% on 2023, and the total student population on track to exceed 5,000 by the end of this year.
“The strong and sustained growth in our student head count as well as our graduating cohort signals Lincoln University’s increasing influence in shaping the future of the land-based sectors in Aotearoa and globally,” said Professor Edwards.
“Our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills to contribute direct to industry, and our employment outcomes remain high, at 84%.
“Increasingly Lincoln’s education and research programmes are leading positive and impactful change in the land-based sectors in an era where all sectors of society are demanding the application of more efficient and sustainable production practices that safeguard the environment and intergenerational wellbeing.”
Six Lincoln University Awards, comprising honorary doctorates, medals and one trophy, will also be presented at the Graduation ceremony.
Honorary doctorates will be awarded to former Chancellor Steve Smith and Deborah Gilbertson CNZM.
The University’s top medal, the Bledisloe Medal, will be awarded to Director-General of DoC, Penny Nelson, while the Alumni International Medal will be awarded jointly to ocean explorer Robert McCallum and Dr Ghana Shyam Gurung of the World Wildlife Fund.
The Ngāti Moki Trophy for Māori leadership will be awarded to Professor Hirini Matunga.
