Emeritus Professor Huw Davies
SUSAN AMBLER: I now have great pleasure in inviting Professor Keith McLay, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Derby, to give the commendation for the conferment of an Honorary Doctor of the University to Emeritus Professor Huw Davies. Professor McLay.
PROFESSOR KEITH MCLAY: Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, His Majesty's Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Derbyshire, Honoured Guests, Graduands of 2026, and all our guests here today, it gives me great pleasure to be presenting Emeritus Professor Huw Davies for the award of Honorary Doctor of the University.
Huw is an internationally renowned artistic researcher, filmmaker, photographer and curator whose career spans more than 40 years. He has made significant contributions to research, teaching and academic leadership at universities in the UK, China, the United States, and most recently at the University of Derby.
Huw began his career in 1976 as a trainee photographer at Imperial College London, whilst also studying part-time and pursuing several side hustles, including freelance photography for the UK music press and running an independent record label.
In 1981, Huw moved to Nottingham to study Photography & Film at Trent Polytechnic, and later completed a Master's Degree at Manchester Polytechnic. During this time, he was commissioned by Trinity House to photograph the last remaining lighthouse keepers in England and Wales. His subsequent journey around the British coastline resulted in his first major touring exhibition, and two films for the BBC, Welsh Arts Council and the Discovery Channel. In 1986, he was appointed Photography Fellow in Residence at Derbyshire College of Higher Education, now the University of Derby.
Huw has since undertaken photographic and film commissions for many organisations, including Penguin Michael Joseph, The Guardian and The Telegraph Magazine. His films have been screened at international film festivals in over 40 countries and have include broadcast commissions for the Arts Council England, Scottish Screen, the BBC, the Discovery Channel, Arte and Canal+.
Alongside his creative work, Huw developed a distinguished academic career. He was appointed Senior Lecturer in Photography & Film at the University of Sunderland in 1988. In 1994, he joined Edinburgh Napier University as a Reader, progressing to become Professor of Lens Media and Head of the School of Arts and Creative Industries.
He returned to the University of Derby in 2007 as Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Design & Technology. His first day in the job was spent welcoming Sir Richard Branson to open the new Market Street building. He oversaw significant developments, including the establishment of Derby Theatre as a learning theatre, the creation of the Institute for Innovation & Sustainable Engineering, and the partnership with QUAD for the FORMAT International Photography Festival.
He has served as an external examiner and curriculum and adviser to more than 20 institutions across India, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Russia and Europe. In 2004, he founded the Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, now one of the UK's leading platforms for artists, film and video and new cinema. He has contributed significantly to the local cultural sector, serving on the boards of QUAD, Derby Theatre, UK New Artists, and Artcore.
Huw remains an active filmmaker and photographer. His 2023 documentary 'Lakharo of Light' received international recognition, and his forthcoming book, 'Unwatched Operations', revisits his lighthouse project from over 40 years ago.
Since retiring in 2025, Huw continues to support the University as an Emeritus Professor of Lens Media. Huw is celebrating his impressive achievements today with his wife Julia, son Laurie, daughter Iona and her husband Will.
Chancellor, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the cultural and creative sectors, we are delighted to award Huw Davies the honorary degree of Doctor of the University.
EMERITUS PROFESSOR HUW DAVIES: Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, His Majesty's Deputy Lieutenant of the County Derbyshire, Honoured guests, Graduands of 2026, and indeed also my many former colleagues from the School of Humanities, Law & Creative Industries who are seated on the stage alongside me.
This is a bit of a role reversal for me, because for many years I was the person on that side of the stage doing the honorary graduate citations and reading out the graduate names. And I must admit, my mispronunciation of students names is almost legendary. So it's good to see that that's now in the hands of sort of true professionals. And on a personal level, I would just like to make a long overdue public apology to all of those I misrepresented in the past.
Anyway, that aside, it's good to be back, and I'm really honoured and privileged to accept this award.
I've had a long association and relationship with the University of Derby for over four decades now, and as you just heard, I just first came here as Artist & Fellow in Residence in 1986 to what was then Derbyshire College of Higher Education. That post was created in collaboration with the Arts Council, and aimed at promoting a research model through practice that was appropriate to the disciplines of art and design. And that's still something that's very close to my heart. And as part of that deal, I got access to the library and the facilities, and in exchange, I taught one day a week on the BA Photography course, which as an inexperienced rookie, was my first taste of academia. And I should say, those students certainly challenged me. They kept me on my toes, and probably quite rightly so as well. But despite it being a baptism of fire, I'm eternally grateful to Derby and the University for giving me that first break all of those years ago.
Many of you are graduates in the arts & creative and cultural industries, and embarking on careers into a sector that now contributes over £124bn gross value added a year to the UK economy, and has a major impact and influence globally. It's also a sector that's undergoing incredible transformational and technical change, and the impact of things like generative AI in particular is never out the headlines these days. The pace of change is sometimes daunting, but it's also exciting, offering amazing new opportunities and challenges, and is certainly a far cry away from my early days of splicing lengths of film together with bits of a sticky tape in my garage.
But Artificial Intelligence is just that. It's artificial. It's a fantastic technological tool that undoubtedly will change our world, but it is still just a tool of production and will never replace a creative mind. And it's developing that creative mindset, one that is uniquely human, that has been a core of your experience here at the University of Derby. The opportunity and the space to experiment, to problem solve, innovate, research, collaborate with fellow students and test ideas out. And of course, to do all that in a critical and professional environment.
These are really essential and importantly, transferable skills, and combining them with the use of digital tools both intelligently and ethically, is where the future lies. All of you are that future, and I have every confidence that if you follow that path, you will succeed.
Finally, I'd like to thank the many hundreds of individuals, organisations, and creative collaborators that have supported me along the way. Special thanks to my family who have already been mentioned, and are celebrating with me here today, and actually particularly to my father who is 97 years young and can't be here in person but hopefully he's watching this as a live stream 120 miles away in Potters Bar. Hello, Dad!
Without all of your support, encouragement and critical guidance, I wouldn't be here today. I also, if I may, want to do a special call out to Artcore, an arts charity who do amazing work with communities here in Derby and for whom I have the privilege to be their Chair, and who very much champion creativity as a catalyst for positive change. Again, something that's very close to my own heart.
But most of all, I want to congratulate you, my fellow graduands, for your hard work and dedication and your achievements as sort of evidenced here today. It's a really special day. Be proud and I wish you all the best in your future endeavours and chosen careers. Thank you.
SUSAN AMBLER: Thank you so much Huw, for that wonderful speech. And I think those messages around the importance of the creative arts and cultural sectors are very relevant to our graduates here today and that ever changing modern world.
Emeritus Professor Huw Davies' commendation video
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