The 2009 Graduation Ceremony for the Chartered Institute of Marketing was held at 2pm on 11 November 2009 at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham.
The ceremony was held for those that achieved:
There were signs and stewards everywhere to help point you in the right direction. Registration I arrived at the Symphony Hall at around 10.15am. Not many people around at this time. I was handed my tickets and a Graduation brochure. I went to put on my robe etc – again no queue as I was early. Ede and Ravenscroft people helped everyone to dress – they even changed my mortarboard for a different size as when I moved my head, it kept on falling off. They give you some hair clips too if you’re still not comfortable with how it feels.
Top Tip: Take a bag with you so that will hold the Graduation brochure, the tickets, the promotional literature, forms, instructions, etc.
What to wear. I would recommend wearing something really smart to the graduation such as a suit. Top Tip: The robe attaches to a button on your suit jacket. The higher up the button on your jacket (or shirt), the more likely the sash is to actually stay on your shoulders. Incredibly irritating when it keeps on falling off. Alternatively, take some pins with you to actually pin it in place and keep it on. The Photograph
I arrived to have my photo taken at around 10.45am and there were only about 8 people waiting in the queue. There were around 3 or 4 photographers. After the photographs have been taken, the photographer gives you a small print out of your photo and details of where to order them online (you don’t have to decide to buy them while you are there). Top tip: Take a plain piece of paper, and a red ribbon with you and your parents/guests can take photos of you “holding your diploma”. The Ceremony There were approximately 1,200 delegates at the ceremony. If you are the person who will be called out first, a steward will tell you and walk you through what will happen. When it was time, a steward came and told our row to go. You walk towards the back of the Symphony Hall, go out of the doors and head towards the back stage area. There are some doors to the right of the stage where you line up. When your name is called you walk across the stage and shake hands with two people from the CIM. You carry on walking across the stage, through the doors on the other side, up the hall way out some more doors, down some steps back into the hall and find your seat. Top Tip: Tell your guests to turn on their digital cameras as soon as the ceremony ends. This is because the graduates may have the opportunity to throw their mortarboards in the air. The guests at November’s ceremony were given just a few seconds to get their cameras ready so many didn’t get a photo!
Overall, a good day out. I would definitely recommend getting there early so you're not queuing for everything.
Labels: chartered institute of marketing, cim graduation, graduation ceremony, symphony hall