The event celebrated graduates whose achievements already include placements and roles at some of the world’s biggest games and technology companies.
The University’s games courses have built a reputation with some of the industry’s biggest names. In February, its Games Design, Production and Programming courses were awarded Gold Academic Partnership status by Epic Games, following a year that also saw a week-long Game Jam judged by Mudcat Games, Studio Morgan and Tencent Games, and visiting talks from studios including Expression Games, Studio Heft, 100 Star Games and AsobiTech.
The celebrations also cap a year in which the University was named University of the Year at the Academic Employability Awards 2026 and ranked 7th in the UK for overall student positivity in Higher Education in the National Student Survey.
The ceremony was held at Hackney Church on Friday 9 July 2026 for students of University of Staffordshire London, based at Here East on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and is the first of 24 graduation ceremonies taking place across the University this summer.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Philip Plowden welcomed graduands, families and guests, before handing over to Gavin Poole, Chief Executive of Here East, whose organisation has helped shape the London campus since it opened, including through the Here East Scholarship Programme, which has supported students from the local East London community.
Professor Plowden said: "Every graduate has a story of ambition and hard work. From game designers whose work is already turning heads in industry, to cyber security graduates stepping into roles at some of the world's biggest companies, this cohort represents exactly what a University of Staffordshire education is about - talent, given the opportunity to thrive."
Among the graduating cohort, Akhil Mora took third place at GradEX for Game Art Environment Design and Nathan Grove built a fully featured flight simulator before creating a VR-driven motorised camera and digger arm.
The ceremony's student address was delivered jointly by two graduates whose own achievements featured among the highlights: Jude Hammond, whose collaborative party game 'Battle-Ants' was voted the most fun project at the London campus, and J Russ, who turned a second-year internship at Amazon into a full-time role as a Software Developer with Amazon Prime Video.
Speaking on behalf of their fellow graduates, they told the ceremony: "As we graduate today, we leave as much more powerful people than we were when we started. We have more than a degree; by taking on challenges beyond what's taught in Data Junction, we have the tools to grab our futures by the reins and steer them in the direction we want."
Graduates from the University's Department of Computing and Esports, which offers one of the UK's most comprehensive digital course portfolios, spanning Computer Science, Software Development, AI, Esports, Networking and Cyber Security, also had reason to celebrate.
Binita Makanji secured cyber security placements with The Walt Disney Company and Mastercard during her studies, while Saira Khan, who represented the student voice as a Student Content Creator and won first place in the University Research Exhibition Competition, progresses to an MSc in Cyber Security this year after engaging with industry professionals from NASA and OpenText.
The London ceremony marks the start of a summer in which thousands of students will graduate at a time when student satisfaction at the University has never been higher, with every theme measured in this year's National Student Survey now outperforming the sector average.