Iqbal Wahhab awarded Honorary Doctorate of the University of East London   Award-winning restaurateur Iqbal Wahhab received an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from the University of East London (UEL) at a special ceremony held at London's Barbican Hall on Friday 30 November. Iqbal joined hundreds of UEL graduates celebrating academic success with family and friends as he accepted his award from Lord Rix, Chancellor of the University of East London. During the ceremony, Lord Rix personally awarded degrees, diplomas and certificates to more than four hundred graduates of UEL's Business School. He also presented honorary awards to George Iacobescu CBE, Chief Executive Officer of Canary Wharf Group, and dedicated East London community worker Anastasia Shillingford. Over the past decade, Iqbal Wahhab has successfully founded the acclaimed Cinnamon Club in Westminster, Tabla in Docklands and Roast in Borough Market. A former journalist, PR director and magazine editor, he has also advised the NHS on hospital food, and served as Chairman of the board of trustees for the educational charity Learning for Life. He is currently Chair of the UK Government's Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force Advisory Group, which aims to promote ways of reducing ethnic minority unemployment levels. Accepting his award of Honorary Doctor of Business Administration, Iqbal Wahhab said: "Nothing in my life has come easy. Whenever I tried to achieve anything, people always told me that I couldn't. I never replied, but simply remembered one of the first people I ever interviewed as a journalist - a man who made a billion dollars in his first year in business. "I asked him what the key to his success was, to which he replied: 'Every morning, stare at yourself in the mirror. Look into your eyes; if you convince yourself you can achieve what you want, you will always be able to.' To all of you graduating today, let me say that the world is full of opportunities for you to grab and make your own. I wish you good luck in doing so, and, once you succeed, take care to look around you and see how your success can help others." UEL's Business School has recently undergone dramatic developments, with the completion of its new home on the waterfront of the Royal Albert Dock marking a defining moment in its progression as both a provider of high-quality business and management education and a key player in the economic regeneration of East London. top