Graduation celebrations will be a more muted affair this year in Dundee.
The city centre is usually awash with mortar boards and gowns in late June as graduates and their families celebrate years of hard work.
However, with the traditional ceremonies cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, graduates can expect to find their diplomas arriving through their letterboxes soon.
This year’s Wimberley award has been given to joint winners Scott Mackenzie and Christoffer Nielsen.
The annual honour is given by the principal to students who have made a distinguished contribution to university life during their studies.
Scott, 23, graduated in medicine and joined the cohort of junior doctors who helped in the fight against coronavirus.
He published papers promoting equality with a focus on reproductive rights in the LGBT+ community. He also co-founded the Dundee University Sign Language Society in 2016.
Scott said: “I feel incredibly grateful to have been given this award. I appreciate there is a wealth of brilliant work that goes on at the university at both an undergraduate and postgraduate level,
“I was very thankful to even be considered and winning the award has been a wonderful surprise.”
Christoffer, who graduated with a first-class honours degree in politics, spent his time in Dundee championing human rights.
The 24-year old also fought for students’ welfare as vice-president for the School of Social Sciences.
Christoffer, from Denmark, started a campaign for Dr Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish academic who has been sentenced to death under allegation of spying in Iran — which he disputes.
Christoffer said: “I am deeply honoured and touched to receive this prestigious award.
“I have been able to be part of so many things during my time at the university, but I had never imagined that I would receive the Wimberley Award.”
