19th and last graduation ceremony of the Euro Hydroinformatics and Water Management study programme and 20 years of EuroAquae
Five study locations throughout Europe, the first European Joint Degree Master of its kind and 464 globally successful alumni - that is Euro Hydroinformatics and Water Management, one of BTU's most international study programmes.
On September 9, the last 23 alumni for the time being, their families and friends as well as invited guests from Cottbus and all over Europe looked back on two decades of the Erasmus Mundus flagship program.
Prof. Dr. Frank Molkenthin, Academic Program Director at BTU, gave an entertaining but also emotionally moving tour through a kaleidoscope of EuroAquae history: From the idea to the signing of the contract in Brussels and the enrolment of the first generation of students in 2004; technical and also humorous remarks on AquaCloud and what is actually behind the EuroAquae research group, the formal presentation of the certificates and "starter sets" for a successful professional life and a commemoration of six " mothers" and "fathers" of the program who have already passed away; as well as the birthday celebration of the study programme and the conclusion with festive photos in the graduate hat.
The coordinators at the European partner universities in Newcastle, Barcelona, Warsaw and Nice paid tribute to all those present with thought-provoking but also positive speeches: "This is the ending of something, but also the beginning of something new"; "You do something that is much bigger than you"; "Engineers create the world in which we will want to live"; "I see EuroAquae alive every day".
The event was framed by echoes from Germany: polka music, images from the Spreewald and Sorbian culture and the Ode to Joy; as well as a song composed for the EU on water protection policy, which demonstrated the high relevance of research content from hydroinformatics for European policy-making.
A reflection of international studies at the BTU and its partner universities, as part of a family with a shared passion for the most important resource of the future: water.
Congratulations to all graduates and all the best for their future careers, or as Caspar Hewett, Academic Program Director from Newcastle said: "Be inspired and be an inspiration to those who will follow you, don't follow the trend, lead the trend and be a leader to future generations; you ARE the future, make the world better."
Although there will unfortunately be no more EuroAquae cohorts at the moment due to new orientations at two partner universities, the study programme "will forever be a part of BTU".