TEDI-London celebrates inaugural graduation

A special milestone was achieved on the 24 July as The Engineering & Design Institute London celebrated its first ever student graduation ceremony.

Held at our campus in Canada Water, the ceremony celebrated the achievements of the founding cohort of TEDI-London students who have successfully completed their 3 year Global Design Engineering BEng degree.

We acknowledged and thanked our students for boldly being the first to study at a brand new higher education institute and campus, which opened its doors in September 2021. Many of our students will continue their academic journey at TEDI-London by advancing to the 4th year Global Design Engineering integrated Master’s (MEng).

True to our ethos of being different through design, we made sure to re-define some of the traditional graduation motifs whilst drawing upon the heritage of our founding universities.

The graduation vestment worn by students was a bespoke design by Jane Cameron, a PhD student at UNSW, who chose the black and yellow Black Darter dragonfly species as her inspiration for the pattern. The design was selected following a competition where students from our founding universities were challenged to visibly define the TEDI-London graduand.

Created entirely from reclaimed timbers, the ceremonial mace was designed by Southwark-based community architects Yes Make. The mace features a globe, which has 3 longitudes and latitudes that mark out the locations of our founding partners (Arizona State University, King’s College London, and UNSW) in Arizona, London and Sydney respectively.

We were delighted to have a guest speech delivered by Isabella Mascarenhas, former Vice President of Education & Social Impact at RS Group plc. Passionate about youth engagement and humanitarian aid response Isabella now runs her own consultancy and is an active member of the TEDI-London Industry Advisory Group.

Graduate Shafeen Khoda was awarded the inaugural Founding Dean’s Prize, which was made possible by a generous gift from our Founding Dean, Professor Judy Raper, to recognise a student that embodies the vision and spirit that defines TEDI-London.

Prof Lisa Brodie, TEDI-London’s Executive Dean reflects: “It’s a true milestone-unlocked moment to have our first TEDI-London graduates, and a joy to celebrate the achievements of our entire founding cohort at the completion of their BEng degree. I’m incredibly proud and can’t wait to see them break boundaries, set new standards, and shine brightly in their careers. Congratulations to the class of 2024, and I look forward to seeing many of our trailblazers again in September for their final year master’s!”

Reflecting on what they are hoping to achieve next, BEng graduate and student speaker at the ceremony, Anjali, said: “I am interested in environmental engineering and sustainability and the project-based learning at TEDI-London has given me the skills and confidence to pursue a career in these areas. I plan to work with companies focusing on sustainable solutions, potentially contributing to global challenges like climate change and renewable energy. I see myself working at the intersection of engineering and sustainability, applying my skills to create a positive impact on the environment.”

With a global shortage of engineers, TEDI-London’s vision is to train and empower diverse innovators who can offer a broader range of perspectives when it comes to problem solving, to help tackle the ever-pressing global challenges we face. We look forward to seeing what our pioneering cohort go on to achieve after graduation and the impact they’ll make on the world.