Campus celebrations as over 1300 UCD graduates conferred in summer ceremonies
Posted 27 June, 2024
Photo Credit: Matthew Rose-Nel and @UCDAlumni
Over 1300 students were conferred with their degrees this month at University College Dublin.
Across three ceremonies over the course of June, undergraduates and graduates had the opportunity to celebrate their academic achievements.
There 586 undergraduate degrees conferred, alongside 714 postgraduate awards, including 274 masters, 308 diplomas & certificates, and 132 research degrees.
Over 100 Doctor of Philosophy Degrees were conferred to graduates.
Photo Credit: Matthew Rose-Nel and @UCDAlumni
Among the colleges and schools that celebrated conferrings in June were UCD School of Medicine, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, and UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, and the UCD Colleges of Engineering & Architecture, of Science, and of Health and Agricultural Sciences.
A number of medals were awarded to students in recognition of their outstanding achievements, including the Medicine Student of the Year Award for Bassem El Saghir as voted by his peers.
At the June conferrings, the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine awarded Mike Magan an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science for his "extraordinary contribution" to the Irish dairy industry, to AHI, to UCD and to Irish society more broadly.
Photo Credit: Matthew Rose-Nel and @UCDAlumni
The former Chair of Animal Health Ireland (AHI) and a Longford dairy farmer, Dr Magan was central to the establishment of AHI in 2009, which fundamentally changed the animal health landscape in Ireland.
Establishing a partnership approach to animal health, it brought together farmers, processors, animal health advisors, and government to ensure that Ireland’s beef and dairy production, valued at €9.2 billion in 2023, remained competitive in a global market without comprising on the health and welfare of Ireland’s food producing animals.
Former Chair of Animal Health Ireland (AHI), Mike Magan received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science from the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine Credit: Matthew Rose-Nel
Delivering the citation, Professor Simon More recounted that at his retirement as AHI Chair in 2021, Charlie McConalogue TD, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said: “Mike Magan has been and will continue to be one of the great leaders of the agri-sector. [His] leadership in the space of animal health has ensured our sector is better placed to face the challenges we will encounter in the future.”
Alongside his professional career, and the substantially impacted he has had on the curriculum within the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine - the only school of Veterinary Medicine on the island of Ireland - and work by private veterinary practitioners, Dr Magan is also well known for his charitable activities.
Notably, in 2020, he coordinated dairy cooperatives nationwide to arrange collection of over €300,000 in donations from dairy farmers for the Red Cross Appeal for Yemen.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
