GCU London honours public health professor

"Just because you’ve got your degree today, it doesn’t mean your education is over – it’s really just beginning."

Those were the inspiring words Professor Mike Kelly delivered to GCU London graduates at today’s winter ceremony in Christ Church, Spitalfields.

The University presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Kelly, Senior Visiting Fellow in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the Institute of Public Health at the University of Cambridge. In addition, Professor Kelly was appointed a GCU Honorary Professor.

He added: “The education experience at university is one about learning, and learning is about curiosity. Never stop being curious. Today is the platform on which you can go forward to new and exciting things to learn and understand.”

From 2005 to 2014, Professor Kelly was Director of the Centre for Public Health at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Here, he led teams producing public-health guidance and was responsible for the production of more than 60 guidelines on topics including the prevention of obesity, alcohol misuse, cardiovascular disease, smoking cessation, tobacco control, and the promotion of physical activity.

The graduation ceremony celebrated academic awards across the disciplines of banking, finance and risk; construction and project management; public health; and business management and marketing. It also included a number of students graduating from the British School of Fashion, the innovative academic hub developed by GCU to create and disseminate strategic fashion business insight through leading-edge education, research and consultancy.

GCU London delivers MBA and Masters programmes that support students to succeed in the global labour market. Additional strengths in finance, risk and public health contribute to engagement with key sectors in London and across the world.