Middlesex awards Honorary Degrees to leaders in their profession

MDX honours individuals from Film, Architecture, Interfaith collaboration, Sustainability, Mental Health, Cancer research, Entrepreneurship and more

Graduation celebrates students’ achievements, resilience and success. It is also an opportunity for the Middlesex to recognise individuals who have supported the University, made a significant impact to their profession and a difference to society.

Commenting on Graduation Week 2024 and the Honorary Graduates, Middlesex University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shân Wareing, said:

“I will always remember my graduation day and our students will too. It’s one of those life moments that stays with you. I’m very proud to be sharing our students’ experience this week.

“I’m also delighted to get the opportunity of meeting this year’s recipients of Middlesex University Honorary Degrees and Medals. The individuals have all excelled in their fields of expertise and supported the University and our students.”

MONDAY

Adrian Wootton OBE

Adrian is Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission. Prior to this his career roles have included Director of the London Film Festival and the National Film Theatre, founding Director of Broadway Media Centre in Nottingham and Director of the Bradford Playhouse & Film Theatre. He is a Programme Advisor to the BFI London Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and Noir in Fest, Milan. A recognised authority on film and literature subjects including Hollywood, Italian cinema, and mystery, Adrian regularly lectures, writes, broadcasts and curates programmes.

A talk that Adrian gave to MDX students 8 or 9 years ago led to a strong working relationship between MDX and Film London. MDX has gone on to become a key partner of Film London in the Creative Skills Academy and Metro London Skills Cluster.

“I have been very impressed as to how the university significantly refined its outreach to industry and successfully initiated new projects such as The Connected Campus,” Adrian says. “I think MDX’s flexibility and its desire to work with other education and industry institutions in a collegiate and inclusive manner, to enhance its courses and the benefits to its students is what marks the university out.”

Adrian’s advice to screen students, from his own experience studying at the University of East Anglia: “Watch lots of things: past and present films and TV, and make sure you have understood as much as possible about its making. You can’t ever watch enough, and you will find that in our industry anyone successful is always watching for pleasure but also to keep on learning.”

Sevil Peach

In 1994, Sevil founded her studio Sevil Peach Architecture & Design with Gary Turnbull.

Their New Workplace Concept for furniture design company Vitra, completed in 2000, led to a series of internationally-recognised schemes, including Microsoft's HQ in the Netherlands, Novartis's offices in Basel, Shanghai and Boston, Swiss Re’s new Head Office in Zurich and Pan Macmillan's offices in London.

Collaborations with other architects include work with Herzog & de Meuron on the Tate Modern Extension and most recently, with David Chipperfield Architects on Rolex's new Head Offices in New York.

Sevil met MDX’s Francesca Murialdo and Naomi House at a 2018 conference. “We hit it off as we shared many views and aspirations about the role of design. Simply put, it is about a human-centric approach to creating inclusive, supportive designs and environments that affect human perception and emotion.”

Sevil reassures design students that “the design world and the role of design is very broad. You will find your niche, which may be far from what you originally imagined, but be just as fulfilling. Design is a never-ending learning process and experience. Enjoy it, believe in yourself and never say never.”

TUESDAY

Hege Saebjornsen

Hege is Global Circular Strategy Associate Director at Ingka Group, IKEA's largest franchisee.

After previous roles as a photographer, co-founding mental wellbeing social enterprise Mindapples, and working at foundation for social entrepreneurs UnLtd, she joined IKEA UK and Ireland 2015, soon becoming became head of sustainability. During the pandemic, she launched a unique partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund to drive grassroots community change via grants and support programme Places Called Home, with MDX as the academic partner. Her current work is focused on strategic direction and capacity-building to enable IKEA to achieve its aim of becoming a circular and net positive business.

“I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with researchers at MDX on a couple of projects,” Hege says. “MDX has an ethos that sees the value of bringing industry, students and academia closer together. It supports students in their learning and networking and provides important cross pollination of perspectives and disciplines.”

Looking back at her career, Hege says “I’m proud of myself for having had the courage to change from being a photographer, which was both cool and something I had studied for over five years. I even shot the album cover of 19 for Adele! “As designers, makers, engineers, decision-takers, we are all in a position of shaping the world we live in and we can all make a difference”.

WEDNESDAY

Professor Jo Smith OBE

Professor Jo Smith is Emeritus Professor of Early Intervention and Psychosis at the University of Worcester. An NHS Chartered Clinical Psychologist for 34 years, she was Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) Lead for Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust from 1999-2015 and Joint National EIP Programme Lead for England from 2004-2010. For the past seven years, she has been a National Clinical Audit of Psychosis Clinical Advisor to the EIP Audit in England, Wales, and Ireland.

Prof Smith is a member of the international ‘Zero Suicide’ initiative, co-author of an International Declaration on Zero Suicide in Healthcare, published in 2015, and served on working groups which produced toolkits for Universities UK and charity PAPYRUS. She is currently coordinating a collaborative project on national suicide prevention guidance, with several MDX academics as co-authors and MDX Director of Faculty Operations David Malpas as co-editor.

Prof Smith's personal connection with MDX began with a phone call from David in November 2021, asking for her advice and support following a student death. Prof Smith and David worked together as co-editors and co-authors of national postvention guidance for the HE sector – promoted for adoption and use at all universities by the Student Mental Health Task Force.

The advice Prof Smith would give to students is: “Be a 'yes person' and always be open to opportunities that may arise. Don't let self-doubt or anxiety stop you from pursuing options. When you aim for a horizon, you will find that the horizon keeps moving so you never actually reach an endpoint. The task is to keep moving forward in search of the next horizon.”

Thalie Martini

CEO of Breast Cancer UK since 2019, Thalie has more than 20 years of experience in senior public and third sector roles in the UK and Australia.

She has run high-profile programmes including a national initiative to transform care practice for children in schools, for Diabetes UK; a transformation project at Sydney's Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences; and numerous state-wide public health prevention programmes for the New South Wales State Government. She is proud to have supported Magpie Dance, the dance charity for people with a learning disability, to achieve Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation status when she was its CEO.

Reflecting on what she gained from university, Thalie says “it may sound basic or trite but the greatest gift I got was learning [how] to learn. It unlocked a desire to question, listen and challenge my own ideas and opinions, as well as others. Ultimately I understood that the nuggets of knowledge I had gained at University were a mere template for the lifelong learning ahead.”

Thalie says she is “absolutely delighted” to connect the work of Breast Cancer UK with Middlesex University. “We have been able to work with students who have supported our social research into breast cancer prevention and in turn our team have supported students and staff to adopt lifelong risk reducing habits.” In June last year, MDX and Breast Cancer UK collaborated on the country’s first ever breast cancer prevention conference.

Thalie’s advice to graduates is “be inquisitive. Don't be afraid to ask questions and to let people know that you don't know. Think what you can learn from those around you. As you progress in your career, think what opportunities you can create for others and how that might help you progress.”

The Rt Hon Lord David Willetts

After studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Christ Church College, Oxford, Lord David Willetts joined the Treasury as a civil servant, heading up the monetary policy division aged just 26, then moved to the Number 10 Policy Unit, before becoming Director of Research at the Centre for Policy Studies.

Elected an MP in 1992, Lord Willetts served as a whip and Cabinet Office Minister in John Major’s government, then had a series of Shadow Cabinet roles under William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith. In charge of policy co-ordination for Michael Howard, Lord Willetts developed an interest in social justice, touring the country to spend nights at a London homeless shelter and on a Birmingham housing estate. As Minister for Universities and Science during the Coalition Government from 2010-14, he won plaudits from academics for his tireless work, championing of research and his personal enthusiasm and affection for science.

In June 2015, Lord Willetts was appointed executive chair of thinktank the Resolution Foundation, of which he is now President. He chairs the UK Space Agency, sits on UKRI's board and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. A leading proponent of ‘Civic Conservatism’, he is author of a number of books on economic and social policy including The Pinch: How the Baby Boomers Took Their Children's Future.

THURSDAY

Tevin Tobun

Tevin grew up in Camberwell, then attended a sixth-form college in Hammersmith. From here, he went to MDX to complete a Health Studies degree.

On graduating, Tevin knew he wanted to go into business. Spotting a gap in the market following a change in government policy on school funding, he launched a design and build business, focused on reconfiguring space in schools. Although an outsider with little industry (or design) knowledge, he won the bid he was competing for: this marked the start of Gate Ventures.

From work in schools and with local councils, he saw the need to change how large deliveries in central areas were made. To address this he launched his logistics business, GV Group, with the objective of making food distribution around London safer and more efficient by using smaller vans instead of HGVs. GV Group’s operations have grown to cover the UK, Africa and South America, delivering 24 million meal items each year.

Today Tevin is focused on reconciling customer expectations of convenience with a move towards greater sustainability. His tech platform ROUTD modernises the servicing of ‘last mile’ deliveries by giving businesses complete transparency through a trackable, auditable, interface. GV Group subsidiary Repco Global supports energy and infrastructure businesses in remote regions.

Tevin’s charitable organisation, The Tobun Foundation, has offered more than 1000 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds a better chance of attaining higher education through financial support and mentorship. He is a council member at The Open University, and has roles with Inspirational You, Springboard, and the professional association Arena Network.

For the past six years, he has featured in Powerful Media’s Top 100 Most Influential Black Britons. Last year he was inducted into the Dr Martin Luther King Board of Sponsors, which recognises those who have contributed significantly to business and social impact.

Sarah Anderson CBE

Sarah is founder of The Listening Place, a service that offers face-to-face support to people who are suicidal.

Her career spans private and public sector. She was CEO of specialist catering sector employment agency Mayday Group, ran other businesses and social enterprises, and has been a Non-Executive Director on many boards. She has served as a Public Appointments Assessor, a Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission and ACAS, and as a non-executive director of Job Centre Plus. She was author of The Anderson Review for Government, looking at guidance and business support needs for small and medium sized companies. Most recently, she was lay advisor to the independent investigation into discrimination in the Conservative Party and a member of the State Honours Committee.

Sarah didn’t go to university – she began with an HND in Hotel and Catering Management from a Further Education College. She made a connection to MDX when she gave a talk to a group of MDX students on ‘The Power of Listening’ in 2017. Sarah’s deputy CEO is an MDX alumnus, some current students and graduate volunteer with The Listening Place and Sarah is a great admirer of MDX Professor of Psychology Lisa Marzano.

Sarah might surprise students when she says: “You can learn a lot from a bad boss – just remember not to be like them, when you are the boss. However much I learned from my various paid jobs, I learned far more from my volunteering roles over the last fifty years. I believe we can all spend too long thinking about things and be too nervous to do anything about them.”

Dr Mallik Tatipamula

As Chief Technology Officer at Ericsson Silicon Valley, Dr Tatipamula drives Ericsson’s early 6G research, leading efforts to bring together industry, academia, and government around the possibilities of future wireless systems. “The emergence of 6G promises to unite the digital and physical worlds, creating what's often termed as the ‘Cyber Physical World,’” he says.

Dr Tatipamula has held leadership positions at F5 networks, Juniper networks, Cisco, Motorola, Nortel, and IIT Madras. Early in his career, he played a central role around the adoption of IP (Internet Protocol) for mobile communications systems to enable today’s mobile internet. Later, he led technology development at Cisco integrating IP and optical communications on the company’s first terabit routing system.

As an advisor to the London Digital Twin Research Centre based at MDX, Dr Tatipamula has collaborated with Professor Huan Nguyen and his team, exploring the application of Digital Twin models of systems, processes and physical things to advance 5G and 6G networks.

“What draws me to MDX is its commitment to experiential learning and transdisciplinary education and research,” Dr Tatipamula says. “These approaches ensure students are not only equipped with theoretical knowledge but also with practical skills that meet the needs of industry”.

Dr Tatipamula adds that he finds it “immensely rewarding” to mentor new graduates to become the next generation of leaders. “Being a mentor has taught me the importance of being an active listener, rather than just passively offering advice,” he says.

FRIDAY

Tim Campbell MBE

Tim is best known from appearing on the hit BBC show Apprentice as one of Lord Alan Sugar’s aides as well Karen Brady. The popular series sees a number of entrepreneurs compete in weekly business tasks for a £250,000 investment. Tim’s career has gone full circle after winning the first ever series of the Apprentice in 2005 – seven years after graduating from MDX with a degree in Psychology.

After the Apprentice, he spent two years at Amstrad, then left to found social enterprise Bright Ideas Trust which helps disadvantaged young people set up their own business. The foundation raised more than £3 million and supported more than 750 start-ups.

Tim’s recent roles have included Regional Head of Africa for global trading firm OSTC Ltd, strategic advisor on Diversity and Inclusion for global talent acquisition company AMS, and Marketing Directing for financial services education company TheZISHI.com. He has his own consultancy and mentoring business and has sat on the City of London Corporation’s Education Board, championing companies’ social impact on communities.

Tim describes his student experience at MDX as “transformational… It was the first time living independently, managing my own budgets and integrating with a diverse community of bright and ambitious peers, all skills that have served me well since I graduated.”

Reflecting on mentoring and supporting graduates he says: “Many grads don't realise that the degree is the beginning of the best journey, where there is a blank sheet of paper to create the story they want.”

Tim’s advice to graduating students? “Be open to as many new experiences and opportunities as possible.  Say yes to things that scare you. Skills pay the bills; do what makes you happy over what will just make you money, as one often leads to the other.”

Dr Lindsay Simmonds & Julie Siddiqi MBE

Dr Simmonds leads research on Women of Faith and Peacebuilding at the London School of Economics’ Religion and Global Society Unit. Her PhD explores the religious practices of orthodox women in the UK — she hopes to publish her findings in 2025. She is also a Research Fellow at MDX partner institution the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) and a graduate of the LSJS Susi Bradfield Women Educators’ Fellowships.

Julie Siddiqi MBE is former Executive Director of the Islamic Society of Britain, where she ran high-profile campaigns including a national drive against sexual grooming and child exploitation. She is co-founder of the Open My Mosque campaign and founder of Together We Thrive, an online platform supporting increased participation by and better media representation of Muslim women, for which she hosts the Together We Thrive podcast.

Dr Simmonds, who has many years of experience in local, national and international interfaith and peacebuilding, is vice-chair of trustees for the Abraham Initiatives UK and Jewish Scholar-in-Residence for the Council of Christians and Jews. Julie is on the Steering Committee of the Together Coalition chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Campaign and Network Manager for charity Survivors Against Terror, and patron of The Feast, which brings young people from diverse faith backgrounds together over a shared meal to use constructive dialogue for positive change.

Julie is a co-founder of and Dr Simmonds co-chairs the local branch of Jewish and Muslim Women’s Network Nisa-Nashim. Julie and Dr Simmonds are set to stream a live online conversation together about navigating their friendship and their respective faith communities during the current Middle East conflict.

Professor Victor Jeleniewski Seidler

Professor Seidler’s career spans philosophy and sociology: he has written and taught on social theory, ethics, gender psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Having grown up in North London, beginning his academic studies in Hendon Library “surrounded by a multicultural mix of learners,” he joined Goldsmiths in 1972 and stayed there for his whole career.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Prof Seidler was known as a leading voice in the debate about men and masculinities. Later he became interested in the place of morality and its connections with other elements of the human experience, as he explored in 2022’s Ethical Humans. Other recent writing has focused on the cultural memory of events, such as 9/11, Diana, Princess of Wales’ death and Brexit, and how they challenge traditional language.

Prof Seidler considers himself a teacher as much as an academic – “you’re not just delivering knowledge, you are learning with students in the situation of a changing world,” he says. He calls for honesty in the current challenging environment for new graduates, so students develop “trust in themselves to go into world with certain confidence. At some level, people need each other more than they might have done in the past.”

He makes a robust defence of the value of humanities and social sciences which are “in some ways the most important [subjects], in giving students an understanding of the world they are going into”.

Prof Seidler is committed to creating slightly alternative spaces within universities, offering free rein to students’ intellectual growth and development. He is an organiser of NYLON, which offers this for PhD students either side of the Atlantic. A Hackney resident, he sees MDX as “my local university – I’ve always known it, it's always changing and transforming” – and he has taught Jewish philosophy and ethics at academic partner of MDX, Leo Baeck College.

Medallists

Every year the University awards Middlesex Medals to individuals for their outstanding contributions to the community and MDX values. This year the recipients are Magnus Moar, Helen Newman, Dr Fabia Franco and MDX Alumni Team which triumphed in the 2023 University Challenge Christmas Special. Read more about them below:

Dr Magnus Moar

Interaction design and new technologies specialist Dr Magnus Moar retired in May, after nearly thirty years as a Digital Arts Technologies lecturer. His research interests focused on how emerging technologies may be used as tools for creativity and learning. An architect of strong interdisciplinary links through his work across different faculties and departments, his mentorship and support will be remembered by countless staff and students.

Helen Newman

The Age UK Barnet chief executive leads a team of more than 70 staff and more than 350 volunteers delivering essential services and activities, aimed at reducing the risk of loneliness and isolation, to older people across London’s second largest borough. In 2011, Helen joined the charity as a project manager and was appointed CEO seven years later.

Posthumous Recognition for Dr Fabia Franco

Dr Franco, who died earlier this year, was a distinguished developmental psychologist who founded the Middlesex BabyLab in 1998, dedicated to exploring infant language and social cognition. She later established the Music Cognition and Communication Lab, significantly advancing the field of music therapy. Dr Franco's enduring legacy as a researcher, mentor, and educator continues to influence the discipline.

The MDX University Challenge Alumni Team

The team triumphed in the 2023 University Challenge Christmas Special, which culminated in a resounding win over Corpus Christi College Oxford: University of Nottingham Chancellor and former actor Baroness Lola Young; Liverpool John Moore University graphic design and illustration lecturer Dr David Heathcote; comic actor and writer Dan Skinner; and Turner Prize-nominated artist and poet Heather Phillipson.