- Sonia Kumar MP graduated with an MSc in business and management
- A former NHS physiotherapist, Sonia gained the seat from the Conservatives at the 2024 General Election with a majority of 1,900
- The prime minister gave her the day off to graduate.
Dudley’s first female MP has graduated from Aston University with a degree in business and management.
Sonia Kumar, who was elected with a majority of 1,900 at the General Election on 4 July, was previously a front-line physiotherapist in the NHS.
The newly formed constituency, comprising areas of the former Dudley North and Dudley South constituencies, is one of 57 seats in the West Midlands.
After leaving Cadbury College she worked at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Northfield where she is now a foundation trust member.
Sonia was awarded her masters degree in business and management at a ceremony at Eastside Rooms in Birmingham on Friday 19 July 2024.
Sonia Kumar MP said:
“I am so happy.
“The Prime Minister gave me a day off to graduate. I put my request in quite early on as I knew I was graduating and everyone’s really pleased that I’ve graduated from Aston University with a distinction in MSc business and management.
“As a new MP, I’ve been doing a lot of networking and getting to understand other people’s perspectives over the last couple of weeks. Aston University has a really rich and diverse student base, so I've already been using some of the skills I’ve picked up and I will hopefully be using some of my strategic and operational business skills in the next few months to come.
“I want to encourage future students to be a glass ceiling breakers. There is nothing you can't achieve if you put your mind to it. Push boundaries and just keep going.”
Professor Zoe Radnor, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean for the College of Business and Social Sciences at Aston University, said:
“I am delighted to see Sonia graduate.
“She is an inspiration to other students for her work as NHS physiotherapist, who has dedicated her working life to treating local patients and now as a MP serving the community.
“I look forward to watching her succeed in her new role as an MP, taking the learnings from her time at work and the degree in business and management to serve her constituents in Dudley, the wider West Midlands and the country as a whole.”
- Notes to Editors
About Aston University
For over a century, Aston University’s enduring purpose has been to make our world a better place through education, research and innovation, by enabling our students to succeed in work and life, and by supporting our communities to thrive economically, socially and culturally.
Aston University’s history has been intertwined with the history of Birmingham, a remarkable city that once was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.
Born out of the First Industrial Revolution, Aston University has a proud and distinct heritage dating back to our formation as the School of Metallurgy in 1875, the first UK College of Technology in 1951, gaining university status by Royal Charter in 1966, and becoming The Guardian University of the Year in 2020.
Building on our outstanding past, we are now defining our place and role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world.
For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Sam Cook, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44) 7446 910063 or email: s.cook2@aston.ac.uk
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