Jakarta, 16 November 2021 – A leading university that has been present in the UK since 1843, Coventry University, in 2021 has again awarded honorary degrees to a number of figures who are considered to have contributed greatly to the world of education. The awards ceremony was held at Coventry Cathedral, Coventry, England, on November 15, 2021 for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

The university, which is ranked 15th in the UK (based on The Guardian University Guide 2020), this November awarded the title of Honorary Doctor of Arts in contribution to Public Relations & Communication Education across ASEAN to Prita Kemal Gani, MBA, MCIPR, APR as Founder and CEO of the LSPR Business and Communication Institute. Prita’s honorary doctorate was awarded by Nick Sale, Pro – Chancellor of Coventry University, on November 15, 2021, at Coventry Cathedral a church built by Coventry in the 12th century nearly a 1000 years ago.

Professor John Latham CBE, Vice Chancellor of Coventry University, said, “I would like to congratulate Prita Kemal Gani on receiving an Honorary Doctorate degree from Coventry University. Prita is a figure who has extraordinary achievements in the field of Public Relations. This of course can be an inspiration for students.”

The Honorary Doctorate in Public Relations was awarded by Coventry University to Prita, because she is considered to have made a very large contribution to the world of education related to Public Relations (PR) and Communication in the ASEAN region. As a PR expert, Prita is also considered very inspiring, because she has helped inspire practitioners in the PR and communication industry.

Born in Indonesia, Prita founded the London School of Public Relations (LSPR) in 1992. Since then, LSPR has become one of the most well-known public relations schools in Indonesia, with more than 31,098 graduates and more than 6,270 current students. Prita has also received many awards during her career, including the Best Practices in the Public Relations and Communications Profession award and the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award from the Asia Pacific Entrepreneur Awards. Apart from that, Prita is also involved in social issues, having founded the London School of Autism Awareness Centre. She is also listed as a member of the British Council’s Climate Change Project Advisory Board.

Prita also feels very honored to receive the Honorary Doctor of Arts award from Coventry University. “I am very grateful to Coventry University for their recognition of my work and achievements. I will cherish this moment as one of the greatest moments of my life. I also want to thank my family and my team at LSPR who have always been my biggest supporters,” she said.

Ambassador H.E Desra Percaya, Ph.D., Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the International Maritime Organization, who was also present at the awarding of the Honorary Doctorate, said that Indonesia and the UK had an established partnership for more than 70 years. This partnership is built on shared values, mutual trust and respect, and mutually beneficial cooperation.

One of the collaborations between Indonesia and the UK is cooperation in the field of education. For that, he praised Prita Kemal Gani’s contribution to the world of education. According to him, by setting high standards for the public relations profession, LSPR has helped prepare many young Indonesian candidates, who are future leaders, to enter the nation’s global community and promote a stronger Indonesian-British friendship.

“Therefore, it is an honor for me to congratulate Mrs. Prita Kemal Gani on her Honorary Doctorate degree from Coventry University, a close partner of Indonesia and the Indonesian Embassy in London. I believe the conferment of this prestigious title reflects the hard work she has dedicated in the world of education. Therefore, I hope that this will continue to inspire Ibu Prita and her team at LSPR to find new ways of collaboration between educational institutions. Adaptive and anticipatory cooperation will certainly enable Indonesia’s young generation to seize new opportunities and help accelerate recovery from this global pandemic,” he said.

Meanwhile, Professor Mike Hardy CMG, OBE, FRSA, Coventry University, said “Mrs. Prita Kemal Gani is an outstanding example of a 21st century leader who focuses on the lives and needs of young people. Her work has proven to be able to create opportunities and improve the quality of public relations in the public sphere. From a humanitarian perspective, Prita’s contribution to society is much broader than her professional life. For that, we are honored and acknowledge Prita by awarding her an honorary doctorate from our University.”

Previously, an Indonesian figure who had also received an honorary doctorate in health from Coventry University in 2017 was Prof. Dr. Ali Ghufron Mukti, MSc., Ph.D. The professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), now serves as Director General of the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia.