Reflecting on the Awards Ceremony 2024

On the 1^st of June this year, the Institute had the pleasure to confer a range of awards to over 230 students from the 2022-23 cohort, in celebration of their academic achievements. We hosted two ceremonies on the day at  Madingley Hall; the events were attended by awardees, their friends and family either in-person at historical Madingley Hall or via live streaming to locations around  the world.

The British weather adhered to its summer stereotypes, with wind and grey skies, but this did not dampen the spirits of any awardees. The day was a momentous occasion, with many classmates meeting for the first time in person, after being taught mostly online. The atmosphere of learners recognising each other from pixels on a Zoom screen was joyous.

Elisa Sottana was one such awardee collecting her award. She studied on the undergraduate Diploma in English Literature Past and Present. Elisa is Italian,  she studied at Cambridge for her bachelor’s degree and was keen to come back for Cambridge.

She said: “The day of the ceremony was a special moment because I could finally meet the people I had only seen and talked to through a computer screen. We had kept in touch with a group chat, but sharing the same room and spending time together was wonderful. Ultimately, the human experience was the best unexpected gift of the whole course and of the ceremony too.”

Amongst the inspiring speakers addressing each ceremony was Sarah Ormrod, Director of the Institute’s International Summer Programme, who received an honorary award.  

She shared: “Receiving the award was very special. Having committed rather a lot of time to the Summer Programmes and the Weekend Courses, it is wonderful to have been recognised for that work. My ‘learning outcomes’ after 36.5 years at ICE have a surprising amount in common with the award-recipients. Like them, my time at ICE has rewarded me with global friendships, taught me to write and edit, and fed my curiosity. (I must have heard over 1,000 lectures since 1987!) Everyone has a story to tell about why they are studying: I enjoyed hearing the award-recipients’ stories, just as I love to hear about the lives of our Weekend and Summer students. They all want to be there, they are hungry to learn from the tutors and from one another, too. We’re here to enrich and change lives, and that’s so rewarding!”

David Prosser, a lifelong learner at ICE, gave a student address during his ceremony. Reflecting on this special moment, he said:

“I felt privileged to speak on behalf of students receiving awards at Madingley Hall.

 Determined to say thank you properly, I drove friends and family round the Ying Yang (yet again) writing and rewriting my speech and rehearsing it more than twenty times… That’s how much everyone at ICE, my tutors and my cohort mean to me. 

It was extraordinary to be in the same place as members of my English Literature cohort. Standing together with people from Belfast, Venice and Canberra after meeting them on Zoom was very humbling.

The event itself was beautifully judged… respectful but not stuffy. Celebratory, but not in a way that diminished the achievement of those whose hard work was formally recognised. 

And as for those goat’s cheese and caramelised onion tartlets…”

Another well deserving awardee, Mary Mahoney, who received an honorary award for Excellence in Continuing Education, delivered a student address.

Mary was born in Tasmania in a small rural community. Her love of learning led her to complete two master’s degrees and a PhD and to work in higher education in Australia, England and Wales. She has a background in healthy public policy and has focused her latter career on education and learning as a key determinant of population health.

She said: “The opportunity to present to the graduating students has provided me with the chance to reflect on the factors that have shaped my career and understand why I am so passionate about ensuring that there are opportunities for adults to access learning and education across their lifetime, for whatever reason.”

She encouraged the graduating students to consider their own journey, recognise their supporters, acknowledge their wonderful achievements and also to pass it on to others.

“I thank ICE for their recognition of my contribution as it marks a very long journey from the central highlands of Tasmania to one of the top universities in the world, in Cambridge and applaud them for their innovative work in continuing education and the number of learners whose lives they were transforming.”

The Institute of Continuing Education would like to once again congratulate all awardees for their remarkable achievements, and we hope every attendee shared the positive experiences expressed above.