In close collaboration with the Université libre de Bruxelles, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Haute École Francisco Ferrer, the City of Brussels is organising the graduation ceremony for the students of the three institutions. The class of 2022 will experience an unforgettable moment on the Grand Place and in the City Hall, between 10 and 16 October.
From 10 to 16 October, ​ they will receive their diplomas from the rectors and director of their institutions, in the presence of their loved ones on the magnificent balcony of City Hall.
Even Manneken Pis will be part of the celebrations, donning the costumes of the three institutions in turn in honour of the graduating students.
“Receiving your diploma in the Grand Place is a joyous occasion with a lot of symbolism. We are happy to offer this experience to the students of ULB, VUB and Haute École Francisco Ferrer and their families. It is a new tradition that is now part of Brussels student life,” says Brussels mayor Philippe Close.
"The City of Brussels, the organising authority of the Haute Ecole Francisco Ferrer, is delighted to be graduating its students on its Grand Place. The HEFF is a flagship of our education system and develops training in sectors that are essential both for the City, its schools and hospitals, and for society in general. The development of critical thinking, openness, fairness and solidarity have also been the mainstays of the training courses, as they form the basis of values that are dear to the City of Brussels," explains Faouzia Hariche, alderman for Public Education.
For seven days, the Grand Place and its surroundings will be dominated by this important event.
“How nice it is to see our proclamants, with their family members, together in the beautiful Grand Place of Brussels! With this highly symbolic gesture, we want to reward the efforts, and also the sacrifices, made by our graduates during their years of study. I warmly congratulate them and thank the city of Brussels for hosting us again in this exceptional setting,” says Annemie Schaus, rector of ULB.
“The VUB is a university linked to the city – an urban engaged university – and we are therefore enormously pleased to be able to proclaim our graduates once again on the Grand Place in Brussels. On the one hand, they can feel how proud of them we are as Alma Mater. After all, getting a degree is the culmination of a period of personal growth and intellectual development. And that deserves loud applause. On the other hand, we also want to encourage them to become ambassadors of our university and of Brussels, and inspire them to make their mark on society and contribute to a better world,” says Jan Danckaert, rector of the VUB.