Master's graduation peak this autumn
This was the first time an Aalto ARTS graduation ceremony was held on the Otaniemi campus.
Last Friday, degree certificates were presented to Masters and Bachelors of Arts (Art and Design), Bachelors of Science (Technology) and Masters of Science (Architecture and Landscape Architecture) at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture's extra graduation ceremony. The extra graduation ceremony was organised as due to the degree reform there was a record number of Master's graduates receiving their certificates. A total of 197 degree certificates were awarded.
This was the first time an Aalto ARTS graduation ceremony was held on the Otaniemi campus. The ceremony was held in Lecture Hall A of the Bachelor's degree study service centre. The large hall was crowded with the friends and family members of new graduates. The event began with a humorous performance by a quartet from the Polytech Choir in which listeners were advised on how to select socks and the demands of an international career.
Dean Anna Valtonen spoke to the graduates about the importance of completing a degree and the meaning of happiness, creating networks during one's studies and the high value of working together.
The Dean's stipend was presented at the graduation ceremony to Master of Arts graduate Kasperi Mäki-Reinikka for the best Master's thesis. He is a member of the Brains on Art collective, which works in the middle ground between art and science. The thesis, which examined the collective's work, is an excellent example of the possibilities presented by multidisciplinary cooperation in the production of high-quality art.
An alumni address has become a fixed part of the graduation ceremony. This time it was held by Mats Lönngren, an industrial designer who graduated from the international MEDes programme. He was the recipient of this year's BraunPrize 2015.
After the graduation ceremony, the school's departments held their traditional graduation parties in the Bachelors' centre's other facilities.
The next graduation ceremony will be held on 18 December 2015 at the Sampo Hall on the Arabia campus.
Further information:
Head of Student Services Leena Koskinen, leena.koskinen@aalto.fi
Photos by Alisa Javits