More than 3000 students will graduate from Griffith University at ceremonies in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast during the next eight days.
Graduands will start walking across the stage of the Gold Coast Convention and Entertainment Centre from tomorrow morning (Wednesday) when Griffith business students will be presented with their degrees.
In total, the Gold Coast will play host to 1140 graduating students through Wednesday with students of arts, education, law, languages, health and sciences also donning mortar boards and gowns for afternoon and evening ceremonies. These will include 425 postgraduate students.
Business students (520) account for almost half, with another 245 from health, and 204 from arts, education and law. The science group, also covering engineering, environment and technology, includes 152.
Ceremonies in Brisbane will be run across Tuesday and Wednesday next (Aug 6-7), with 1254 undergraduates and 790 postgraduates to be conferred with degrees.
Among them will be Heather Gray, who will be awarded a PhD from the Department of International Business and Asian Studies.
Heather moved from Thailand to Australia in 2004 to take up a scholarship to research how older adults engage with computers and the internet.
“I’m relieved and delighted that the day has come,” she said. “It has been worth it.
“It will be the first time I walk across the stage at a graduation ceremony. In the past I’ve been overseas. But I’m looking forward to it very much.”
Heather currently works with Griffith University as a lecturer at the School of Information and Communication Technology. Her research findings are to be applied in Myanmar, in an initiative to deliver technology education in a developing country.
Among the guest speakers at the ceremonies will be Peter Johnstone, CEO of the Clem Jones Group, Cathy Border, Griffith alumnus and Queensland political editor with Network Ten and Don Morris AO, chairman of Tourist Think Tank.
The graduations will trigger an injection of newly-trained professionals into areas like education (175 graduating), tourism (140) engineering (81), nursing (76), environment (73) and aviation (38).
Twenty-eight new doctors will graduate from the Gold Coast on Wednesday.
Experience the New Griffith at Open Day 2013 on August 11 (9am-2pm).