Congratulations to our Graduates As the new Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, I'd like to welcome you to our Graduation supplement, produced in conjunction with The Oxford Times.

In my short time as Chancellor, I have begun to understand exactly why our new graduates should be so proud of what they have achieved during their time at Oxford Brookes and proud of the University of which they are now a graduate. Brookes staff share in celebrating the success of our graduates as they now embark on a new journey.

Each and every one of the people who have graduated, has worked hard to master their chosen subject. But they have also acquired one of the most important attributes in today's world: the ability to question, to reason, to think for themselves and to make up their own mind. I hope our graduates will carry this independence of thought with them out into the world, whatever their chosen career path.

Graduation is a wonderful occasion. It's not just a celebration of excellence and achievement but a celebration of all the potential and all the opportunities yet to come. Indeed, a Brookes degree is more than a certificate of achievement. It's also a certificate of future promise.

I would like to warmly congratulate our graduates and express thanks to all the parents, guardians, relations and friends for the support they have given. I hope that my own modest contributions over the next few years will live up to the expectations of the University, and that of our graduates, who as alumni, will continue to be part of the Oxford Brookes community.

Best wishes for the future and good luck to our graduates.

Shami Chakrabuti, Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University

Graduation Day is both an end and a beginning. But most of all it is a time to celebrate the culmination of so much hard.

Former students of Oxford Brookes are already working in all kinds of businesses and organisations in the UK and overseas. I am immensely proud to see this year’s successful graduates join a unique group of people from around the world who share an Oxford Brookes degree as a common bond.

Studying at Brookes has prepared our graduates for a world that has boundless possibilities, one where the opportunities are only limited by imagination and energy.

Many will be looking forward to careers based on what they have studied and on the experiences gained over their time here. Some will have chosen further study with a clear career path in mind, or perhaps with a longer academic journey ahead.

Whatever choices our graduates make, they will remain a part of who we are and how people perceive us. We are a university which is making a real impact on the world in a huge range of areas from architecture to medicine, social work to engineering, teacher training to hospitality and tourism. The reputation of our graduates is a large part of our own reputation, and I hope that Oxford Brookes will continue to be a part of their future too.

So I warmly congratulate our graduates on their success. Whatever the future holds and wherever ambition leads them, our graduates' time at Brookes will stand them in good stead. I feel sure that their graduation is the beginning of great things.

Janet Beer, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University