Honorary degrees recognise the great and the good

SOME of Yorkshire’s greatest achievers from both public service and the private sector will be receiving honorary degrees from Bradford University.

Among those to receive the prestigious accolade are Tom Riordan, chief executive of Yorkshire Forward, Colin Ross, an HGV braking systems engineer, Rose Stephens, deputy chief executive of Bradford Teaching Hospitals, and Sir Roger Toulson, Lord Justice of Appeal and former chair of the Law Commission.

The remaining honorary graduates are Dr Mo Ibrahim, mobile communications specialist, Dewsbury MP Shahid Malik and the presenters of BBC Look North Crista Ackroyd and Harry Gration.

Professor Mark Cleary, vice chancellor of the university, said that he looked forward to welcoming the honorary graduates.

“It is with great pride that we have been given this opportunity to honour such an array of distinguished colleagues and their achievements are an impressive testament to their talents,” he said.

All the graduates are to be awarded their honorary degrees for demonstrating excellence in their professional field, or extraordinary commitment in their role.

Mr Riordan will receive a Doctor of Letters for his contributions to the development of Yorkshire and Humberside, in particular through his work for regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

Ms Stephens will be made an honorary Doctor for her contributions in her role, particularly for developing and enhancing the working arrangements between the University and the Trust, for her facilitation of an evidence-based approach to practice and her commitment to widening participation.

Shahid Malik will be made an honorary Doctor for his contributions as an MP and recognition of the distinctive role he has played in working towards community cohesion and in striving for racial harmony.

Likewise, Mr Ross, a European technical manager for Knorr-Bremse, is to be made an honorary Doctor of Engineering in recognition of his contributions to improved road safety through the introduction of technical advances in braking systems for heavy goods vehicles.

For more than 40 years, Mr Ross has made major technical contributions to the design and safer braking systems for commercial vehicles on European roads, and to the legislation which is necessary to ensure their consistent and safe implementation.

His work lead the development within his company of safe anti-lock braking systems for commercial vehicles, which then became mandatory on coaches and articulated lorries in 1991, and on all other commercial vehicles in 1998.

More recently he has developed stability control systems (better known as Electronic Skid Protection or ESP) and roll-over prevention systems for heavy goods vehicles. These will become mandatory on high speed coaches and articulated lorries in 2011, subsequently to be extended to all commercial vehicles.

But it is Bradford University graduate Dr Ibrahim that ranks among the university’s highest profile honorary graduates having recently been named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine,

He will be made an honorary Doctor for his pioneering role in the development of cellular radio communication systems initially in the UK, subsequently in the international arena and latterly in transforming the communications infrastructure in the African Continent.

Most recently, through his Prize for Achievement in African Leadership and for his contribution in promoting good governance among Heads of State in African countries.

Dr Ibrahim is a global expert in mobile communications with a distinguished academic and business career. He was studying for a BSc in Electrical Engineering at the University of Alexandria, Egypt, when he became interested in mobile communications.

After speaking to two external examiners in Alexandria, he went onto study for an MSc in Electronics and Electrical Engineering at the university completing in 1977.

In 2006, he set up the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to support great African leadership. The Foundation focuses on two major new initiatives to stimulate debate around and improve the quality of governance in Africa.

The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership recognises and celebrates excellence, and the Ibrahim Index of African Governance provides civil society with a comprehensive and quantifiable tool to hold governments to account.

Sudanese by birth, Dr Ibrahim is also the founder of Celtel International, one of Africa’s most successful companies.

The company now operates in 15 African countries, under licenses that cover more than a third of the continent’s population.

The company has invested more than $750m in Africa, helping to bring the benefits of mobile communications to millions of people across the continent.

In 2005, Celtel International was sold to MTC Kuwait for $3.4bn, making it one of Africa’s most successful commercial ventures.

In 2007, Dr Ibrahim was awarded the GSM Association Chairman’s Award, the telecommunication industry’s highest accolade, for “helping the world to hear Africa’s voice”. In 2008, he was presented with the Paribas Prize for Philanthropy.