All smiles at University of Newcastle graduation ceremony

Mr Acheampong said he felt "so happy, very, very happy" to attend the University of Newcastle College of Human and Social Futures' graduation ceremony on Monday.

It was the first of nine to be held at Callaghan this week, which will see undergraduate, postgraduate, and higher degree by research degrees awarded to more than 3000 students.

"The PhD journey has not been easy, but with hard work and determination I feel very proud and excited," Mr Acheampong said.

"I look at my family and I'm the first person to achieve tertiary education and a doctorate degree. I want to ensure I make my family proud... it is very fulfilling."

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Mr Acheampong submitted his thesis on institutions, institutional origin and sustainable development in October 2020 and was officially awarded on February 23 this year.

"Everyone expected to graduate after being awarded, we were really worried about whether it would come off or not."

Mr Acheampong now works as a casual academic at UON, teaching macro economics courses to first, second and third year students. He wants to stay in academia and is also doing research on environmental and energy issues.

Mr Acheampong landed in Australia on October 25, 2016 to commence his studies. His parents and wife stayed in Ghana.

He has not seen them in-person since February 2020, but they are in constant contact.

"Australia is a nice environment and had the resources for me to achieve my PhD aspirations."

He said he received invaluable support from his co-supervisors Dr Janet Dzator and the late Dr David Savage, who passed away in May this year.

"Without them there was no way I could finish my PhD," he said.

"Your success boils down to listening to your supervisors. They were instrumental in terms of my degree. Their suggestions and critiques gave me the framework I needed for my work."

Emma Keating said she'd been considering studying at UON for about five years before she bit the bullet.

She graduated on Monday with a Master of Business Administration and Graduate Certificate in Business Administration after finishing her studies in August.

She juggled studying and working full-time for 3.5 years.

"I'm pretty excited," she said.

"It's really nice to be able to do this in person."

Ms Keating said she worked in marketing for an engineering consultancy firm.

"I just wanted to broaden my thinking, I wanted to do a broad range of topics. I was encouraged by many other people about the broad nature of this degree."

Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky AO said he was extremely proud of this year's cohort, who had significant disruptions to their learning.

"The skills our students have developed in their particular fields, as well as the broader resilience and adaptability that has come from studying during a pandemic, will serve our students well as they move into a rapidly changing workforce," he said.

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