The Duke of York’s day in West Yorkshire started at the University of Huddersfield, of which he is Chancellor. His Royal Highness joined students as they received their degrees and presented a number of Honorary Degrees.
The Duke was installed as Chancellor of the University in 2015, succeeding Sir Patrick Stewart. The University was founded in 1825 and provides outstanding academic education, as well as producing employable graduates who are equipped with the skills required for the world of work.
Following the Graduation Ceremony, His Royal Highness officially opened the University’s new £30m Barbara Hepworth Building, which will be devoted to the study of art, design and architecture and named after Dame Barba Hepworth, who was born and educated in Wakefield.
The Duke previously visited the site in February 2018 and laid the foundation stone, and during today’s the visit he was able to meet contractors, staff and apprentices who helped build the landmark building over the last year.
His Royal Highness then presented ‘The Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Award’ to 30 entrepreneurs from 19 businesses. The Awards are presented to students who have displayed remarkable entrepreneurship whilst at a university in the North of England.
The Duke then travelled to Wakefield to officially open Yorkshire Ambulance’s new state-of-the-art simulation training suite at their Air Support Base in Nostell, West Yorkshire. His Royal Highness is Patron of the charity, which provides lifesaving rapid response emergency service to 5 million people across 4 million acres of Yorkshire.
The brand new, 360° training room offers the YAA medical crews an immersive training experience alongside realistic, human-like training manikins which provides crews with extremely realistic medical training opportunities. The state-of-the-art facility offers crews opportunities to undertake training on a much more regular basis in very realistic situations.
