27/06/2014

Mortarboards Awarded to New Doctorate Degree Holders on Feast Day of St. Thomas Aquinas

On Friday, 27 January 2012, on the occasion of the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas, the patron saint of universities, mortarboards were awarded in the UIC Graduate Hall to the new doctorate degree holders from the 2011-2012 academic year. During the ceremony, the end-of-course awards for outstanding work were handed out to students in the undergraduate and doctorate degree programmes.

The ceremony was presided over by the Rector, Dr. Pere Alavedra, who welcomed the members of the audience and thanked them for attending. The Rector then awarded mortarboards to the new doctorate degree holders. This year's graduates were Dr. Margarita Gonzalvo Cirac, Dr. Miquel Lacasta Codorniu, Dr. Cristina Monforte Royo, Dr. José Manuel Rivera Uribe, Dr. Maria Olga Llopart and Dr. Fernando Sánchez Costa.

When the new doctors had received their mortarboards, diplomas were presented to the writers of the doctoral theses that had been consulted the most on the website Doctoral Dissertations on the Web. This year's Extraordinary End of Studies Award was also given to Iria Chao Maseda, who earned an undergraduate degree in Nursing.

The Rector then awarded the Extraordinary End of Doctoral Studies Awards to Dr. Miquel Lacasta in the area of Architecture, Dr. Cristina Monforte in the area of Health, Dr. Elisabet Ferrer in the area of Dentistry, Dr. Maria Olga Llopart in the field of Social Sciences, and Dr. Carme Balaguer in the field of Humanities.

After the diplomas were handed out, Dr. Fernando Sánchez, the representative of the new doctorate degree holders and a professor in the Faculty of Humanities, said a few words of thanks to those attending. He went on to say, "Writing a thesis is like a participating in a fencing bout: it not only builds character, but also lets you work on intelligence and helps you conquer your own will".

He also encouraged his colleagues to continue maintaining their intellectual vocation, "which is not just a profession, but should also be a passion".

At the end of his speech, Dr. Sánchez reminded the audience that "the mortarboard defines us as university graduates and should help us seek the universality of truth at all times".

On the occasion of the event, Dr. Frederic Marion, the Vice Rector for Research, acknowledged the hard work done by the new graduates during their research and the excellent professional approach they displayed at all times.

Finally, the Rector ended the ceremony by congratulating the new graduates and the award winners.