[00.00] Hello my name is Jeremy Smith and I'm Head of Department of Economics here at Warwick.

[00:05] I want to welcome you all to this remote winter graduation ceremony and to say how sorry i am

[00:10] that this cannot be in person at this time due to the spread of the omicron variant of Covid 19.

[00:17] I hope to be able to see you in person soon and celebrate your great achievements

[00:22] at an in-person event at the next available opportunity

[00:26] while the postponement of the in-person graduation ceremony is unfortunate you should appreciate

[00:32] that this does not in any way detract from your great achievements i hope as you now reflect on

[00:39] your time at work you think about how life has changed for you how you've developed

[00:45] grown and learnt over your time with us and how those skills both personal academic and

[00:52] professional can be used to help you through your career and will also help in your personal life

[01:00] the graduation ceremony is always one of my highlights of the year

[01:04] meeting with and talking to you as you reflect on your time in the department

[01:09] and then learning what you are doing in the period after work be that go into employment or

[01:16] further study or take taking time out while you think about and reflect on what you want to do

[01:23] missing out on hearing about your new life and experiences is a great personal pity but

[01:31] our communication with each other should not be limited to those interactions and we as a

[01:37] department are very keen for you to remain in contact with us as part of our alumni network

[01:44] we're investing resourcing keeping you informed about what is happening in the department but also

[01:49] telling stories about our alumni and it'd be great if you could sign up to that and get involved and

[01:56] help the existing Msc students or undergraduate students by reflecting on your time at Warwick

[02:04] and the skills that you've got and how you can use that to potentially mentor other people i'm hoping

[02:11] that despite the circumstances you do have a great day and that you do look back fondly on your time

[02:18] at Warwick thank you very much enjoy the day and please please please keep yourself safe thank you.