Congratulations to our latest PhD graduates!

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Congratulations to our latest PhD graduates!

90 graduates from 18 different countries officially became PhDs at last week’s Doctoral Degrees Graduation Ceremony.

The culmination of years of dedicated learning, curiosity and hard work was celebrated last week at the 2025 Doctoral Degrees Graduation Ceremony.

Graduates gathered at RMIT's City campus with RMIT Chancellor Peggy O’Neil AO, Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Alec Cameron, members of council, distinguished guests, staff, family and friends to acknowledge and celebrate their remarkable achievements.

90 graduates attended the ceremony, with an additional 37 PhD candidates having graduated in absentia between January and May this year.

A global cohort was represented among those in attendance, with graduates from 18 different countries, including China, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, joining the celebrations.

Age was no limit, with the ceremony’s youngest graduate aged 34 years old and oldest aged 73 years old.

Graduates, academics and guests in attendance at the 2025 Doctoral Degrees Graduation Ceremony at Storey Hall, RMIT City campus.

Graduates, academics and guests in attendance at the 2025 Doctoral Degrees Graduation Ceremony at Storey Hall, RMIT City campus.

Every year, universities award honorary degrees to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the wider community. This year’s honorary doctorate was awarded to urban ecologist and placemaking expert, Salvador Rueda Palenzuela.

Rueda is one the world’s foremost experts on urban planning, celebrated for his vital contribution to built environments.

He is known for developing and planning ‘superblocks’, a concept pioneered in Barcelona, which reimagines the typical city block by diminishing car traffic to improve community, liveability and sustainability.

“Since I was very young, I have been committed to applying knowledge to the common good through academic ecology and activism. Today, more than ever, current uncertainties - the climate emergency, artificial intelligence, the population explosion, accentuated in some continents, the loss of biodiversity, and, more recently, geopolitics - force us to shift our paradigm,” he said.

“It's no longer about improving the future - improving the future isn't enough - it's about securing the future, and to achieve this, we need new theoretical frameworks, methodologies, and tools adapted to the new scenario.”

Salvador Rueda Palenzuela speaking at the 2025 Doctoral Degrees Graduation Ceremony.

Salvador Rueda Palenzuela speaking at the 2025 Doctoral Degrees Graduation Ceremony.

This year’s PhD graduates join RMIT’s global network of over 500,000 alumni, a community of like-minded professionals offering networking, volunteering and career development opportunities and resources.

Congratulations again to our PhD graduates! We wish you all the best as you embark on the next stage of your journey.

Check out the photo highlights of the ceremony or watch the recording on YouTube. You can also learn more about some of our amazing PhD graduates and their research below.

21 May 2025

Learn more about our latest PhD graduates

PhD graduate Janappriya Jayawardana

05 May 2025

Investigating the sustainability of modern construction practices by focusing on prefabricated construction.

Woman sitting on a chair in from of a vertical banner smiling for a photo.

PhD graduate Saskia Penn: an investigation into Australia’s justice system

01 May 2025

In her PhD, Saskia Penn examined how police culture has contributed to ongoing instances of misconduct and injustice in the Australian criminal justice system.

Man in blue suit standing in front of plants posing for a photo.

PhD graduate Alexander Marsden: Exploring Humour in Glam Metal at RMIT

01 May 2025

Alexander Marsden, a recent PhD graduate from RMIT University, has delved into the intriguing intersection of humour and hegemony within the 1980s glam metal music scene.

PhD graduate Samuel Ord: enhancing drones to better deliver humanitarian aid

29 Apr 2025

Samuel Ord’s passion for innovation led him to conduct research in enhancing the range, endurance, and payload capacity of fixed-wing drones for logistic operations.

PhD graduate Julia English: spotlighting the collaborative potential of remaking textiles in Australia.

29 Apr 2025

From little projects a bigger picture grows – how understanding SME collaborations to remake textiles can inform future waste management approaches for the fashion industry.

Woman dressed in blue looking back t camera while surrounded by Black swans in front of lake.

PhD graduate Jody Haines: Sites of Indigenous resistance and connection through photography

29 Apr 2025

Jody took on a practice-led approach to her PhD, using photography and lens-based media to create sites of resistance and connection in public, community and colonial spaces.

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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