It is the 10th anniversary congregations following the 2007 commencement of teaching in Singapore. ​Since then Newcastle Univesity has continued to foster strong academic and industrial partnerships in teaching and research, growth that is reflected by the graduands and guests at today's ceremony.

Newcastle University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Chris Day, who presided over the ceremony said: "Congregations are a highlight in our University calendar. For our students, it is a time to celebrate with the family, friends and tutors who have supported them throughout their University studies; a time to look back and reflect with pride on all that has been learned and achieved; and a time to look forward to all that the future holds in store."

Professor Day was joined by two distinguished guests of honour. British High Commissioner to Singapore, Scott Wightman and Dr Bicky Bhangu, the President at Rolls-Royce for South East Asia, Pacific & South Korea and President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore will make speeches at the beginning of the graduation ceremonies.

Congregation, the formal name for the ceremony at which first and higher degrees are awarded, includes several important ceremonial components.

A Procession leads members of the University's academic staff and governing bodies into the ceremony. Each graduand receives the hood denoting their degree from a Marshall before being called forward to receive their degree with a handshake with Professor Day over the University's ceremonial mace. It is at this point that the graduand becomes a graduate.

Today's ceremonies conferred degrees to graduands from Engineering and Science Bachelor's degrees, Master's programmes and Doctorates.

From Newcastle. For the world.

The ceremony, held at Nanyang Polytechnic Auditorium, was the last to take place under the Deanship of Professor Ian Postlethwaite​, who returns to the UK at the end of the calendar year.

A control engineer with a world-class reputation for his research contributions, Professor Postlethwaite is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and the Institute of Measurement and Control.

Professor Postlethwaite reflected: "It's been a great privilege to be the Dean and CEO of Newcastle University in Singapore. The growth of our operations here includes a new partnership model with Singapore Institute of Technology, and we have opened our own research institute demonstrating our commitment to education and research in South East Asia. In the last year we have held several training courses for industry, hosted some fantastic research workshops with partners from across the region and today's congregation will welcome 369 more graduates into our community of 200,000 alumni around the world."​​

As part of the day's celebrations, more than 50 prizes recognising students' outstanding performances, group work and design projects were presented.

"Our Singapore graduates go on to work in a wide range of organisations, not just in Singapore but around the world," explained Professor Postlethwaite. "The quality and impact our graduates have is something valued by a wide range of supporters and partners who very generously support student prizes."

An example of the international impact of Newcastle University in Singapore graduates is Evon Li who graduated in 2011 with a BEng (Hons) Naval Architecture with Marine Engineering and now works in Houston, Tx (USA) for the American Bureau of Shipping.

Looking back at her studies and graduation, Evon Li said: "The diversity of the course modules I studied at Newcastle University in Singapore, encompassing the key fundamental technical knowledge that is required in the marine industry, has prepared me well for the dynamic and evolving maritime sector."

As part of the ceremony, an Honorary degree was awarded to Nanyang Technological University's former President Professor Bertil Andersson. A plant biochemist of international reputation, Professor Andersson has been one of the outstanding academic leaders of the past decade and has been a key figure in the development of science and technology research in Singapore. He has a long association with the Nobel Foundation and served as Chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry in 1997. ​