Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, DL was one of two Zoroastrian Parsis awarded honorary doctorates from the University of East Anglia last month (July 20).
Lord Bilimoria and Bahram Bekhradnia were invited alongside other notable figures from the fields of business, literature, science and charity to attend UEA’s week of graduation ceremonies, offering advice to graduating students and sharing their success stories. Each received an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law.
Lord Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra Beer, chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership Limited and of Molson Coors Cobra India. In 2006, he was the first Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the House of Lords. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law, the tenth honorary doctorate he has received to date.
Honorary degrees are presented each year by the University to honour those who have made an impact in fields such as the arts, science, and civil society, but this is believed to be the first time that two Zoroastrians have been honoured at the same ceremony in the UK.
Lord Bilimoria, who unveiled The Enterprise Centre at the University of East Anglia in October last year, shared some words of advice with fellow graduates. He said: “I have been able to see first-hand why UEA is one of the UK’s top universities. It is such an honour and privilege to receive an Honorary Doctorate and I am truly humbled.”
Bahram Bekhradnia became the first director of the Higher Education Policy Institute in 2002 following the course of a career devoted to the higher education sector both nationally and internationally and also received an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law.
