Giving graduation a 21st-century makeover

I have attended my fair share of graduation ceremonies, as both student and begowned staffer. Of course, it’s important for family and supporters to publicly celebrate a loved one’s achievement. But my abiding memory is dullness. Surely only the task of invigilating exams surpasses graduation on the boredom and inertia quotient.

To be clear, as an academic attending my students’ graduations, I am proud for them, as they are for themselves, and delighted to clap mightily. But most of the fun comes pre- and post-ceremony – in the daft photos, horsing around, laughter, food and memories of field trips.

The graduation ceremony must be due for a 21st-century makeover. Why not make space for other voices or capitalise on new technology to move with the times and bring on the sparkle?

Let’s give students a voice at graduation

In particular, I’d like to see and hear much more of the student voice. We make a big deal of student-centred learning in our teaching. So why not give over at least part of graduation to hearing from students and their view of the university experience? For example, for the arts, why not reprise artefacts and exhibits from graduation shows or project these as a backdrop? Why not hear from students about their work-based learning through internships? Or organisers could bring back recent graduates. They could point the way for the latest batch, showing how they are faring at work and (hopefully) the positive difference they are making in the big, wide world?

• Alumni as a benchmark of student success
• A whole-campus approach to boost belonging for student success
• Preparing students to succeed in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world

This would put into practice Lev Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, which states that more knowledgeable individuals can act like a team leader in a peloton; in this case, that is graduates drawing graduands in their wake to enable them to gain new knowledge and insights.

Invite (or give space to) engaging speakers

Graduations can be stuffy affairs, lasting an hour or two, in which the most significant interventions are by parents and supporters shouting and (rightly) whooping as their graduand crosses the stage to shake hands with a worthy. I remember attending a family member’s graduation at which the perplexed audience had to stumble through an obscure university hymn. If you would like an irreverent antidote to such stupefying dullness, do watch comedian Tim Minchin’s speech when his alma mater conferred on him an honorary doctorate. His life lessons are hilarious – and somewhat more than the higher education institution or audience may have bargained for.

Celebs receiving honorary titles can be interesting, so long as their contributions are short and geared to the purpose of the occasion – that is, celebrating student achievement and not the individual’s own fame. I recall a Holocaust survivor telling her story as an extreme instance of survival against all odds and using her experience to educate future generations.

To link this point to student voice, there is the case of Callum Goode and his non-violent protest, which drew attention to the immediate need for meaningful action on climate change, at his own Lancaster University graduation. A university degree is supposed to enable students and graduates to think for themselves, to question and come to evidence-based decisions and positions. He seems to have been using his BA (Hons) in philosophy, politics and economics to good effect.

Graduations can be more immersive, grand and fun

With technology, graduation ceremonies could become much more immersive experiences – with well-curated audio and visual inputs. And why not hear – briefly – about an aspect of staff research linked to the graduation subject area. For a natural sciences event, it would be fascinating to hear about the use of drones as an anti-poaching mechanism, in Africa, for example.

Then there’s the venue itself. In 2024, I’d suggest that a worthy municipal building or dusty cathedral may not project the dynamic, urgent nature of world problems and opportunities, and the way in which students are taught about these. My old university, as a positive example, used a purpose-built conference venue with panoramic views of an iconic racecourse. It can also show that universities and colleges are in the world, and not apart from it.

In conclusion, let’s keep some 20th-century ceremonial pomp and ritual but add 21st-century technological wizardry, engagement and awe to the proceedings. A graduation is, after all, a rite of passage, a coming of age, to be celebrated. Let’s put the focus firmly on the graduates and their achievements (not the grandiosity of the university). Complement the award ceremony by unleashing the graduate voice, in the form of short cameos, “talking heads” and snippets of quality products from student learning: such as artworks, videos, podcasts, projects, field visits and a host of other outputs that comprise student assignments. Let’s make the grad grand.

James Derounian lectures on community governance. He is a national teaching fellow and a visiting professor at the University of Bolton, UK.

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