This year’s EUI Degree Conferring Ceremony represented an exceptional landmark occasion for the entire community. Not only did this edition provide the opportunity for graduates who have defended their thesis between 2019 and 2022 to equally take part in this special celebration, it also saw the degree awarding of the first ever cohort of students in the Master of Transnational Governance.
Graduates who collected their certificates during the ceremony were divided into three sessions throughout the day, all of which were opened by EUI President, Professor Renaud Dehousse. In his opening speeches, President Dehousse reminded all outgoing alumni that although their academic journey at the Institute has come to an end, they will forever remain a valued and integral member of the EUI community.
In the first session of the day, 28 graduates of the Master’s programme were welcomed in the Badia church by friends, family and faculty members from the School of Transnational Governance (STG). They were praised for their academic achievements, but also for the courage they demonstrated in applying to and completing a brand-new programme.
“You gave a lot of trust in us,” said STG Director Alexander Stubb in his welcoming speech, wishing for all graduating students to keep an empathic, “open and curious mind” in their future endeavors. Graduates were also inspired by a keynote address by Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia and Director of the School of Civic Education in London, and a salute by fellow former student Andrew Fallone.
The two following sessions included the conferring of more than 140 degrees and five thesis prizes, in recognition of the efforts and accomplishments of PhD and LLM graduates across all EUI departments.
The awarding of two Honoris Causa degrees, an honour bestowed annually to distinguished scholars who have contributed considerably to their academic field, marked another memorable moment of this day. This year’s prizes were awarded from the Department of History and Civilisation and the Department of Law, respectively to Professor Maxine Berg and Professor Martti Koskenniemi.
At the end of the ceremonies, Ilze Plavgo, from the Department of Political and Social Sciences, and Philipp Grübener, from the Economics Department, delivered the customary graduate salutes. Their heartfelt speeches invited former researchers, faculty, staff and EUI community members to reminisce about their experience at the Institute, reflect on the challenges of the present, and confidently look at the future ahead.
All sessions of the 2022 Degree Conferring Ceremony are available on the EUI Live page.