University of Portsmouth celebrates inspirational figures with Honorary Doctorates at 2026 graduation

2026 Honorary Doctorate and Fellowship recipients 

Suzi Ruffell - Comedian and Podcaster (Honorary Doctorate) 

With five sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and a nomination for Best Stand-Up Show at the National Comedy Awards, Suzi Ruffell has become one of the country's most in-demand comedians, appearing on Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week and The Jonathan Ross Show. She co-hosts the podcasts Like Minded Friends and OUT With Suzi Ruffell, celebrating LGBT+ lives, as well as the smash-hit Big Kick Energy with fellow comedian Maisie Adam. Her debut book, Am I Having Fun Now?, became an instant Sunday Times bestseller in June 2025, and she is currently touring her latest stand-up show, The Juggle. 

Joshua Robinson - Music Industry Strategist (Honorary Fellowship) 

Music industry strategist and presenter Josh Robinson has spent over a decade championing emerging artists and transforming how musicians build sustainable careers. He studied at the University of Portsmouth's Business School, where he founded RecFest, a live music and entertainment festival rooted in Hampshire that has grown into a celebrated platform for rising talent. Josh leads LMSUK, home to a roster of 150 global artists, and is widely sought after for his expertise in musician social media strategy. His office remains at Portsmouth Guildhall, reflecting his enduring commitment to the city that shaped him. 
Read Josh's full profile at port.ac.uk 

Captain Philippa Bowden MNM - Master Mariner and Ice Navigator (Honorary Doctorate) 

Captain Philippa Ann Bowden MNM is an Unlimited Master Mariner, ice navigator and maritime educator who spent her formative years in Portsmouth before entering the Merchant Navy at the age of nineteen. Her career spans cargo, research and passenger vessels, culminating in commanding expedition ships to remote destinations worldwide, with a specialism in polar regions. She delivers advanced maritime simulation training and mentors international female mariners, and was awarded the Merchant Navy Medal for Meritorious Service in 2025 for her outstanding contribution to maritime education and safety. 

Joe Wells - Comedian, Author and Neurodiversity Advocate (Honorary Fellowship) 

Joe Wells's writing career began at 15 with his first book, Touch and Go Joe, about his experience of OCD. Since then he has built a career as a stand-up comedian, writer and podcaster whose work explores neurodiversity, mental health and his own autistic identity; The Guardian has described his material as among the most thought-provoking coming from any comedian working today. In 2020, his stand-up clip on having a non-autistic brother went viral, gaining over 4.5 million views, and he now has an online following of more than 150,000. He co-hosts the Neurodivergent Moments podcast, and his book of the same name was published in 2026 to glowing reviews. 

David Willan - Business Leader and Former Chair of the Board of Governors (Honorary Doctorate) 

Born in Gosport, David Willan is Portsmouth through and through. A marketing consultant by profession, he has set up, developed, led and sold businesses specialising in research, planning and strategy consulting, including BPRI, winner of the Queen's Award for Enterprise. At the University of Portsmouth he chairs the Revolution Plastics Institute Advisory Council and served as a governor for nine years, including as Chair of the Board of Governors, helping guide the University through the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit and a long-term freeze in tuition fees. A lifelong Pompey fan and former director of Portsmouth Football Club, he was instrumental in building the partnership between the club and the University. 
Read David's full profile at port.ac.uk 

Dr Tevin Tobun - Business Leader, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist (Honorary Doctorate) 

Tevin Tobun is a business leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist with more than two decades of experience in technology, logistics and innovation. He founded Routd, a logistics technology platform, and the multi-award-winning GV Group, one of the UK's leading logistics and distribution companies; through businesses including Platebox and Repco Global, his enterprises distribute goods worth more than £400 million annually, including over 25 million school meals each year. He founded The Tobun Foundation to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into higher education and meaningful careers, and serves on the Lloyds Bank Business Advisory Board and as a Council member of The Open University. 

Nadia Huma Arab - Entrepreneur and Humanitarian (Honorary Fellowship) 

Portsmouth entrepreneur Nadia Arab blends cultural heritage, innovation and global humanitarian impact. Her acclaimed cookbook, The Road From Karachi, developed over four and a half years and rooted in her mother's lost recipes, is now taught in schools and stocked in Waitrose Southsea and Waterstones. Proceeds fund clean water pumps worldwide – more than 177 installed across India, Pakistan, Nepal, Gaza, Sri Lanka and Kenya, over 100 of them carrying the Portsmouth crest. Also, an IT lecturer at HSDC and a fitness trainer, Nadia's story has reached national audiences through the BBC's The Repair Shop, and she received the Inspirational Woman of Portsmouth Award in 2025 and an outstanding Humanitarian Award in 2026. 

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE – Mathematician, Computer Scientist and STEM Advocate (Honorary Doctorate) 

A trailblazing mathematician and computer scientist, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE became the youngest girl ever to pass A-level computing at just 11, later earning a Master's degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford at 20. Her career has included roles at Goldman Sachs, Hewlett-Packard and Deutsche Bank, and she has held influential positions including Chair of the Institute for the Future of Work, President of the British Science Association and Women in Tech Envoy for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. She is widely recognised as co-founder of Stemettes, the award-winning social enterprise that has inspired over 70,000 young people across Europe to pursue STEM. 

Professor Dr Shahriar Hossain – Environmental Scientist and Plastic Pollution Campaigner (Honorary Doctorate) 

Dr Shahriar Hossain, a member of the Revolution Plastics Institute Advisory Council, is an internationally recognised environmental advocate and public health campaigner who has spent more than 30 years protecting people and the environment from pollution and hazardous chemicals. As founder and Secretary General of Bangladesh's Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO), he helped lead the campaign that made Bangladesh the first country in the world to ban plastic shopping bags, inspiring action worldwide. He has also played a leading role in international efforts to tackle toxic chemicals and mercury pollution, advised governments and global organisations, and currently serves as a negotiator for the Government of Bangladesh in the Global Plastics Treaty talks. His contributions to environmental protection have been recognised through numerous international honours, including the United Nations Environment Programme's Global 500 Roll of Honour.