At the beginning of the ceremony, UIC Rector Pere
Alavedra
thanked De Gispert for her participation and gave the floor to Javier
Junceda, the
Dean of the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences. Junceda reminded the graduates
of the importance of these studies in training people who are ready to get
involved in public administration. He said, "We need specialists in public
administration who are trained with the values of this university and who know
how to act with honesty, high standards, a deep sense of responsibility and an
eagerness to provide service".

After the speeches by the two class representatives, Xavier
Rodríguez for
the Diploma Programme in Public Administration and Management and Ramon
Roig for the
Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Political Science and Public Administration, the
floor was given over to President Núria de Gispert, who thanked the university for
inviting her to be the keynote speaker for the two graduating classes.

De Gispert spoke about the need for
good civil servants in public administration. She said, "How well the
public administration works is a key factor in competitiveness and achieving
the economic, social and political well-being this country needs. If we do not
have well-prepared civil servants who have a vocation and take a professional
approach, the country will suffer".

It was along these lines that De Gispert spoke about her
experience and the fact that she entered politics to provide a service. "I
wanted to work and contribute what I could to the public administration being
created at that time", she said. And though she did not have a political
vocation, she ended up falling in love with politics. She said, "It was
thanks to the experience with President Pujol, which I wouldn't exchange for
anything in the world".

She went to say that, since the Bachelor’s Degree
Programme in Political Science and Public Administration is offered partly in
the classroom and partly on line, she would be able to study it, now that she
is getting closer to retirement from politics and the profession. She said,
"Here I would be able to study from a theoretical perspective all the
practical experience I've been through in my professional career".

Finally, Núria de Gispert encouraged the graduates to be on their
guard against mediocrity, conformism and media hype. She said, “I hope you can
stay strong and confident about being citizens who work for others".