A number of students graduated from the Schools/Departments within SEFS. These included School of Life Sciences: BSc Hons: Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences; Genetics; Intercalated; Microbiology; Neuroscience; Physiology. School of Mathematical Sciences: BSc Hons: Mathematical Science – Financial Mathematics; Mathematical Science – Single Honours. School of Mathematical Sciences & Department of Physics: BSc (Hons) (Physics & Mathematical Science) – Joint Honours; BSc (Hons) (Physics – Single Honours). School of Engineering: BE (Hons) (Civil Engineering); Electrical & Electronic Engineering; Process & Chemical Engineering; MEngSc (Sustainable Energy). School of Computer Science & Information Technology: BSc (Hons): Computer Science – Joint Honours/Single Honours. Department of Chemistry: BSc (Hons) Chemistry; Chemistry of Pharmaceutical Compounds; Chemistry with Forensic Science; (Education in Physical Science) Chemistry. School of Food & Nutritional Sciences: BSc (Hons) Food Business; Food Science; International Development & Food Policy; Nutritional Sciences; Microbiology.

Postgraduate degrees conferred included MA - Composition, French, Group Facilitation, Hispanic Studies, Integrative Psychotherapy, Sociology of Dev & Globalisation; MPhil; DSocSc; PhD.

The Conferring Addresses were delivered by Mr Paul Kelly, Director, Food & Drink Industry Ireland, IBEC (attached) and Dr James Robinson, Chairman, Engineers Ireland Cork Region (attached).

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Conferring Address by Mr Paul Kelly, Director, Food & Drink Industry Ireland, IBEC

President, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen and class of 2011
Thank you for inviting me here today.
Congratulations on what is a momentous day for all of you and just reward for the hard work that you have put in over the last number of years. The big wide world awaits you and looks forward to your contributions.Although not a UCC graduate, I am a Munster man myself, both in upbringing and allegiance. I grew up in Tipperary, Kerry and Clare and spent my college years in Limerick. When I graduated from UL in 1989, the prospects for my class and me were quite similar to those facing you today. Unemployment stood at 15% in 1989. The choice for many was the dole queue or an airplane ticket. While this may sound depressing, it was in hindsight an opportunity. The graduates of that era had a hunger to succeed and found strength in adversity “What does not break us makes us stronger”.In the 19^th century, Irish men and women left to work in mills of Lancashire and the copper mines of Montana. The 20^th century saw Irish people working on the building sites of London and New York. Here in Ireland, the last one hundred years has seen us mature as a democratic, independent nation. I would like to view our current difficult economic environment as merely the downward trend of a cycle that we have seen before. The 1980s Ireland, the 1950s Ireland and indeed the 1930s Ireland were not that dissimilar economically to today. And yet the 1930s saw rural electrification following the completion of Ardnacrusha in 1929 and the 1950s saw the opening of the Irish economy to trade, industrialisation and foreign direct investment.
Our recent economic boom may be gone. It has left us licking our wounds but it also has left a legacy of physical, social and intellectual infrastructure that has transformed the country. An example would be the world class education that you have received here and the global recognition that UCC receives for the research emanating from its faculties. The Ireland of today is an educated, sophisticated, multi-cultural society. That has been brought about partly by investment from large multi-national corporations, which saw the value of our highly educated people but also by many returning emigrants and by the growth of indigenous industries.
The industry I am involved in, the Irish food industry, continues to grow in today’s difficult economic environment. Cork and the wider Munster area is the heart of that industry – from large exporters of dairy and alcohol to the many artisan food producers in every county, showcased wonderfully by the English market here in Cork. It is a wonderfully diverse industry needing scientists, engineers, marketers, accountants and business graduates. Every day I meet with individuals with a passion to grow this industry further.
The global demand for food is expected to increase by three quarters by 2050 – Irelands stands to benefit enormously. We intend to grow exports by 40% by 2020. As it stands we already punch above our weight on the world stage:

Ireland is the largest net exporter of dairy ingredients and beef in Europe
Ireland produces 15% of global supply of infant formula and that will soon rise to 20%
Ireland is the UK's largest supplier of food and drink
Irish exports go to over 120 countries around the world – pizzas to Britain, whiskey to Brazil, lamb to France, butter to the US, pet food to South Africa, dairy ingredients to China and so on

Some of the key skills that we Irish people have that contribute to that success include an appetite to go forth and explore the world, to be proud of who we are and to communicate easily and effectively with other cultures. Graduates of today also have a confidence that will stand them in good stead in the world of business.
Some years ago I was visiting the managing director of a multinational exporting company. During the meeting he told me that he spent 25% of his time on the day to day management of the business and the remainder doing nothing. Seeing the look on my face, he went on to say that he spent it thinking – thinking about the future of the business. In the busy world that we all live in, it is important to step back from what you are doing every now and again, take stock and get a fresh perspective on your work and where you want to go.
Be open and communicate. You will have built up an extraordinary network over the last few years at college. Keep up contact with as much of this network as possible. Use the social media tools now available in your career as well as in your personal life. Perhaps there is still a degree of truth in the saying “Most business is done on the golf course”, but it does illustrate a more serious point – the strength of personal contact. People do business with people they know......and like. In years to come the people sitting all around you today will be forging their own careers or setting up their own businesses. They will be there to bounce ideas off, provide support, mentor and be mentored.
You live in a world where the pace of change – technological change, economic change, social change and environmental change - increases daily. John F Kennedy said “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future”. Your future success will in many ways be determined by your desire to ride the wave of change. You may be finishing in UCC today but you now live in a time of lifelong learning. Embrace this and continue to develop your skills and your range of experiences.
My eldest son started secondary school last week. Longer days, a wider range of subjects, more independence and more responsibility. This past weekend I brought him to the Electric Picnic. This is what I mean by a work life balance – work hard during the week and do something fun at the weekend. You too will be moving on to a new life stage as you leave college. It will be important that you are creative and accountable, that you look for solutions not problems and that you see mistakes not as setbacks but as opportunities for improvement. But whatever you do ensure you balance the challenges of work with the other interests in your life, with your friends and your family, many of whom are here today to celebrate your graduation day.Looking to your future, be assured that it will be filled with opportunities. It will also be filled with challenges – you all have the capability and confidence to meet those challenges head on and make the best of the opportunities.
Enjoy this day and the very, very best wishes for the future.
ENDS

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Conferring Address by Dr James Robinson, Chairman, Engineers Ireland Cork Region
“Rise to the Challenge”

President, Professor Fitzpatrick, Members of the Academic Staff, Parents, Guests & Graduates.
Let me begin by thanking the President for his invitation to me, as Chairman of Engineers Ireland in Cork, to give this Commencement speech. It is a particular honour for me, because University College Cork is my own Alma Mater.
Let me immediately offer my congratulations to the graduates – you are rightly the focus of our celebrations today, the culmination of not just 4-5 years of study within these walls, but of the preceding thirteen or more years of hard work and choices. And with that in mind, let me offer my congratulations to your parents and guardians who have guided you, encouraged you and sacrificed for you – that too was a choice on their behalf. Lastly, and by no means least, let me offer my congratulations to your teachers – all of your teachers, primary, secondary and those here in UCC – all of the people who made the choice to dedicate their lives to the transfer of knowledge to the next generation. Well done to all those who have contributed to this day.
The nature of commencement speeches is for somebody with experience, preferably related to the area(s) in which the graduates have studied, to return and drop a few gems of wisdom.... J That’s a rather onerous challenge. So, as I thought upon giving this address I felt a certain amount of trepidation, and my natural instinct was to find an excuse not to do it.... But I knew that it was not alone a huge honour but an opportunity for me to develop, to learn and grow.... To step outside my comfort zone.....
After a day or so, as I contemplated what I would say to you today, the humour of it struck me.... Why was I getting so caught up in trying to distil the most significant life lessons to set you on your way? The reality is that you will most likely remember very little of what I say. Who am I to step into your lives for 5 or 6 minutes and point you in a direction of my choosing? It doesn’t seem so long ago that I sat where you are – in fact it is over 20 years ago J. And, anyway, you are young, and it is the prerogative, nay – almost the duty of the young to not listen. You’re going to discover things for yourselves.... No matter what I say, no matter what I or anyone around you advises, you’re going to make your own mistakes – you have to, it is the way of things.... We all did it... Even the eminent academics here present did it..... Make your mistakes... Don’t be afraid to make them. Don’t be afraid to take a chance.... but above all, learn from your mistakes. And, most importantly, have the courage to seize the opportunity!
There is a Chinese curse that goes like this - “May you live in interesting times....” –.... And there have scarcely been more interesting times than today.... But I do not see it as a curse; I see it as presenting the very opportunities on a personal, professional and collective level to which I am referring. We are familiar with the notion of an economy flourishing during wartime, because of the intense need for production and technological advance in order to defeat the enemy. In many ways the challenges that we face nationally and globally are a kind of war – a war against changes in climate, dwindling resources and mountains of waste. And these foes are marching towards us relentlessly, with an ever increasing tempo. Time is not on our side and we must rise to the challenge.
Now I am not suggesting that you, as individuals, can get up tomorrow and instantly, systematically find the solutions to the challenges that I have outlined. In fact, the challenges facing us seem so immense that any individual effort seems futile. But it is not. What is needed is that your individual efforts can somehow combine to create a movement of radical and accelerated development. But how? Won’t that require some structured organisation? I don’t believe that we could create such an organisation and, moreover, I don’t believe that it is required. It is a little like quality control in education. It can only really be achieved if the majority of people involved, especially the decision makers, truly believe in excellence. All the forms and tick boxes are, to some extents, a waste if people haven’t bought into the belief, and unnecessary if they have. What is required from you is a collective belief, a collective attitude. And I believe you can create a collective attitude; a collective desire to seize this opportunity. What is required from you is a belief in excellence. For, if we truly let excellence permeate our society; not just as lip service, not just a word, a sound bite, but truly believe in it, sacrifice to achieve it, without cutting corners, then Ireland can once more take its place amongst the leading nations. We can become synonymous with cutting edge technology. What we lack in physical resources we can make up for with grey matter.
This can be achieved by you, as individuals, pushing yourselves beyond your comfort zone; by stepping up to challenges when they arise; by contributing beyond what is asked of you. Be passionate about what you do, bring the energy of a person who believes in the importance of what he or she does. You should join a professional body, contribute to journals, give public presentations, maybe pursue further studies or teach in local schools - engage in continuing professional development.
You see, your education doesn’t stop today. What you should have learned here is “how to learn”.... In some ways the details of your courses are irrelevant. That is the mistake some people make when they take a jaundiced view of formal education – “I never used any of what I learned in college (or at school)”.... This misses the point. You have acquired the discipline and methodology of learning and this you will carry with you right through your life, personal and professional. Learning is an attitude – of openness, interest, self motivation. Earlier, in my congratulations to you all, I deliberately referred to the choices that you have made in order to get here. These choices were not always easy to make, but you made them nonetheless in order to work to your goal. And here you are...... But the choices do not end here, they are just beginning. You must now use the momentum of learning that you have, and build upon it. Challenge yourself in order to meet the challenges facing the World.
You, our graduates of Mathematics, Science and Engineering, are our first line of defence, uniquely armed amongst your generation to rally to the call in the battles that the future presents. The importance of Mathematics, Science and Engineering in the winning this war cannot be overstated. It is arguable that all the practical improvements in peoples’ day to day lives since the industrial revolution have stemmed from advances and applications of these disciplines. The very infrastructure upon which a country operates is the result of the discipline of engineering; and engineering in turn is the result of a combination of the discoveries and theories of science, couched and quantified in the universal language of mathematics. These tools, these weapons, in whose use all of you here are so particularly well adept, are the armoury with which we will defeat the global threats and create a sustainable future. And therefore, neither is it an overstatement to suggest you and your peers in our sister colleges, both nationally and internationally, are the army of builders of that future.
And as you march forward to engage the challenges that face you, think upon the fact that this very week, the week of your graduation, this University has been ranked in the top 200 in the World and rated as five-star by the QS World University Rankings. Take a moment to congratulate yourselves, the President, Dr. Murphy, the academics here present and their colleagues who have all contributed to this wonderful achievement. So, whereas we must all remain humble, for we all continue to learn, you can be confident that the skills and knowledge with which you face these challenges are more than adequate for the task.
And so, let me leave you with a final call to arms. The challenges are before us, nationally and globally. You are the next generation, armed and ready to do battle. Do not look on this as some onerous, impossible task – but rather, as an opportunity for new possibilities. Rise to the challenge! This is your World, your time, your tomorrow. Enjoy it!!
Congratulations to you all!

ENDS

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