“Believe in your education!” Graduation ceremony in November 2025

Vice President Jelena Bäumler had one central wish for the graduates: hope. “Hope not understood as a vague feeling, but as a way of thinking that is forward-looking, as an attitude that asserts the possibility of action even where reality seems difficult.”

Dimmed lights, guests dressed in their finest, warm embraces, and anticipation—for the 420 college graduates, the graduation ceremony is the crowning glory of their bachelor's degree. The performance by the Leuphana Chamber Choir in the Libeskind Auditorium captures the festive mood and deepens it.

In his speech, President Sascha Spoun addresses a question that is currently on the minds of many young people: “Amidst all the joy and justified pride, many of you are also experiencing a concern that I do not want to ignore – a concern that has to do with the unusual developments of recent times.” Despite good grades and numerous applications, many graduates are currently finding it very difficult to enter the job market. He can understand the frustration of graduates regarding this issue: "For years, dear graduates, you have been told up and down the country that you are important for the future of this country, that there is a massive shortage of skilled workers, that the baby boomers are retiring, and that the current generation cannot enter the job market quickly enough! And now? – Now you are faced with the realization that apparently no one has been waiting for you, that you still do not seem to meet the expectations and requirements of the job market.“

Sascha Spoun emphasizes that he does not want to console them with a ”It'll be fine!" Instead, he invites graduates to stick with their education: "Therefore, I can only encourage you to believe in your education, just as you did in the past when you decided to study and successfully completed your degree. Believe in your education, no matter how many rejections you receive! Believe in your education, even if your first job is not what you had hoped for! Believe in your education if you have decided to continue studying and doubts arise as to whether this was the right decision! Faith gives rise to confidence, as the old saying goes. Confidence is not certainty, and faith here is not blind trust or defiance; rather, it is a conscious decision in favor of something." This applies even when education is currently facing difficult times. Confidence is the word of the hour: “It is this confidence that I urge you to have, so that you can rejoice today authentically and without fear for the future – about your academic success and what lies ahead, even if it turns out to be more challenging and protracted than you had anticipated.”

“I am happy to join those who are congratulating you today, quite rightly, on your academic achievements,” said Prof. Dr. Jelena Bäumler, Vice President for Colleges, addressing the packed auditorium. In response to the uncertainties that the end of their studies may bring, she would like to give the graduates “a thought that stands between science and the world”: hope. “Hope understood not as a vague feeling, but as a form of thinking that is forward-looking, as an attitude that asserts the possibility of action even where reality seems difficult.”

Economics graduate Dominic Korn brings the student perspective to the table. In a narrative and humorous way, he looks back on the last three years of his studies – his first experiences of shared living, parties, the campus league, and cafeteria food. His remarks are repeatedly interrupted by approving laughter from the graduates. “Everyone here has their own little stories they like to tell,” he summarizes, then turns back to his fellow students: “Thank you, Lüneburg, for this wonderful time; thank you for making it so special.”

AStA spokespersons Zoe Rauch and Marc Phillip Schreiber echo these thanks in their welcome speech in English. In particular, they highlight the commitment and time that many have invested in initiatives and activism during their studies: “You made this campus more active, warm, and inclusive. We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for these moments, for your time and your commitment,” says AStA spokesperson Zoe Rauch.

At the end of the ceremony, Sascha Spoun and Jelena Bäumler honored 23 graduates whose final projects stood out in particular. With a cheerful, lively performance by the chamber choir to round off the event, the guests strolled into the foyer, where photos were taken and they proudly toasted each other's achievements over the past few years.

At the graduation ceremony in the winter semester 2025/26, around 170 graduates of the Graduate School celebrated their graduation. Special honors were given to master's graduates with outstanding achievements and to five doctoral graduates who successfully completed their dissertation projects and received the Leuphana Dissertation Award. This year's DAAD award winner, Juliana Gutierrez Gomez, was also honored.

In her congratulatory speech, Simone Abels, Vice President of the Graduate School, congratulated all master's graduates and doctoral candidates on behalf of the entire Graduate School team on the “successful completion of an academic phase” that had been “not only an intellectual challenge, but also a personal journey” for the graduates. She emphasized the importance of personal encounters during this journey. In our modern world, full of technology, social media, and artificial intelligence, these are “more valuable than ever before.” According to Abels, the Graduate School is “a place of academic qualification.” It stands for “professional expertise, individual support, and simultaneous integration into the community, social change, and interdisciplinary thinking.” These qualities are now carried by the master's and doctoral graduates. Abels encouraged the graduates to use their acquired skills to develop creative solutions to the challenges of our time, without relieving older generations of their responsibility. The Vice President concluded her speech with the words: “Be proud of what you have achieved. Your hard work and commitment deserve the highest recognition. I wish you courage, curiosity, and above all, joy in continuing to learn and grow in the future—especially in personal encounters.”

Prof. Dr. Ben Khalifa encouraged the graduates: “Continue to develop. And by ‘develop,’ I don't mean that you have to become better, stronger, and faster, but that you have to break free from the wires that were wrapped around you by society and by ‘that's the way it's always been.’ Developing is the opposite of wrapping. So be brave, be different, be the black sheep—white sheep are ordinary.”

As representative of the Graduate School student body and recent graduate of the Master's program in Management & Entrepreneurship, Sanja Bako gave a speech in which she particularly praised the international environment of the university. She spoke about how she came to Germany as an international student with “anticipation, uncertainty, and a hundred little questions.” She then warmly thanked her fellow students for their tremendous support, as well as the professors and staff at the university “for creating a space in which so many of us from different backgrounds could grow.” One of her most important insights at Leuphana was that diversity is “not just a point in a brochure.” Rather, it was about “how our differences connect us, how we learn from each other, and how we question our perspectives together.” She ended her speech with the words: “And to everyone who calls this place home: Thank you for helping us make it our home too.”

After the central ceremony in the auditorium, which was held jointly for the Graduate School and Professional School, the festivities continued with the Professional School's graduation ceremony. A total of 48 graduates from the Bachelor's program in Social Work for Educators and the Master's programs in Tax Law, Social Management, Prevention and Health, Corporate and Business Law, Sustainability Law, Arts and Cultural Management, Governance and Human Rights, Sustainable Chemistry, and Competition and Regulation were honored. Six additional graduates from the international Arts and Cultural Management program also joined online.

Over 100 family members, friends, and companions celebrated this special moment together. Markus Reihlen, Vice President for the Professional School, Internationalization, Entrepreneurship, and Transfer, welcomed the guests and quoted from Academically Adrift by Richard Arum and Susan Roksa. The book describes how many students drift through their studies without really learning.

For him, the graduates of the Professional School are the opposite: “You are not ‘adrift’, i.e. off course, but have stayed on course. [...] This certificate honors not only your knowledge, but also your perseverance, your passion, and your many small and large everyday victories.”

Graduates Vanessa Kleesiek and Angela Jensen (B.A. Social Work) demonstrated how important community is during your studies. Initial antipathy turned into friendship. They supported each other and celebrated their graduation together – one working full-time, the other studying full-time, both rather unusual at the Professional School.

Kristin Dang-Schulz (MPH Prevention and Health) highlighted two further factors for success in her speech: enthusiasm for one's own subject and the will to develop further. She began her career as a health care nurse, completed several further training courses while working, and now celebrated her master's degree at the Professional School.

Maria Santos (M.Sc. Sustainable Chemistry) emphasized the value of support and diversity in her studies. She thanked her family, friends, teachers, and fellow students and highlighted how enriching it was to learn in international groups. In addition, her studies broadened her view of the world and have already led to important contributions to more sustainable development.

Christof Schmitt, Managing Director of the Professional School, hosted the evening and the ceremonial presentation of the certificates. He congratulated the graduates on behalf of the entire team and then invited everyone to a meal together. The evening came to a festive close with good food and lively conversation.