Farewell Greetings from the Knights Hall

“With one laughing and one crying eye”, Joachim Lutz, Dean of the Business School, said goodbye to around 800 graduates of the Business Administration and Economic and Business Education programs last Saturday. For the second year in a row, the ceremony took place online and not as usual on the site of the “Ehrenhof”. This year, there was a livestream from the Knights Hall, in a suitably festive atmosphere and with musical entertainment by the band N'nR Delta Trio, that guests could watch virtually via Zoom or Youtube.

Four representatives of the degree programs were present in person to wish their former fellow students farewell. Weihua Wang, a graduate of the Mannheim Master in Management, also attended the ceremony to encourage all participants to join the network of the alumni association AbsolventUM – for which she is actively involved as a board member.

The keynote speaker was Carola Graser-Kraus, Country General Manager Dior, Diplomkauffrau and alumna of the ESSEC/Mannheim double degree program. In her speech, the head of Dior Germany gave the audience an “ABC of her experiences”. She encouraged them to always remain open to new ideas, to learn from their mistakes and not to be afraid to leave their own comfort zone. She also explained that ambitious career goals and family life are perfectly compatible. With a call to get involved in volunteer work, she left the stage to the dean, who recognized some award winners on the spot, but most of them via camera, and brought the ceremony to a close. With engraved glasses, which the Business School had sent to the graduates as a parting gift before the ceremony, everyone was able to share a virtual toast.