Freshers were officially welcomed to De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) as they attended the annual Matriculation ceremonies which take place today and tomorrow at The Venue@DMU.
Students were treated to a spectacular hour-long show which showcased all of the best things about the university and were given useful information about the various opportunities available to them during their time at DMU.
At the first of four Matriculation ceremonies there were performances from nearly 20 of DMU’s societies and clubs, information about #DMUglobal and #DMUlocal as well as speeches from DMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Shellard, members of the Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities and Mike Mayes, Vice-President Media and Communications at De Montfort Students’ Union.
At Tuesday morning’s ceremony, Prof Shellard congratulated students on joining DMU and gave them three pieces of advice: be a citizen of the world, a citizen of Leicester and a citizen of DMU.
Prof Shellard also said: “This is a year of record recruitment for us, you’ve done tremendously well to secure a degree place and you should be really proud of this.
“We want you to have the best possible start to your time at DMU and this is why we have this Matriculation ceremony. It is our way of saying welcome to our institution, to celebrate your arrival and to get you a bit excited as well. There are many reasons why you should be excited.”
He added: “The DSU is a magnificent organisation and it is vital that you engage with them during your time at university.”
Prof Shellard ended his speech with a quote attributed to Mahatma Ghandi that he believes illustrates the ethos of DMU: “Be the change that you want to see in the world – that change starts now.”
Professor Alison Honour, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities, said: “It is our ambition that you leave here equipped with the attributes, skills, resilience and confidence that you will need to succeed and make a real difference to the world you are living in.
“We look forward to working with you to help you reach your dreams and aspirations.”
Students who attended the ceremony enjoyed the show and were delighted to hear about the activities and opportunities on offer at DMU.
History student Catherine Burke said: “The ceremony was really good, much livelier than I expected it to be and much less formal. The welcomes were informative and it was great to see all the clubs and societies that are available.”
Hazeyna Noormahomed, who is studying a foundation course at DMU partners Leicester College, said: “It was a great way to be welcomed to university and I really enjoyed seeing the dancing. It made me want to join the cheerleading society.”
Jelena Rama, a Business and Management student, said: “It was really nice and very interesting. Everything was useful but the idea of showing the sports was great because I was already thinking of getting into them.”
Charles Owen, also studying Business and Management, added: “The speeches gave some good information, but the performances were my favourite part.”
Posted on Tuesday 26 September 2017