Master’s closing ceremony in University Main Building
On 21 May a closing ceremony took place in the University Main Building for students in Uppsala University’s international Master’s programmes.
About 400 Master’s students and their 600 guests took part in the graduation festivities, which began with a ceremony in the Grand Auditorium with speeches by Anders Malmberg, the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor; Kate Lonergan, a doctoral student at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research; and George Xystouris, a Master’s student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
“We hope that you have gained a sense of healthy scepticism towards authority figures, an ability to combine critical and independent thinking with respect for empirical evidence and insight into how societal challenges require action, but also that there are no simple solutions,” Deputy Vice-Chancellor Malmberg said in his speech.
“Those insights are probably more important than ever right now when we can see populism and institutionalised ignorance spreading all over the world. More than ever, the world needs well-educated people who can think critically and independently, make well-founded judgements and defend common sense and freedom of thought.”
An ensemble from the Royal Academic Orchestra, Uppsala University’s symphony orchestra, provided musical entertainment. The ceremony in the Grand Auditorium was followed by a mingle and tour of the Chancellery and adjacent rooms on the upper floor of the University Main Building, with portraits of kings, cultural figures and professors.
The closing ceremony for students of the international Master’s programmes at Uppsala University is arranged at the end of each academic year.
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In case you have not had the opportunity to attend the closing ceremony, it was filmed and is available for viewing in retrospect.
Anders Berndt