On the 7 June 2025 I received an honorary doctorate from Tampere University in Finland ‘in recognition of the development of research and education in sustainable logistics and supply chain management’. I was one of thirteen honorary doctors from Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US given the awards ‘in recognition of excellence in fields represented at the University .. in a tradition that spans several centuries’. In the same conferment ceremony 209 students graduated with doctorates in a broad range of subjects.   After the ceremony we all walked through the city centre in a long procession with senior academics and officials from the University and members of our families. 

These were the main events in three days of ‘festivities’ that also comprised a pre-conferment dinner, a banquet, religious and secular gatherings in, respectively, the cathedral and a local school and a boat trip to Viikinsaari Island in a nearby lake for lunch.  

I am very grateful to Tampere University for the award and its exceptional hospitality and to my personal host, Professor Pekka Verho, the Dean of the Faculty of Built Environment, the Faculty which nominated me for my doctorate.  It was also a pleasure meeting the Tampere University President, Professor Keijo Hämäläinen.