Hundreds of graduating students were told at the ceremony to use the ``brains in their head and the feet in their shoes'' and to keep on learning.
Nearly 400 students graduated at the ceremony, opened with a mihi from Megan Potiki and a speech by Otago Polytechnic council chairwoman Kathy Grant.
Animation Research chief executive Cheryl Adams was the guest speaker.
Ms Adams, who gained a bachelor of mechanical engineering with honours from the University of Canterbury, spoke about her career and said it was important to: ``love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning''.
She also quoted from Dr Seuss: ``You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.''
Early in the ceremony there was also a presentation of an emeritus professorship to Jane Malthus, from iD Dunedin Fashion Week committee chairwoman and Otago Polytechnic design lecturer Margo Barton.
