It is, therefore, part of the national tradition for most of us to want to visit the places our forbears came from. Which brings me to the heart of what I am talking about today. You now have the skills necessary to be critical, to evaluate, to analyse, to propose solutions and to weigh outcomes confidently. The Ceremony is a way of recognising, publicly, the fact that you have earned your awards. The world community of scholars welcomes you into its membership.
Today is a glorious way of celebrating the end of student life.
This, I feel, is a very sensible description. You have all achieved the first two. I hope some of you have experienced the third as there are many benefits to be gained by studying overseas, apart from the experience of studying in new academic environments. Through study overseas one develops broader linguistic, cultural and social understanding. This leads to better appreciation of the conditions under which others live.