Students who have joined university degrees in the final year thanks to their HND qualifications were among those celebrating at HCUC’s graduation ceremony.

The Higher Education graduation ceremony for the merged college group for Uxbridge College and Harrow College recognised the achievements of students from HNC and HND courses. This include Top-up HNDs, in which students study specifically to enter degrees in the final year. Equivalent to up to two years of university undergraduate study, HNCs and HNDs are targetted at industry skills such as Business, Computing, Engineering, and the Health and Leisure industries.

The group graduated in a formal ceremony at Brunel University London, wearing the traditional cap and gown of Higher Education, and celebrated afterwards with friends and family.

Dr Darrell DeSouza, Principal and CEO of HCUC, who presented the awards, said: “These qualifications are an increasingly popular route to university and it is wonderful to see so many of our students have the opportunity to progress to this level of education in this way, including via Top-up qualifications. Equally, our HNCs and HNDs are highly sought-after by employers, due to the way they are designed for industry with the help of employers themselves.

“I’d like to say a huge congratulations to all our graduates this year and I hope their success and the benefits they’re enjoying as a result will inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

“We are also looking forward to seeing future students on these courses and others benefit from brand new £8.6m facilities being developed as part of HCUC’s West London Institute of Technology, due to be fully launched in September.”

West London Institute of Technology, based at Uxbridge College, is just one of 12 such Institutes being developed nationally as part of Government strategy to close the skills gap in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, by providing higher level qualifications and Apprenticeships. West London IoT is being developed in partnership with a wide range of employers including anchor partners Brunel University London, Fujitsu, Heathrow and West London Business.

The BTEC HNC Level 4 and BTEC HND Level 5 Diplomas, accredited by Pearson, were completed by Uxbridge College and Harrow College students in the following subject areas: Business; Computing; Computing Plus; Creative Computing – Games/Visual Effects; Electrical Engineering; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Construction & The Built Environment; Sport (Community Sport); Travel & Tourism Management.

This year’s HE Graduates progressed to the following universities: Middlesex University, City University, Coventry University, University of Westminster, University of Brighton, University of Portsmouth, University of Hertfordshire, University of Surrey, University of Southampton, University of East London, University of Hertfordshire, Southampton Solent University, London Southbank, Nottingham Trent University, University of Northampton, University of Kent, Bucks New University.

For more information about HNCs and HNDs go to https://www.uxbridge.ac.uk/college-information/higher-education.html