SPACE scientist and Sky at Night presenter, Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock, has given a motivating talk to the next generation, encouraging them to reach for the stars just like her.

Ms Aderin-Pocock spoke at a ceremony for the University of Bradford's summer graduations, which saw more than 1,700 students graduate.

She also received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the university.

Ms Aderin-Pocock said: "Firstly, it’s an honour to join this amazing university, and secondly, it’s certainly an honour to be celebrating with this audience coming through today - especially engineering graduates, my heart salutes you.

"Education breaks down barriers, it encourages us to transcend borders and it enables us to think outside the box, and here at the University of Bradford we do that better than most."

Besides presenting the long-running BBC astronomy programme The Sky at Night, Ms Aderin-Pocock is a former president of the British Science Association and an Institute of Physics award winner.

In 2020, she was awarded the Institute of Physics' William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize, in recognition of her public engagement in physics.

Her portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, and she even has her own Barbie doll.

Ms Aderin-Pocock said: "A few years ago, when someone suggested that I might be a role model, I freaked out a little.

"I thought I couldn’t possibly be a role model, but I think I got that wrong.

"To be a role model you don’t have to be perfect, we just need to share what we hold a passion for and that is what I think makes the world a better place."

Born and raised in London, Ms Aderin-Pocock attended 13 different schools and was placed into a remedial class following a dyslexia diagnosis.

The Clangers, the children's cartoon about mouse-like creatures living on an alien planet, first inspired her interest in space travel.

Since she could not afford to buy a decent telescope, she made one instead.

She eventually took a degree at Imperial College, London, and earnt a PhD in mechanical engineering.

She has since worked on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the largest telescope in space.

Recognised three times on the UK Power list of Top Most Influential Black People, she introduces children and adults to the wonders of space through her company, Science Innovation Ltd, and has given talks to approximately 500,000 people worldwide.