September 8, 2021

UOW students invited to celebrate with live online graduation ceremony

Live broadcast to feature special musical guest and UOW alumni

The University of Wollongong (UOW) will celebrate the achievements and successes of thousands of students with a live online graduation broadcast next month.

The online graduation, to be livestreamed at 6pm on Thursday, 14 October, will include elements of  traditional graduation ceremonies, alongside live content and special guests.

UOW’s planned in-person graduation ceremonies, scheduled for 2021, have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the ceremonies to now be broadcast live and online.

Kumi Taguchi, host of SBS’s Insight and alumna of UOW, will host the event, with a special musical performance from Wollongong band, Hockey Dad.

The interactive broadcast will also feature traditional commencement addresses by faculty and appearances by special guest speakers.

There will be greater recognition of each registered graduate, with the reading of names and display of photos. All students who were scheduled to graduate in 2021 are invited to register for the virtual event.

Professor Patricia M. Davidson, UOW’s Vice-Chancellor, said that the live graduation will be a chance to reflect on the tenacity and hard work of UOW’s outstanding student cohort.

“It was our wish and our plan to hold in-person ceremonies, but as with much of the past 18 months, we have had to pivot in the face of lockdown restrictions,” Professor Davidson said.

“We have listened to what students have said they want from a live-streamed ceremony, and we are excited to offer our graduates the chance to experience this live broadcast.

“We are immensely proud of our students, who have shown amazing resilience, empathy, and have worked so hard to adjust to the new reality of flexible learning. We want to honour and celebrate those students with a special live and interactive online event.”

UOW remains committed to providing students with the opportunity to attend an in-person graduation ceremony, when lockdown restrictions lift and it is safe to do so.