Students of the UIC Barcelona Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences graduated last Friday, 27 May, accompanied by their family and friends in the university Aula Magna. The students from the bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management; the University Master's Degree in Business Management and Production Systems and the University Master's Degree in Entrepreneurial Financing: Venture Capital and Private Equity, all had their moment on stage proudly wearing the orange sash, a symbol of the end of their studies.

The event was inaugurated by the dean of the faculty, Dr Marta Mas, who shared an inspiring speech with all the participants, showing her happiness at the culmination of the students' university career and highlighted the search for truth as the key to the future. “This university does not aim to train only good professionals, but to train professionals for the better: future entrepreneurs who will work to improve society. We hope to have conveyed this idea of the search for the truth as the essential foundation of your lives to you. In this way you can discover how to improve society. I encourage you to put everything you have learned at the service of the people,” said the dean.

Then, Dr Kenjiro Hori, head of the Department of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics at Birkbeck, University of London, and patron of the graduation, gave a speech to all the graduate students and spoke to the audience about the relationship between the two universities. They have been collaborating since 2016 with double degrees, promoting and facilitating mobility between London and Barcelona. He also spoke of how fortunate all the students are, not only for living in “a wonderful city like Barcelona”, but for having been able to study at UIC Barcelona.

After the words of the patron and the awarding of diplomas, the class representatives of all those graduating addressed their classmates. They spoke about their shared recent experience affected by the pandemic, but above all thanked their relatives, teachers and peers for all the support received. “We have come this far thanks to the strength we have shown during this time. The University has brought us a wealth of knowledge, adventure and experience. And most importantly, it has made us grow as people,” said Pol Sánchez. “We had to get used to the new routine, all the classes, projects and exams suddenly online. None of this would have been possible without your dedication, teachers: thank you from the bottom of our hearts”, concluded Miquel Calzada in his speech.

The students of the masters’ courses also expressed their gratitude and happiness for having been able to complete the studies despite the pandemic. “The important thing is that today we are here, in person and with all the empathy that sets us apart, to celebrate a goal that even a pandemic has not prevented us from achieving,” commented Giancarlo Vedelgrado.

The graduation was an emotional, polycultural act, full of speeches by professionals such as Fernando García from KPMG; former students, such as Arantza de Miguel from the Alumni board; teachers and students, who spoke in different languages—Catalan, Spanish, English and Italian, all to a crowded Aula Magna.