Graduation day is a milestone, one of life's landmark occasions, and a memorable opportunity for graduates, family members, and friends to celebrate the past and the future. After the obstacles and challenges resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, EUI PhD and LLM graduates gathered for the 2021 Degree Conferring Ceremony, hosted this year in the EUI’s Badia church and livestreamed online.
EUI President Renaud Dehousse opened the ceremony with a welcome speech remarking on the unprecedented achievements of the 2021 graduates. “Today we celebrate your success, which is also a great source of pride for us,” he said, adding that, “From the outset we have believed in your potential, we have invested in you […]. More than ever, we are confident in your ability to accomplish great things.”
Italian Minister of Justice and EUI Law Alumna, Professor Marta Cartabia, was a special presence in this unique occasion. Following the President’s welcome speech with a keynote address, she touched on her own experience as a PhD researcher at the EUI from 1988 to 1992, reflecting on the legacy that those years left in her personal and professional life as an academic, a Professor, a Constitutional Judge and a Minister of Justice. “What I learned, the people I met, are part and parcel of my present. I am still part of the great network of the EUI, and I wish you the same for your future."
During the Ceremony, Professor Karl Ulrich Mayer was awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa Degree for his lasting impact on sociological research. In reacting to his award, he shared how he benefited from his time at the Institute, noting that “by transforming doctoral students and post-docs into lasting gross European networks of scholars and practitioners, [the EUI] has probably contributed more to the development of the European community than any other institution.”
After all of the graduates individually received their Doctoral degree, Dean of Studies, Professor Claire Kilpatrick delivered a special mention to SPS graduate, Shpend Kursani, who accepted the Linz Rokkan Prize in Political Sociology for the Best Doctoral Thesis.
The ceremony concluded with a heartwarming salute by HEC graduate, Dr. Gaël Sánchez Cano. Contemplating on his time at the EUI, he remarked that “[the EUI] is a community on intellectual unrest, of enriching dialogue, of uplifting academic experiences. It is a place to learn and to teach, to make and accept amendments and corrections with respect and open-mindedness." He concluded his speech by remarking on his personal experience at the EUI as one that could be shared collectively amongst all graduates: “the EUI has brought persistent joy into […] our life, intellectually, aesthetically and humanly.”
Congratulations to all 2021 graduates!
Watch the full livestreamed event on the EUI’s Youtube channel.