Honorary degrees for Dame Sarah Gilbert, Myleene Klass and Adam Kay at University of East Anglia

Myleene Klass, Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, Samira Ahmed, Simon Thomas, Adam Kay and Sir Norman Lamb
Myleene Klass, Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, Samira Ahmed, Simon Thomas, Adam Kay and Sir Norman Lamb will receive honorary degrees from the University of East Anglia in Norwich Credit: Charlie Clift, John Cairns and Jonny Barratt

The University of East Anglia in Norwich is to confer 25 honorary degrees on a number of best-selling authors, television presenters, a former MP and a Covid-19 vaccine pioneer.

It will be the first set of graduation ceremonies held at the UEA for three years following the pandemic.

Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert is a vaccinologist and project leader of the University of Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine – the AstraZeneca vaccine. As an undergraduate, she studied biological sciences at UEA. Dame Sarah and her team delivered a vaccine ready for clinical trials just a couple of weeks into the first COVID-19 UK-wide lockdown in 2020.Also being awarded degrees are broadcasters Samira Ahmed, Myleene Klass from Great Yarmouth and former Blue Peter presenter Simon Thomas from Norfolk.

UEA has a long-held association with creative writing and there are a host of bestselling authors on the 2022 honorary graduates list.

Adam Kay’s debut novel ‘This Is Going To Hurt’ diarised his career as a junior doctor in the NHS and was made into a BBC TV series.  Paula Hawkins has sold over 28 million books worldwide and her most famous novel, ‘The Girl On The Train’, has been published in more than 50 languages and was adapted into a film in 2016.

Sir Norman Lamb, who was the Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk for 18 years and was a health minister in the coalition government, is being recognised for his impact in politics and local government

Sir Norman said: “I’m massively honoured to be awarded this degree given that it was my father’s appointment to UEA that first brought me and my family to Norfolk as a teenager, so I have always felt a close association with UEA."

Hubert Lamb was the founder of the highly influential Climatic Research Unit which was set up to research the effects of global climate change. Honorary degrees are awarded to acknowledge individuals for outstanding accomplishments in their field or for exceptional contributions to the community.

Each honorary graduate will give a short speech at one of the upcoming ceremonies and receive one of three awards: an Honorary Doctorate in Civil Law; an Honorary Doctorate in Letters or an Honorary Doctorate in Science.