2018 Graduation Ceremony: flying hats and a minister

Many graduates have already been working for months, and for some it was only a few weeks ago that they graduated. H-BRS has been inviting its graduates since the first year of graduation in 1999, this year it was a small anniversary with the 20th Central Graduate Celebration.

University President Hartmut Ihne congratulated the graduates on successfully completing their studies. Universities are places of contemplation and thinking ahead about our life and our society, he said. Important tasks are associated with that. As a consequence, the relationship between universities and society needs to change. In order to actively support social developments more effectively, universities need to open themselves up further in both strategic and structural terms. “Our 'Campus to World' project with its focus on being an innovative university is an important step in this direction. Over the past 50 years, the universities of applied sciences in Germany have gained a lot of expertise and initiated important innovations in collaboration with companies, associations and social organisations." Ihne also called for action from the world of politics: “The practical strength of universities of applied sciences in teaching, research and knowledge transfer needs to be more strongly promoted and extended by policy."

Hartmut Ihne made the following appeal to the graduates: "You have been educated and trained as academics at our university. I expect you to use your heads and hands to advance the values of reason and to take responsibility for our society. Be part of the change; work to uphold our democracy, our environment and a good future for us all by making sustainable objectives a reality. Get involved at your place of work, in family life and everywhere."

Before more than 2,200 guests he then handed over to the keynote speaker Andreas Pinkwart, the Minister for the Economy, Innovation, Digital and Energy (MWIDE) for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Among other topics Pinkwart, who wants to make North Rhine-Westphalia a top location for digital, spoke about the importance of this topic and painted a picture of the world of work of tomorrow for the graduates: "The process of digitalisation is one of the biggest social tasks shaping the present and, if nothing else, is fundamentally changing the world of work. Together we must develop innovative ideas and new business models for the people in our state and country – with an economy that is oriented towards the future and above all with well-trained specialists." He also praised H-BRS, describing it as "one of the most successful Universities of Applied Sciences in Germany". Bonn's mayor Ashok-Alexander Sridharan and Notburga Kunert, deputy head of the Rhein-Sieg district authority, also made speeches.