King’s Business School students celebrated the reward of three years of study when they received their degrees at the Royal Festival Hall on 23 July.

The new graduates, from 54 different countries, included 208 students who successfully completed BScs in Business Management, and 103 who studied Economics & Management.

For the first time, the graduation ceremony included an address by a student speaker selected by his peers. Oliver Szasz, who graduated in Business Management, encouraged his peers to have faith in the positive impact that they can have:

“if you are driven to make an impact in your communities, to solve pressing global issues, to climb higher than anyone thought you could reach, to achieve something greater than you ever thought was possible, to save not just you, but the entire world around you,” he said, “don't let anyone, even for a second, tell you that it is not possible.”

Reflecting on the new graduates’ time here, and the involvement of many in activities such as the King’s ENACTUS Society, which uses entrepreneurship to address social and environmental challenges, Professor Stephen Bach, Executive Dean of the Business School commented:

“Since its inception in 1829, King’s students and staff have dedicated themselves to service to society, fulfilling the University’s vision to make the world a better place. I am proud that so many of you have been active in pursuit of those values, and we have sought to equip you to pioneer solutions to the complex challenges facing businesses and government globally.”

Also receiving their degrees today were two PhD students: Dr Navneet Walia, for her thesis on Entry Mode Portfolio Theory, and Dr Hyunyoung Jo, specialist in HR management, who was awarded a 2019 King's Outstanding PhD Thesis Prize, for her research on High Performance Work Systems. 

The King's Outstanding PhD Thesis Prize is sponsored by academic publisher Elsevier, and winners are nominated by the external examiners. Just 15 prizes are awarded across the university each year, and Hyunyoung is the first ever Business School student to win. 

Hyunyoung was supervised by Professor Sam Aryee and Professor David Guest. Since completing her PhD, she has joined Leeds Business School as a Lecturer in Human Resource Management.