Bience Gawanas: I came to Warwick as a refugee and as a person that always wanted to study law. When I walked through the gates of Warwick in 1982, it was the least of my thoughts that one day I will sit as the Chancellor of the University of Warwick. It's not just an honour. It places a responsibility, because I'm not coming as an outsider, I'm coming as part of the Warwick family.

And so I hope that just sitting in that chair that many young women, and especially Black women, will see an opportunity and will feel inspired that no matter your circumstances, you can rise above them. And if that is the only thing that I can do in the five years, apart from handing over the degrees, I think that will be a good start.

Everybody asked me, so how was it when you were here? And I would say to them, different. I was here in the 80s where activism was the thing. And also, it was the time that I was also part of the anti-apartheid struggle. So I will continue to use my office to listen, to learn and to see what we can improve on, what we can do better. But most importantly, I think I want people to feel that the Chancellor is just a human being.