Summer Graduation Ceremony Brings Together Students of 23 Nationalities

09.07.2022

Graduation Event Conducted at Municipal Theatre Orpheus in Apeldoorn

On Friday 8 July, Apeldoorn’s municipal theatre, Orpheus – one of the five largest theatres in the Netherlands – hosted Wittenborg’s Summer Graduation Ceremony. Having taken place in the afternoon, the event was attended by 44 graduates and their families, partners and friends, as well as Wittenborg’s staff members and teachers.

During the ceremony, the achievements and hard work of 23 bachelor’s and 21 master’s students were praised and celebrated. The event was marked by a joyful atmosphere, and the diverse group of students was composed of representatives of 23 nationalities: Azerbaijan, Venezuela, Italy, Indonesia, India, the Netherlands, Colombia, Cameroon, Iran, Vietnam, Kenya, Nigeria, Russia, Pakistan, Nepal, Brazil, Egypt, China, Georgia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Malawi and Peru.

Values and Skills

In their speeches, lecturers emphasised that all of the recent graduates have completed a major step in their lives, also giving recommendations concerning their future and professional careers.

According to Wittenborg’s Vice President of Academic Affairs, Professor Ronald Tuninga, students should always remember Wittenborg’s pillars of internationalisation, ethics and diversity, because they will function as a compass when making difficult professional decisions. “At Wittenborg, you have learned how to cooperate with people from all over the world, and this will be a very important skill because you will work in organisations that are spread across the globe. Never forget that your international experience is one of your main strengths, and it will certainly stand out in the eyes of companies.”

Head of School of Business Rauf Abdul stressed that students need to be aware of the importance of their online footprints. “These days, recruiters and employers are always checking how professionals interact and engage in the digital world. Therefore, it is essential for graduates to keep active social media profiles – particularly on professional platforms such as LinkedIn – and publish interesting content on a regular basis, by sharing materials, articles or insights coming from various sources.”

Abdul added that, although formal qualifications are important, professionals must go on learning new things and developing both technical and soft skills. “You might have the formal qualifications, but the HR managers or employers will be looking at the skills that make up your toolkit. So, try to remain up to date with the key technical and soft skills that are required by your field of activity and by the job market in general.”

Future Plans

Having completed an MBA degree in International Management, Ibukun Babafemi pointed out that the most important skill he developed at Wittenborg is selling. “As a tech guy, this was not a skill I had, and now I am able to sell myself as well as different products and services. My long-term plan is to be a data scientist and offer consultation services to businesses, and this new competency will be crucial to achieving my goals.”

Kristina Iatsenko, who obtained a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, described her current feeling as “freedom”, adding that she is optimistic about the opportunities that are coming her way. “At Wittenborg, I learned a lot of interesting things and got valuable experience in a multicultural environment, which will definitely come handy in the future. My plans for now are staying in the Netherlands for the orientation year (zoekjaar) and developing my career in the hospitality industry, particularly in hotels. I will miss the student life, especially the many events that we had; they were wonderful,” she said.