The graduation ceremony of the PPRE 20/22 batch was held on 9th December 2022. It was a memorable event attended by 27 students, their family members (a few of them in presence and the rest online), the PPRE staff team, Prof. Dr. Carsten Agert (PPRE Program Director), Prof. Dr. Michael Wark (Dean of Faculty V) and last but certainly not the least, Prof. Dr. Ralph Bruder (President of Oldenburg University).

The event commenced with a short welcome note by the organising committee, followed by speeches from Prof. Dr. Michael Wark, Prof. Dr. Ralph Bruder, Prof. Dr. Carsten Agert, Dr. Herena Torio and Indry Sanchez. Indry Sanchez is a PPRE 20/22 student and was voted by the class to be the student speaker and present a speech in the ceremony.

Apart from the speeches, there were two special activities prepared by some of the students of the PPRE 20/22 batch. The first was a “Memory Lane” presentation prepared by Carlos Bernal. The “Memory Lane” presentation was a montage of photos and videos taken by the students throughout the last two years of their time in Oldenburg. The room echoed with bouts of laughter during the presentation, and left everyone with bittersweet smiles, nostalgic of the wonderful times spent together. The second activity was a song performance beautifully executed by Cody Hancock and Binura Perera. Cody Hancock prepared a modified rendition of the song “Good Riddance” by Green Day to complement PPRE memories, and together with Binura Perera, sang their hearts out on stage. The rest of the batch chimed in as well and put the whole room in a cheerful mood.

At the end of the ceremony, the organising committee asked PPRE staff members to join them on stage, and thanked each staff member one by one, acknowledging the uniquely exceptional ways in which every staff member has contributed to the journey of the students in the last couple of years. Finally, it was time for the ceremonial handing out of certificates to the students by the PPRE staff. This session was moderated by Azeez Ogunleye, a student of the PPRE 21/23 batch, who very kindly agreed to take on the role. The ceremony was wrapped up with closing words from the organising committee, followed by group photo sessions and refreshments.

Speakers of the event:

• Prof. Dr. Michael Wark - Dean of Faculty V
• Prof. Dr. Ralph Bruder - President of the University of Oldenburg
• Prof. Dr. Carsten Agert - PPRE Program Director
• Dr. Herena Torio – PPRE Program Manager
• Indry Sanchez - PPRE 20/22 student

Organising committee of the event: The team was led by three students of the PPRE batch 20/22:  Muktaparna Boruah, Surangi Wanninayaka and Carlos Muñoz. In addition, Dr. Hans Holtorf, staff of PPRE, helped immensely with the organisation of the event.

Written by: Organising committee of the Graduation Ceremony