The weather and atmosphere were perfect when Aarhus University, Institute of Business and Technology (AU-IBT) Friday 25 June 2010 celebrated the graduates at the yearly summer graduation ceremony.
"A chapter of our lives is over, and a new challenging chapter is waiting ahead. It has been an intense journey from the moment we entered the doors here at AU-IBT, and it has not been easy, but it has been memorable and all worth it", said Pernille Groth Poulsen who held the graduate speech.
"Here at AU-IBT, nobody is just a number in the series or just another student. It is one of the privileges of having chosen to study in a smaller place. And we have worked with real companies and projects, which have been rewarding, although it probably would have been easier to work with fictitious projects", continued graduate Pernille Groth Poulsen.
A vocational education is an important milestone
Guest speaker was Allan Krog Erlandsen who has a leading position within research and development at Bang & Olufsen A/S. He appealed to the graduates’ common denominator, namely that they all have reached an important milestone having their diplomas in their hands. Now the business world is waiting ahead of the graduates, and in this connection Allan Krog Erlandsen stressed that they can now bring a highly relevant education wherever they go.
Happy and relieved graduates
"Wild", "wauw" and "cool" were some of the comments from the winners of one of the graduation prizes, namely the best HA/Haim dissertation project; the project written by Annemette Olesen, Kristine Elmholt, Trine Kjærskov and Linda Højland dealt with the marketing of the little Danish town Brande, including buying patterns in the town.
"It has been great to study at AU-IBT. We have established friendships for life. And the place really lives up to the value 'close interaction with students' – you do not feel like you are just one student among many. But it is still a huge relief to have finished and have our diplomas now", says the four excited graduates.
Education benefits everyone
Director Erik Ernø-Kjølhede congratulated the graduates and thanked them for the time they have spent at AU-IBT and for showing so much energy that they have completed a higher education.
"The education is beneficial to you, but it is also beneficial to society. It has been demonstrated many times that people with higher education are good for the economy. You make more money and pay more taxes to the community, and you increase your productivity through your knowledge. Additionally, you also become less ill and more satisfied with life than uneducated people, and you become more involved in society and contribute more to the activities and politics than the less educated. Finally, it is also the highly educated who in these difficult economic times are at the bottom of the list when companies must dismiss people and at the top of the list when companies must hire new employees again ", said Erik Ernø-Kjølhede.
Prizes to the graduate of the year and best written projects
In total, 246 persons graduated from AU-IBT from 11 different study programmes. Besides speeches and musical entertainment, the graduate of the year as well as the best company projects were awarded in the various fields of study.
