Hundreds of students receive their degrees as graduation ceremonies begin at Wrexham Glyndŵr University

Hundreds of Wrexham Glyndwr University students have celebrated their graduation today as the first day of 2019 ceremonies were held at the institution.

The students, from health, social science, business and psychology undergraduate and postgraduate courses, gained their qualifications in the first two of five ceremonies this week.

Fellowships were awarded to David Jones for services to the community and Nazir Afzal OBE for services to society at today’s ceremonies.

David initially became involved initially with North Wales Mountain Rescue as a member of both Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation and Search & Rescue Dogs Association (SARDA).

He is a qualified Cadaver/Submerged Water Search Dog Handler, trainer instructor, assessor and advisor with British and International Search and Rescue Teams.

Experienced in team leading in Earthquake and Natural Disaster situations in El Salvador and Turkey, he has contributed in Croatia, USA, Japan, Russia, Poland and Spain along with many other countries worldwide, and taken part in Humanitarian work in Bosnia, Kosovo and Mozambique.

Together with Human Remains/Cadaver search with the ‘Commission for the Disappeared’, he has
collaborated with UK Police Forces on cold case investigations.

Holding the Gold Medal for Professional Dog Handers Award for Devotion to Duty, the Queen’s Golden & Diamond Jubilee medals, the Croatian Silver Medal for Services to Mountain Rescue, David was awarded the honorary rank of Captain with the Spanish Army in 2019.

“Thank you for allowing me to join you in this celebration of achievement,” said David.

“This is a mountain you choose to climb, and today is your summit. You’ve all proven that you can climb this mountain, but remember – there will always be people like me out there to help you if you get lost along the way.

“I know the quality of Wrexham Glyndwr graduates first hand and I’m proud to now have one of them working and training with me full time. I’m very grateful to Wrexham Glyndwr University for awarding me this Honorary Fellowship.”

Nazir Afzal OBE, was Chief Crown Prosecutor for NW England and formerly Director in London and
recently, he was Chief Executive of the country’s Police & Crime Commissioners.

During a 24 year career, he has prosecuted some of the most high profile cases in the country and advised on many others, leading nationally on several legal topics including Violence against Women and Girls, child sexual abuse, and honour based violence.

He had responsibility for more than 100,000 other prosecutions each year. He was appointed to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

Nazir also National Adviser on Gender Based Violence to the Welsh Government. Most recently he
joined the advisory board of Google’s Innovation Fund for counter-extremism.

He is a tutor for several leadership programmes in the public and private sector. He is on the
European Union and Council of Europe list of expert speakers and assists the UN on rule of law.

Un 2005, he was awarded an OBE by the Queen for his work with the CPS and involvement with local communities. He was awarded the CPS’s Public Servant of the year, named Legal Personality of the Year by the Society of Asian Lawyers, the UK Government’s Justice Award 2007 and awarded the Daily Mirror newspaper “People’s award” voted for by readers.

He was awarded the Law Society/Bar Council Mentoring award. Nazir was also selected for the
Asian Power 100 along with the Muslim Power 100 list. He has been listed in the Pakistan Power100 which regards him as one of the 100 most influential people of Pakistani origin in the world today.

Awarded the lifetime Achievement Award by the Power 100, and the British Muslim Award in 2013.
He was Asian Media Group’s “Man of the Year 2012,” and the Asian Achievers Award 2014.

Nazir told graduates: “One individual – you – can bring a change.

“See this as a milestone on your journey. See this as an opportunity to build on what the great staff at this university have been able to give you. The only ceiling to your achievement is the one you create in your head.”

The fellows were presented to Wrexham Glyndwr University Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Professor Maria Hinfelaar.

Wrexham Glyndwr University Vice-Chancellor, Maria Hinfelaar said: “Obtaining a degree is not easy. It isn’t supposed to be, whatever subject you’ve taken and whatever degree classification you have achieved.

“It takes dedication and concentration.

“We put students at the heart of everything we do at Wrexham Glyndwr University and we are continually investing in the student experience.

“So far, we have invested in The Study and The Gallery, which are brand new social and collaborative learning spaces; we have transformed teaching spaces downstairs along B-corridor; we have upgraded our catering facilities; invested in new clinical spaces for health education programmes; and opened a transformed state of the art sports facility jointly with the FAW at Colliers Park.

“During this academic year, we plan to further upgrade the foyer and reception area and we also aim to create a new space for graduate start-up businesses, which will be available for recent graduates who look to set up their independent businesses.

“In the longer term, Campus 2025 will bring many more exciting developments such as a new Learning Gateway building and a reconfiguration of the external spaces, making them more pedestrian-friendly.

“To fund this, we need to sell some pieces of land in and around Wrexham which we do not require for university buildings, and we aim to do this in tandem with wider development plans for the region. In other words, our plans to transform the university and offer the excellent facilities our students rightly expect should also help the plans for Wrexham and the surrounding area.

“We want to offer inspiring places, where people can thrive and inspire others. That is what learning is about.”