The sixth Ceremonial Conferment of Doctoral Degrees begins – watch the live stream of the Act of Conferment and come to follow the Academic Procession on 20 September
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University of Vaasa's sixth Ceremonial Conferment of Doctoral Degrees will be held from 19 to 21 September 2024. The Conferment Ceremony is the highest celebration of academic work. Those who have completed their doctoral degree receive the insignia associated with the doctoral status - the hat, the sword and the diploma - in the Conferment Ceremony.
64 doctoral candidates at the University of Vaasa have registered for the Doctoral Conferment Ceremony. Of those registered, 32 are Doctors of Science in Business Administration and Economics, 12 in Technology, 14 in Administrative Sciences and six in Philosophy.
The University of Vaasa will award honorary doctorates to 12 persons of scientific or societal merit. The following people will be awarded honorary doctorates: President of the Republic of Finland, Alexander Stubb, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Sari Essayah, Chairman of Investor AB, Jacob Wallenberg, former CEO, Executive Advisor of ABB, Björn Rosengren, Counsellor of Finance at the Ministry of Finance, Katju Holkeri, Professor at Aston University, Tim Baines, University Professor at Fordham University, Iftekhar Hasan, Professional Board Member Anne Korkiakoski, Acting Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics, Roberto Verganti, Expert on Economic Policy, Johnny Åkerholm, Professor at BOSMAL Automotive R&D Institute, Piotr Bielaczyc andProfessor at the Pennsylvania State University Harrisburg, Angappa Gunasekaran. President of the Republic of FinlandAlexander Stubb and Chairman of Investor AB Jacob Wallenberg will receive their Honorary Doctorates absent from the ceremony. Read more about our honorary doctorates.
The conferment celebrations full of academic traditions
The conferment celebrations traditionally last three days, starting with dance rehearsal on Thursday 19 September in the afternoon. The day will continue with the rehearsal of act of conferment, followed by the sword-whetting ceremony, where honorary doctors and the doctors to be conferred will whet their swords for the following day's act of conferment.
The actual celebration, the act of conferment, will take place on Friday 20 September. The act of conferment will be live streamed online starting at 12:00 PM.
The academic procession starts from the corner of Kirkkopuistikko and Kirjastonkatu and proceeds along Kirkkopuistikko to Vaasa Church. You can follow the procession from 3:00 PM along the Kirkkopuistikko and in front of the church. The conferment service and the secular event at Vaasa City Hall are open to the public. The day will end with a gala dinner at the University of Vaasa and a conferment ball at Vaasa City Hall.
The Conferment Ceremony ends on Saturday 21 September with a fun day out for the doctors.
See the full programme.
The message of the Conferment Ceremony is summed up in symbols
The University of Vaasa's Conferment Ceremony continues a centuries-old European tradition that arrived in Finland in the 17th century via Uppsala. The University of Vaasa's first Conferment Ceremony took place in 1988.
The message of the Conferment Ceremony is summed up in the symbols given to the doctors - a hat, a sword and a diploma. The diploma confirms the doctor's dignity and status as a member of the academic community. The doctor's hat is a symbol of scientific freedom. The sword symbolises truth. It is a weapon of the spirit in the hand of the wearer, who fights for the truth, right and good that the scientist has determined.
Common knowledge of conferment ceremonies and the ABC of conferment ceremonies
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