VUB Graduation Ceremony - #ClassOf2022

Monday morning, 10 October. The City of Brussels is buzzing with anticipation, even more than usual. The cradle of this excitement: the beautiful Grand Place. Tourists looking for the right angle to immortalise their visit with a selfie, or sitting on a terrace drinking their first coffee of the day, cannot escape the giant banner that for a week will be part of the view of City Hall: Université Libre de Bruxelles & Vrije Universiteit Brussel proudly present their new graduates - Congratulations.

Yes, it's time again for the VUB Graduation Ceremonies. The Class of 2022 owns the city. This week, Brussels really belongs to them.

For the third year in a row, we as a university are part of this prestigious setting. Waving goodbye to our new alumni from the most beautiful market square in Europe has become part of the deal.

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is an urban engaged university. This means we are firmly anchored in the city and the world, with a commitment to society. With this vision in mind, we cannot imagine a better starting point for our brand-new graduates. Because this is where they are: at the start. 

The start of new challenges. The start of a new phase of life, beyond the boundaries of familiar campuses and friendship circles. Just under 3,000 recent graduates – 2,000 of whom were present at their ceremony – join the network of more than 75,000 VUB alumni. A VUB graduate is never alone, as they join a fantastic community. Together, we continue to strive for a better world. As the slogan goes: The World Needs You. The world needs us.

One by one, students enter the balcony, give their names and say a word of thanks to parents and loved ones, cheered on by family and friends in the gallery, and passers-by down in the market square. The ceremonial stage turns orange and blue.

Time for words of wisdom. Mayor Philippe Close welcomes all the attendees and congratulates the new alumni on their academic achievement. He assures them that Brussels will always be their (student) city. A home for every VUBer. The dean then addresses the students. The conclusion is the same for each faculty: each one can be proud of the path they have taken. Parents and grandparents nod or applaud in support of these words, proud as they are of their offspring. And rightly so.

For the Class of 2022 experienced a student life marked by the all-too-familiar constraints of the Covid virus. Yet these students continued to look ahead. They set their sights on the future and resolved to stand here today, tomorrow and the day after. Their resilience is impressive.

Any student representative, addressing their fellow graduates, can insist on this: they have achieved something special. They have made friends for life and formed a close-knit group that will continue to fight for a sustainable, just future. They are winners, victors.

Following the speeches of the graduates, an alumnus/a of the faculty took the floor to inspire those present to take up a social commitment in addition to a professional one.

The list of alumni speakers by ceremony can be found here. Don’t hesitate to connect with them on LinkedIn.

The closing words come from rector Jan Danckaert: “Right now, today, society is waiting for people who can make a difference.” The Class of 2022 can make this difference. But... “We never actually graduate completely. A world in transition obliges us to constantly update our knowledge.”

This concludes the ceremony but it’s not yet time to go home. The group continues towards the reception at Mont des Arts. Drinks and light refreshments await our new alumni and their guests. Happy faces, tight hugs, cosy chats: the room is full of them. On Monday and Tuesday, a surprise awaits on the first floor: an immersive VUB experience, for one final immersion in their Alma Mater. On Wednesday, the graduates head to Château Moderne, even higher up, with a stunning view of the spire of City Hall and Brussels in all its beauty.