High Commissioner's keynote address at Deakin University's first graduate batch Convocation Ceremony
23 March 2026
Chief Minister of Gujarat, Honorable Shri Bhuphendra Patel, Vice Chancellor and President of Deakin University Professor Ian Martin, other leading university figures, professors, deans and our very own Vice President Global Engagement and CEO South Asia Ravneet Pahwa, Professor shekhana honoree, doctor, distinguished guests, graduates, families and friends. Good afternoon. Namaste and Yumalundi.
Yumalundi is the word in the language of the indigenous people from around our capital, Canberra, which means Hello and welcome. And in greeting you in this way, I'm demonstrating our respect for indigenous people in Australia, in this country and all around the world.
It feels very special to be to be asked to address you - the graduates at this inaugural conferral ceremony for the Deakin’s campus in India. You were the first. That's not always easy. It's often easier to follow others, to know how their paths worked out, and to follow in the steps of the most successful, but equally getting what many call prime mover advantage, doing something first can also deliver benefits, sometimes very big ones. If the choice is a good one, it's axiomatic that going first requires a level of courage to embark on a path that others haven't. Requires a level of self-assurance, the confidence to back your judgment, to find your own new path and to take it.
So let me first congratulate you as the first to embrace Deakin in India for that self-assurance and that clarity of vision that you have shown. It is, of course, an analog to the path taken by the leaders of Deakin University. They chose to be the first foreign university to open its door in India, to be a pathfinder, and they chose to do it in a sizeable way, with a beautiful building in this striking new city.
They, too needed courage and self-assurance and clarity. I sense it's working out for them. Certainly, a large number of other universities who have since undertaken to open campuses in India, 17 in all, if my research serves me well, suggests that they see Deakin success and want to follow it.
It's not quite the same, but it strikes me that the government of Gujarat is also establishing a number of firsts, certainly, from my perspective in New Delhi, this state is demonstrating ambition, vision, courage and self-assurance in the way it is going about building Viksit Bharat. Gift City is a good example. This ambitious vision, conceived by then Chief Minister Narendra Modi Ji, has matured into a thriving international financial services hub. The state of Gujarat has taken a leading role in the nation's renewable energy journey, a journey that's important not just for India, but for the whole world.
Gujarat contributes 1/6 of all India's renewable energy capacity. That's impressive, since Gujarat makes up roughly 1/20 of both India's landmass and population, and when it comes to one of the most important supply chains in the contemporary world, semiconductors, Gujarat was also the first. Micron’s facility in Sanand is the first of its kind in India, transforming raw wafers into finished, high quality products. I could not go on and talk about a range of other sectors, but let me as an Australian, take special notice.
In 2030, the city of Ahmedabad will host Commonwealth Games. This is a truly remarkable achievement. I have seen the plans, some of them drawn up by Australian firms for the precinct where those games will be staged. They're impressive. I know that Indian and Gujarati planners don't want to get ahead of themselves, but could those facilities also one day play host to India's first Olympic Games? Yes, that will take courage, yes, that will take self-assurance, but it is achievable. So, like you students and like Deakin, Gujarat is a home to many firsts. Allow me to address you on achievements and say that these firsts and these wider achievements of the state of Gujarat are a credit to your leadership and your ability to deliver - Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat.
Students today is a moment for you to celebrate and to take stock. Graduations are among the great modern rites of passage. You have succeeded. You can look back on your achievements and feel proud. Many of you are here with families, parents, siblings, friends who have stood beside you through long days, longer nights, difficult exam preparations, moments of doubt and moments of triumph. This is your day, collectively. So, to all the families here, you should be proud of what the graduand in your life has accomplished. I hope you will each take a moment to savor this success. It's also a time to reflect on what comes next. Graduations are an achievement, yes, but they are also a steppingstone to the future. I am told, for many of you, what comes next is partly settled with jobs in high quality Australian, Indian and international firms. But beyond the world of work, you might also give thought today to what sort of life you want to construct, what sort of son or daughter, what sort of brother or sister, what sort of friend, either now or possibly later what sort of father or mother, what sort of life do you want speed to live, successful, I guess, kind and generous, I hope, concerned about the world around you, both near and far. We need that.
I would also like you to reflect on what sort of world you are in, what sort of world you are graduating it is a challenging world. There is more war and there is more power being expressed by the mighty. It is a world where the rules that have served us well since India's independence, are under challenge. It is a world over which the dark shadow of climate change hangs, and particularly for your generation, it looks a fair bit rougher than the world of a decade ago, and yet it is also for Indians, in particular, a world of opportunity. This country is emerging rightly, as one of the world's leading powers. It is a country of striking economic growth, full of young people with drive, ambition and ideas. That is very precious. Few parts of the world have that in our contemporary world, I would urge you to reflect on what that growth, ambition and opportunity means for you personally.
Finally, it is customary for people doing addresses like these to finish with some thoughts for the graduates, I find that a genuinely humbling task. The world of work you enter is very different from the one I entered 35 years ago. And the Indian world, for all its strong connections with Australia, is a different place to my country. So after considerable thought, I offer you some modest pointers.
First - resilience matters. The world is changing rapidly, and adaptability matters more than ever.
Second, hard work does pay off, not always immediately, not always in direct proportion to the effort, but it does pay off.
Third, Curiosity is a virtue. Be curious about why your community, your industry, your environment, works it does. Why are we on this path and not another? How will my effort contribute to the whole and most importantly, how can we all do this better?
Fourth, keep learning even when you don't feel you need to. Early in your career, people will tell you when you are wrong, later, they won't, but you still need to learn from others perspectives, seek them out, whether you are being told or not, reflect on what you're doing and work relentlessly at improving it.
Finally develop your own path but do so judiciously. In my experience, success in life is about striking a balance between those useful ideas that others have for you and your own considered understandings about what's best.
So, listen to others. Think hard about what they say. Develop your own capacity to stress, test their ideas and then fashion the best of what others have told you and your own considerate judgments to the way forward.
To Deakin University's graduation class of 2026, to the first students to pass out of this fine university in this great country - Congratulations. You have made a very important step in your life. Now go out and make something of that for yourselves, for your country and for our world. Thank you.